Sittingacross from Giles Stone was different than looking at his pictures online. Sharon was right. Hewasgorgeous. And intense. From the moment I entered the room, his deep brown eyes hadn’t stopped searing a hole right into me.
His aunt, Bev, seemed nice enough, but she had a slight edge to her. My hand was still throbbing from her firm handshake. All I could do to hide my nerves was plant a massive grin on my face and pretend I was completely at ease.
“Hello, I’m Mattie,” I greeted them cheerily. “How was your flight.”
“It was fine. We appreciate you flying us out for this,” Bev said.
Giles just grunted in response.
I extended my hand to Giles, and he eyed it like I had an infectious disease. After a few heartbeats, he engulfed my hand in his and gave it a quick shake before dropping it. I noticed him flexing the hand that had touched me.
“So, Colorado, huh? I’ve always wanted to visit. Must be a beautiful place to live.”
“It is,” he replied flatly.
His short remark and hard stare had me on edge. This was not the typical demeanor of potential clients.
“What do you think of Florida? It must be pretty different, huh?” I cleared my throat nervously.
He narrowed his eyes. “Obviously.”
Bev nudged his arm before turning back to me with a smile. “It’s lovely here. Always nice to be in a tropical climate, even if it is just for a quick trip.”
“Well, Mattie is our director of Property Management. She’s put together a great presentation for you. I think you’ll find it all very informative,” Mike said.
“Thanks, Mike. I’ll just get us started, then.” I plugged in my computer and my slide deck appeared on the screen in front of us. “Feel free to stop me at any time with questions, but for now, let’s just dive right in.”
The first few slides outlined our basic structure. We would place a property manager on-site at their lodge to handle all the daily operations. They would manage the housekeepers, order supplies, and go above and beyond to keep guests happy.
“And because your property hasn’t been updated in a while, our team will make improvements as we see fit to make the space appealing to guests and ensure we capture as many new customers as possible.”
Giles mumbled something under his breath. His presence made me uneasy.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” I asked, my voice dripping with politeness.
“I don’t think you, or your team, has the first idea what would make us appealing to our customers,” he spat. “Our customerslikeour vintage charm. None of them want to stay in a place with the same aesthetic as a sterile doctor’s office.” He gestured to the conference room we were sitting in.
My lip twitched as I tried to maintain my smile.
“Of course, sir. I didn’t mean that the lodge didn’t already possess a certain charm. And we would certainly work to create a feel that would appeal to your customer-”
“Please, spare me.” He waved his hand as if to dismiss me. “You’re so full of shit.”
“Excuse me?” I choked out.
“What would a couple of suits that live in Florida know about running a ski lodge? Do you even ski?” He crossed his arms.
“Well, no,” I sputtered. “But I know a lot about hotels and prop-”
“That’s what I thought. I’ve heard enough.”
He stood from his chair and circled around the table toward the exit.
“Giles, please sit down. You’re being rude.” Bev shot me an apologetic glance as she tried to talk down her nephew.
“No, I’m done here. I’ll be outside.”
With that, he stormed out, leaving me flabbergasted. While I didn’t always nail every presentation, this was undoubtedly the first time I had lost someone’s interest within the first five minutes.
