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“Can’t I attend some meetings first and get an idea of where, or what, I might like to focus on?”
Dad mulls it over. “It might be a good starting point. You need to be sure this is what you want to do.”
“It is,” she grumbles.
Dad chuckles. “Then give this problem consideration. Where do we put our patisserie?”
Put on the spot, Sienna looks uncomfortable, her mind working at speed to come up with a viable solution. “Maybe it’s a bespoke build.”
“Where?” he pushes.
Sienna hesitates. “On the eastern, um, elevation… By the ski-in, ski-out.”
“That’s west,” Reuben corrects.
“West then.”
Roo shakes his head. “Won’t work.”
“Why not?” She thinks he’s being purposefully obstructive, but it’s true.
“We don’t have the space. There are minimum requirements to allow for our guests, and we’d end up encroaching on the condominium’s boundaries next door.”
Sienna huffs. “Then we renovate some rooms on the second floor.”
“Also won’t work,” Roo advises. “One, we’re losing money if we lower the occupancy rate. And two, guests need to have easy access to the restaurant. We’re not overburdening the elevators unnecessarily either.”
“Well, I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to think about it yet,” she replies, irritated and spiteful. “Maybe Winter has an idea she’d like to share.”
As much as I’d love to defend Winter, I don’t. This has turned into a work discussion. And while I would call anyone out if they overstepped, being obstructive and negative is nothing Winter can’t handle. I’m pretty sure she’d chew me out if I spoke up for her anyway. Besides, there’s a more obvious reason why I would. Why any of my brothers would. And Winter would hate to be rescued by her boyfriends.
But interestingly, Dad frowns, concerned at Sienna’s tone.
“Actually, I do have an idea of how this could work.” Winter smiles graciously, fixing her green eyes on my father. “As much as the staff in the North American division love working on the first floor, we occupy a prime location with sizeable square footage. Arguably, we have the best views of the mountain—dual aspect—better than the ballroom and Balthazar’s Bistro. There’s office space available to rent five minutes walk away. We move out there, and then you have the perfect spot. Depending on the look we go for, and I’m thinking leather, high-backed, semi-circular bench seating, lots of plants for privacy, I’ve worked out we could have thirty tables with an average occupancy of one hundred. Based on the inputs in my cost analysis, for every dollar we make, forty-one percent is profit when we discount moving and renovation costs. It would take fifteen months to break even.”
Dad nods, clearly impressed. I like her suggestion too, though not if she’s in a different building.
Sapphire blue eyes that mirror mine glance my way meaningfully. Something passes between Dad and me in that moment, and I’m not sure exactly what it is. It’s definitely respect, but there’s more to it. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.
“A brave, well-developed suggestion,” he praises. “Well done.”
Winter can barely contain her smile. “Thank you.”
“I don’t like it,” Sienna pipes up. “The staff will be unhappy and leave.”
I roll my eyes again, everyone ignoring her.
“We should talk,” Dad tells me, standing.
“Sure,” I agree, getting to my feet too.
“We can put the rest in your fridge. You can try them tomorrow,” Winter suggests, noticing the end of our cake-tasting afternoon.
Dad pats his tummy, pretending all that cake won’t be good for him. He’s still in great shape. Still handsome with a refined, suave quality to his features. “Good idea. Please join me. It wouldn’t feel right to sample them without you.”
“I’d love to,” Winter replies earnestly, but it’s two-fold. One, she gets to eat more cake, even if it’s during a one-on-one with a hotel magnate she has a slight fascination with. Two, she’s hoping to impress him. To win him over.
She doesn’t realize just how much she already has.
