Page 65 of Seeing Harper

“For the most part I enjoy it. I have noticed lately, though, that I enjoy it a little less than I used to. Maybe I’m getting old,” he said with a chuckle.

“You can’t be more than twenty-seven, twenty-eight.”

He glanced toward her quickly with a grin. “I’m thirty-one. I’ve been traveling since I joined this company when I was twenty-three and fresh out of college.”

“Is it yours?” she asked.

“No, it’s not. It was a barely functioning LLC with some good ideas and no clue of how to get people to listen. But in full disclosure, I do own a fair amount of stock in it now. There was a time Auxin was loosing money every day of every year. I was right out of college with a degree in bio engineering and a minor in botany. A little money with some shares of the company thrown in sounded like a good idea to me. Turns out, it really was.”

“Bio engineering and botany. That’s a strange combination.”

“Fortunately it’s the perfect combination for what Auxin Bio Sciences needed. Here we are eight years later, going through the process of becoming a publicly held company that’s traded on the stock market. The three of us who banded together to get it to where it is today, are still here, and are finally getting the opportunity to see some success. We knew the science behind what we wanted to do was right, it was a matter of getting it seen, and then convincing people to try it. All it took was a few to trust us, and here we are.”

“My father is certainly interested in what you can do for our farm.”

“I’m anxious to show you.”

“He said he’s invited you out to see it personally.”

“He has. Maybe I’ll guilt you into picking me up at the airport and getting me settled at the hotel when I come to your town.”

“Well, the problem with that is that there is no hotel. At least not near us. There are a few motels. But I’m sure if you’re not comfortable with a motel, you can stay with us. It’s small, but it’s cozy, and you can’t beat the food. Home cooking at its best.”

“Works for me,” Joel said, as he put on his blinker and prepared to exit the expressway.

Minutes later he was pulling into the parking lot of a massive hotel and she was watching like a wide-eyed kid admiring Christmas lights. “Oh, my gosh! This is stunning,”

“It’s the Waldorf Astoria, and the best we have to offer here.” He pulled right up to the front door and parked his car. He got out and hurried around the car before she had time to fully get out, took her hand and helped her out of the car as she looked at the building, completely stunned at its grandiose stature. He looked over his shoulder to see what she was seeing, then grinned as he reached in and grabbed her purse. “It’s impressive, isn’t it?”

“So impressive!” she said, taking her purse from him as she stood there admiring the hotel while he went to the trunk of his car and got her bags.

“You ready to go in?” he asked, as he rolled her bags up beside her.

“I am, yes,” she said, reaching out to take control of one of the rolling ‘stacks’ of luggage. She was still holding her phone in her hand and dropped it down into the outside pocket of her carry on where it sat on top of her medium sized piece of luggage so she could better control the bags as she moved away from the car.

“Sir! Madam! Please, allow me,” a bellman said as he rushed toward them.

“Oh, I have it,” she said.

“Please, it’s why I’m here,” the older gentleman said grinning at her.

“Of course,” she said, removing her hand and allowing him to load her bags onto a luggage cart. He followed them into the lobby, where she turned in a slow circle before she finally realized Joel was already at the desk speaking with the gentleman working there. She smiled at the bellman who had waited beside her. “Sorry. It’s just so beautiful.”

“It’s no problem, ma’am. I never forget how lucky I am to work in a place like this,” the bellman said. “Shall we?” he asked, gesturing toward the front desk.

She hesitated as she came to a stop beside Joel as he finished his conversation and smiled at her as he stood aside.

“Hi, I’m Harper Vitrano,” she said. “I have…”

“Yes, Ms. Vitrano. We’ve been expecting you. We have your suite ready and waiting on the eighth floor.”

“There must be some mistake. We reserved only a room,” Harper said.

“You’ve been upgraded, ma’am, at no additional charge. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the suite. It’s one of our best.”

“Oh, okay. Well, thank you.”

“You’re most welcome. Henry will see you to your suite. If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to let us know. You’ll find a binder with all the amenities we offer, and a listing of all our restaurants, and the local attractions we recommend. If you are in need of transportation, we can arrange private cars, or we can arrange shuttle rides if you’d prefer.”