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From what the Royal Resorts valet service had told him, Chloe’s manager, Nancy, had arrived by a commercial flight when she flew into Vegas, leaving Jordan to wonder what had happened to the famousChloe Jet.
“That’s really great news about you and Chloe. I hope this is a second chance for the two of you.” Matthew nervously tapped the steering wheel. “What about Mom and Dad, have you told either of them about your breakdown? Or Bryce.”
Jordan shook his head. He could understand Matthew’s worry. Keeping the news of Jordan’s mental health problems from the rest of the family hadn’t been easy. While he had a lifetime of keeping things secret from his parents, the more open and sharing Matthew had to have felt the heavy burden of lying to their parents. “Not yet. I need to get things with Chloe on more solid ground first. Telling the rest of the Royal family won’t make any difference to what happened last year, but her knowing could impact how Chloe sees me.”
And whether she wants me in her life.
Chloe’s warm kisses were still on his lips when he boarded the jet to Colorado earlier that morning. And he would give anything to keep having his day’s start the same way.
Today, Jordan was in Aspen to see his brother and talk about the stalled development of the Royal Resorts Aspen hotel.
On the outskirts of the town, Matthew slowed the SUV at a sharp corner and turned left. Soon the houses and hotels were left behind. The landscape became one of rocks and trees, with the snow covered mountains forming a stunning backdrop. Jordan hadn’t previously been out to the site, and he was keen to see where Matthew was spending such a large amount of his time. And why he had made such little headway.
A mile or so further on, the trees cleared, and a huge rock faced resort loomed in front of them. “Wow. It looks like that big old lodge at Yosemite, the one we had Sunday lunch at all those years ago,” observed Jordan.
“Yeah, theAhwahnee. That’s the exact same place I immediately thought of when I came here the first time. All that stone and timber.” Matthew let out a sigh. “I just wish this resort was in half as good a condition as the one at Yosemite. If it was, it might be worth saving.”
According to the executive reports Jordan had read, the Aspen resort was going to be demolished and a brand new steel and glass one built on the site.
That was of course if they could get the current owners to sell. Negotiations had been painfully slow, and from what Bryce had mentioned, difficult to the point where Royal Resorts were now having serious reservations about whether they should proceed at all.
Matthew stopped the SUV out the front of the main entrance. He reached over and from the rear seat passenger seat, retrieved two hardhats. Scowling, Jordan took the one he was offered.
“That bad?”
“Bits of drywall and the occasional lump of old ceiling have been known to drop on unsuspecting visitors. The owners only let me have a key and access if I agreed to sign a waiver and wear head protection,” replied Matthew, with a resigned shrug.
They climbed out. Jordan followed his brother up the front steps and into the foyer of the resort. Bits and pieces of broken plaster and glass crunched under his feet. There were a number of broken windows, only some of which had been boarded up.
“How long has the place been empty?”
“About five years. They get the occasional idiot trespassers who come and inflict a spot of damage, but most of the problem comes from the weather. The snow and rain has gotten in under the roof in places.”
The main foyer rose over two floors, and Jordan stood open mouthed as he took it all in. The grand staircase which swept up from the first floor had him thinking of the main staircase from the Titanic. This place had once been magnificent.
Why are we knocking it down, not renovating? This could be a fantastic hotel.
“It’s a bit of a dive, but the land and the area around here is stunning,” said Matthew, bending to pick up an empty vape that someone had obviously tossed away. He held it up. “Sooner or later one of these is going to burn this place down.”
Jordan couldn’t imagine that the sprinkler systems were still in working order. And if the resort did catch alight, it would be some time before anyone realized and probably far too late by the time the fire department arrived.
“Can I tell you something? I love this place. If it were up to me, I would save it. Bring it back to its old glory,” suggested Jordan, his gaze lifting to the ornate but damaged plaster ceiling.
Matthew screwed up his face. “Unfortunately the costing estimates put that way out of any sort of sensible budget. I’ve had to come up with a whole new ultra-modern vision for this site.”
He’s changed.The old Matthew, the one who was all for saving and restoring, would have fought tooth and nail to keep this place.
Glass and steel frames would be an insult to the mountains.
“But all of it is still theoretical,” said Matthew with a shrug. “I can’t get the owners to sell. They are a nightmare.”
“What does Bryce say about this place? I take it he’s been out here.”
As CEO, the final decision would be his, Bryce would be the one taking the project to the board for sign off.
“He still wants to buy it. Says once we get past the owners, any town planning regulations will be a piece of cake compared to what he had to deal with in Europe.”
“Urgh,” huffed Jordan. He had heard the same refrain from their older brother whenever Bryce mentioned his four years in Europe managing the House of Royal resort developments. “Every time he lifted a stone, there was a Roman ruin underneath. And if not, then there was an unexploded World War Two bomb.”
