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Please don’t call Jordan. If you do, he’ll be on the first plane out of New York. If there is any chance of my brother forgiving me for this, he has to hear the truth of my deception from me.
“I’m actually in charge of the food and beverage teams. I hadn’t planned to be working this job at all. I was going to take some time off now that I’m back in the States, but the resort manager got my phone number and begged me to come on board until they could find a permanent head.”
Bryce’s grip on the back of his neck tightened. They had opened the resort without a proper team in place. Things were going from bad to worse. He was certain his father was not aware of this, and when he did find out, Edward would hit the roof.
“So Jordan begged you to come and work here?”
Tony shook his head. “No, Jordan put a manager in place six weeks before we were due to open. He was supposed to be the assistant manager, but Austin has basically been in charge since then. I don’t where he came from, and while I would say he’s not entirely clueless, it’s pretty clear he’s in well over his head.”
Who the devil is Austin? And what has Jordan been doing all this this time?
His heart began to race. Adrenaline pumping through his body at an unhealthy rate. If what Tony was saying was true, then Jordan had put some unknown guy in charge and then walked away from overseeing the launch of a billion dollar resort.
Bryce had dealt with resort disasters before. He wasn’t ever going to forget the night he’d had to manage the evacuation of a hotel full of guests in the face of a fast approaching hurricane.
Slow down your breathing and take stock. It’s just a shitshow, no one is in danger.
Something had to have happened for his brother to suddenly up and leave the resort in such a poorly managed state. In the five years since Jordan had got clean and sober, he’d never once let the family down in such an obvious way.
I almost wish you would get on a plane and come back to California, then I could talk to you. Man to man, without Dad interfering.
Bryce let out a slow, calming breath. It didn’t pay to appear too frazzled in front of the staff. That’s how wildfire rumors started. And when the gossip got traction, people had a nasty tendency to call in sick or simply quit.
Tony knows I am worried, the guy’s not an idiot.
“Thanks Tony. Let me get a better idea as to how things really are around here. I might look to catch up with you again if I have any further questions. When are you next back on shift?”
“Tomorrow afternoon, unfortunately. After having worked the past thirty days straight, I was meant to be finally taking a day off. But since we are so short on staff, and there is a lunchtime BBQ and buffet for a wedding party, I’m going to be overseeing the poolside team instead of catching up on my sleep. The catering team is also very green, and so I fully expect to be hands on with the cooking.”
Bryce finally let his hand drop, his neck was starting to ache. “I will find you. And I think you might be right about the quality of the staff. The bartender in the Sunview Bar just silently judged me for ordering a gin and tonic.”
Tony winced.
After Tony left, Bryce paced the room for a time. He needed to burn off some nervous energy. His initial thoughts had been that Edward was overreacting to the resort’s teething problems, but if Jordan had put some unknown manager in charge, and even a seasoned operator like Tony was voicing his concerns, then things didn’t look good.
He flipped open his laptop and logged into the company employee database. It might have been a long day, and he was in dire need of food, but before he ventured out again, he wanted to find out as much as he could about this Austin guy. Bryce Royal didn’t base his decisions on rumors and opinions, he worked with hard indisputable facts.
It was close to eight by the time Bryce finally closed his computer. He had spent long hours checking the personnel records of several dozen Royal Resorts Laguna Beach employees, all of them Jordan’s hires. He knew as much of Austin Brown’s life story as the man’s own mother probably did.
Austin’s record in the resort business was reassuringly solid, but in Bryce’s opinion he was nowhere near ready to head up a three hundred bed luxury resort. Jordan had left a major Royal Resorts company investment in the hands of a young buck, only a couple of years out of grad school. Little wonder things were looking more than a bit shaky.
He picked up his phone. His father answered on the second ring. “How bad?”
Bryce’s teeth grazed his bottom lip.Just spit it out.Having to deliver this first report on Jordan’s failing project was making his gut churn.
“I’ll need a few more days Dad, but my impression is that your star quarterback might have just thrown a hospital pass to the team’s receiver.”
“Hmm. I’m not entirely sure I understood what you just said, could you perhaps rephrase it, but in the King’s English?”
Edward Royal might have lived in the US for the past thirty odd years, but he had never taken to American football, preferring the English Premier League to the NFL. He was a die-hard Chelsea FC fan. Only the foolhardy dared to call the world game ‘soccer’ to Edward’s face.
“Earlier this evening I ran into another team member, Tony, who used to work for me in Spain. We had a private chat during which he mentioned that Jordan had hired an assistant manager, but instead of taking him under his wing, he effectively left this new employee to run the place.”
“Bloody hell.” Edward’s polished English accent couldn’t hide his annoyance. There was a moment of silence, and Bryce could only guess what his father was thinking. None of it would be good news for Jordan. Fatherly love aside, Edward expected the same from his sons as he did any other executive. Mistakes were eventually forgiven. Deliberate dereliction of duty was not.
“This is what I want you to do for me, Bryce. Stay for as long as you need to in California. Use the resort like a full paying guest. Swim in the pool. Eat breakfast in the café. Order room service. All the works. In the meantime, I will keep going through the operational and financial reports. If I am going to tear your brother a new ass, I want to have plenty of ammunition on hand when I do it. Can the chap you spoke to be relied upon to keep quiet about who you are?”
“I think so,” Bryce answered, with both eyes tightly shut as he took in his father’s threat to inflict bodily harm on the middle Royal son.
