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He was unbelievable, to demand they move here and take over the resort and then question their ability to make their own decision—and Quinn couldn’t hold his tongue. “Our reasons for accepting have nothing to do with money. We’re not going to stand by while you ruin the lives of hundreds of families that have devoted themselves to this resort and to this island.”
Trent cleared his throat, and Quinn belatedly tethered his anger. Chandler’s face remained unaffected by Quinn’s outburst.
“Would you like to know our terms?” Trent asked.
Their grandfather raised an imperious eyebrow. “Proceed.”
“If you want us to run this resort, first and foremost it belongs to all of us. All five, Sierra included. You will not have any say in the direction of the property or the decisions we make about any department or any aspect of the resort. We have final say for one year. You may not give commentary or provide any input, and furthermore, you may not interfere or undermine our authority with suppliers, employees, family members of employees, or guests.”
Chandler shifted in his wheelchair. “You expect me to hand over all facets of the resort without a fight?” His tone was gruff.
“Only if you want us to agree to run the resort. The choice is yours.” Trent spoke with confidence. “One year. All five of us or none at all. And you’re completely hands-off.”
Chandler’s unyielding eyes swept over each of his grandchildren. His face was as stern as it had been for the last thirty years. “And you will all live on the island at least ninety-five percent of the time?”
Quinn and Derek exchanged an irritated glance. Quinn didn’t believe for a second that he would actually need to live on the island full-time to help run the resort for the next year, and he knew Derek definitely didn’t. He was fairly certain Trent wouldn’t want to stay here either, given the way he carefully avoided Reese whenever he was visiting. Although Trent kept his feelings so close to his chest when it came to his ex-wife that it was anybody’s guess what was going on in his mind.
“Ninety-five percent of the time, with the exception of family-related emergencies or other unforeseen circumstances related to our own businesses. For example, if someone has to go to the hospital off the island.”
“I will take this under consideration and get back to you by the end of next week,” Chandler said.
“Next week?” Derek snapped. “I have a—”
Trent glared at Derek, then returned an even stare to their grandfather. “Our offer is valid for forty-eight hours. Not a second longer.” He turned to his siblings, giving them the nod that they were through. “Good day, Grandfather.”
They filed out of his office, Derek and Quinn with clenched fists, and stalked toward the elevators.
Ethan placed a hand on Trent’s shoulder. “Well played.”
“He’ll never agree to back out of having any decision-making power,” Derek said. “You know he’ll come back with another asinine demand.”
“I don’t think so.” Sierra pulled the clips from her hair and shook her bun free. “I think he wants all of you here on the island for some reason. I have no idea why, but knowing him, it’s just another warped form of trying to take control.”
The elevator doors opened and Jane Moore stepped out. Jane was the entertainment director for the hotel. Her long blond hair was pinned up, and a pencil was tucked over her ear. She carried a clipboard close to her chest. Her white blouse and black pencil skirt made her look a little like a waitress. She was in her midtwenties and had worked part-time at the resort in various positions during high school and full-time since graduating from college.
“Bad mood or good mood?” She nodded toward Chandler’s office.
“Is he ever in a good mood?” Derek grumbled.
Jane grimaced. “Our sailing instructor has the flu, and the backup was called off the island for a family emergency. I need Mr. Rockwell’s okay on who to pull in for this, because we’re really short-staffed this week.”
“I’ll do it,” Quinn said, surprising everyone.
He still had a ton of work to do, but he was too wound up to work effectively right now. Sailing was exactly what he needed to clear his head of his grandfather’s demands—and his frustration over the fact that he still hadn’t had a chance to see Shelley again this morning and apologize to her for being such a jerk the night before. He was planning to run down to her cottage again now, but he knew the odds were low that she’d be there when another spontaneous island adventure likely waited. And the longer it took for him to let her know how deeply sorry he was, the worse chance there was that she’d ever forgive him for it.
“You’re a lifesaver,” Jane said, relief written all over her face. “You’ll need to use the second line boat, because one of the guests has already taken out the boat that’s usually used for the course. I also hear the rigging is a bit messy.” She checked her watch. “The class starts in an hour, so you should have plenty of time to get it under control.”
