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“Really?” Her entire face brightens again.
I tap her nose. “You bet. And I know kids are going to be jealous of your cool wheels when their feet are aching and sore.”
She laughs. “You’re funny.”
“If someone asks you for a free ride, make sure to charge them. Promise?”
“Pinky promise.” She holds up her tiny finger for me. We lock ours together and shake on it.
I turn to call for Lily’s parents. My eyes lock on Rowan’s. Heat blooms in my stomach, spreading like wildfire across my skin from one look.
Am I coming down with a fever?I knew that sniffling kid at my station yesterday didn’t have allergies.
Lily’s parents come over and rave all about her makeover. While her dad kneels to talk to Lily, her mother turns and clutches my hand with her trembling one. “Thank you so much for taking care of my daughter. She was scared she wouldn’t fit in here like the other girls but you went out of your way to make her day special.” She throws her arms around me.
I return her hug. “It’s my pleasure. But Lily made it easy because you both have one beautiful daughter, inside and out.”
Lily’s dad blushes while her mom grins. With one last look in the mirror, her parents roll Lily away.
I turn toward the area where Rowan and Regina were chatting, only to find it empty. My stomach sinks.
I remain permanently nauseous for the rest of the day. No matter how many smiling kids leave my chair, I can’t shake this weird feeling in my gut. I’m not sure what Rowan’s up to but I need to keep an eye out. There was a time I ignored my intuition and I refuse to make that mistake ever again.
4
Rowan
Dreamland might be in the business of selling fairy tales, but it brings me nothing but nightmares and bitter flashbacks. The energy surrounding this place chokes me as much as the Florida humidity. Despite the raging summer sun, a chill runs down my spine as I stare up at Princess Cara’s Castle. The architectural monstrosity that put my grandfather’s park on the map nearly five decades ago reminds me of a past life I’ve long since forgotten.
Get over it, you worthless piece of shit. Focus on what matters.
I’m not sure why my grandfather tasked me with fixing a theme park that has run seamlessly for forty-eight years. Tickets are always sold out, and we meet maximum capacity every single day. With the park outperforming each quarter, I question how I can make improvements.
To put it simply, this place is perfect. Almosttooperfect. I’ve dealt with more issues in one day as the chairman of our streaming service subsidiary than this park manages in a whole year. But with my twenty-five-billion-dollar shares on the line, I’ll turn over every single rock in this entire place if it means exposing weaknesses and building upon Dreamland’s strengths. There is no other option. My brothers are counting on me to do my part in securing our future, and I don’t plan on letting them down.
I abandon my spot on the wooden drawbridge. My breathing becomes easier as I add some distance between the castle and myself.
Think of how much better life will be once you get the hell out of this town.
That’s the thought that keeps me sane in a world built on nothing but haunted memories and broken dreams.
* * *
My patience is thinning with each roadblock I hit. After back-to-back pointless meetings with Dreamland staff, I’m desperate for news about where the park is underperforming. I’ve learned nothing worth noting since I arrived forty-eight hours ago.
On paper, Dreamland is hitting new goals with every financial quarter. The demand formoreis the only common theme I’ve heard from employees. More rides. More lands. More hotels. Morespace.
There’s only one team that can help me with this kind of grand-scale expansion. Dreamland’s Creators are world-renowned in the theme park business. If there’s an attraction, venue, souvenir, or consumer experience at Dreamland, the Creators helped design it. So they’re the people I plan on working side by side with for the next six months. My micromanaging approach will be a significant change from the laid-back attitude they’re used to from the previous Director, but quite frankly, I don’t care. It helped me turn a start-up streaming company into a billion-dollar empire, and it’ll help me here.
I enter my office and shut the door behind me. The two head Creators jump in their seats before regaining their composure. Sam, the male who has the common sense to mix a plaid shirt and a polka dot tie, can barely look me in the eyes. The top of his brown curly hair is the only image I get as he scribbles in his notebook. Jenny, the brunette co-manager, sits straighter than a needle beside him as if one kink in her posture will set me off.
I take a seat. “Let’s get started.”
They nod in unison.
“I am expected to come up with a new plan for the park that identifies our weaknesses. Together we will evaluate the performance of Dreamland’s attractions and determine how we can better serve our guests. That includes renovating current rides, creating new lands, updating skits and float parades that will increase Dreamland’s ROI by five percent, at the very least.”
Sam’s eyes somehow double in size while Jenny’s face remains stoic.
