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“Sohot,” Blue Dress groans, then frowns. “I hear they both get lucky a lot. But with the same woman? I haven’t seen it… I ran into Marcus on a date about a month ago. Josh was nowhere in sight.”
The redhead nods. “I went to a club with friends two weeks ago and saw Josh with his hands all over a blonde, but I didn’t see Marcus.”
The brunette shrugs. “All I can say is that the woman in this picture was with them both, and it looked serious.”
“Wow…”
Wow is right. I’m not usually one for office gossip, but that’s pretty scandalous stuff. Absently, I wonder why they ever shared a woman and why they apparently stopped. But it’s none of my business. That tidbit, no matter how juicy, will have no bearing on my job performance or our professional relationship.
Purposely clicking my heels on the tile floor as if I just arrived, I send the trio of women a bland smile. “Hi.”
They jump apart guiltily. The brunette sends me a nervous glance and tucks her phone away. “Hi.”
“Sorry to interrupt. I just need a napkin.” I grab a paper towel from the roll and shove it into my lunch bag.
“We weren’t talking about anything important,” the redhead volunteers.
I almost laugh at her sheepish lie, but it wouldn’t make me any friends, and I don’t have time for their gossip, even if it’s true. I have a meeting to get to. “Of course not. Have a good afternoon.”
After retracing my steps, I find Savannah waiting in my office.
She glances at the bag in my hand. “I see you found lunch. Good. Turns out we have a few more minutes before we need to convene upstairs. Chad—Mr. Force—is rounding up a few people, along with the new intel we have about the property. I’ll tell you what I know while you eat so you’re up to speed and can participate in the decision making.”
I force aside the gossip I just overheard and focus on my new boss. “Please.”
As I spread my food across my desk, Savannah pulls up the guest chair, sips from the tumbler of water in her hand, then launches into her spiel. “Recently, we began investigating a piece of property on behalf of a group of investors. This dovetails with our desire to diversify beyond traditional investments.”
“You mentioned that when we interviewed.”
“The property is located on the windward side of the Big Island of Hawaii. We found out this morning that we’ve been granted exclusive access for the next two weeks. The site was a hotel in the sixties. It shut down permanently in the late nineties. The owner intended to gather funding to reopen, but his health failed. It fell into disrepair and sat vacant. The state seized it for back taxes before selling it to another investor, who bought it for pennies on the dollar in 2009 with big dreams. After all, the property is prime oceanfront real estate on a charming, unspoiled part of the island. But the price tag for simply bulldozing the structure, along with conducting the necessary environmental studies and permitting was well beyond thirteen million. So that guy sold it to a wealthy Asian family, who intended to develop it for an upscale Pacific Rim clientele. Rumor has it, the refurbishment was his wife’s pet project. When she died, he gave up, only deciding to sell it a handful of weeks ago. Here we are.”
“So now we see what it would take to make the place profitable.”
“Before we purchase it, yes.”
“If the scenery is as beautiful as it sounds, that shouldn’t be difficult, but it always depends on budget, timeline, and other factors.”
She nods. “Finding a reliable workforce will be one. For decades, the locals have been hired off-and-on to work the property in different capacities, so getting them to believe that plans for the place will amount to anything may be an uphill battle.”
“It sounds that way.”
“The terrain will be tricky, too. It’s in between an eyesore of a hotel that was given a patchy facelift eighteen years ago and a former motel converted into cheap condos. We’ll have to conceal all that. And it sits on the edge of a high-risk lava zone, because the Big Island has active volcanos.” She winces. “Given how the property is situated, we’ll have to see if it’s even possible to cost effectively operate a resort there before we make an offer.”
I swallow another spoonful of my delicious soup and nod. “Not much to be done about volcanic eruptions, but I can find a creative way to cordon our property off from its less attractive surroundings while promoting a sense of beauty and exclusivity.”
“Perfect.”
“Unfortunately, that’s likely to make any renovation more expensive. And I’m guessing the town has laws about how tall we can make any new resort? If there wasn’t, the place would probably already be a tourist hub.”
Savannah nods. “I’m sure. So we’re going with luxury from top to bottom. This will be an exclusive getaway spot, and it will cost a pretty penny to visit this slice of paradise. We want every room to be a suite—and command the commensurate price. The pool has to be top notch, the beach and access to it pristine.”
I warm to her topic. “The restaurants must be four star—”
“At least.”
“And the service must be impeccable.”
“Precisely. We will make recommendations, of course, but service will fall under the purview of the investor group,” Savannah assures. “If everything is a go and the resort comes to fruition, once it’s complete, we’ll be turning operations over to them and merely retaining a stake in the venture.”
