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Prologue
Proposed conditions of sale:
1. Purchase of land is to the value of two million dollars.
2. The existing lodge cannot be demolished within ten years of sale.
3. No more than twenty people may be accommodated on the property at any time.
4. The waterfall trail must be maintained for visitor access.
5. The cabin may continue to be tenanted by Tione Kingi and his dogs (Trevor, Zee, Bella, and Pixie) for as long as they wish to stay.
6. The purchaser accepts responsibility for the care and feeding of the cat that lives beneath the lodge for the remainder of its natural life.
7. Any attractive male guest may be required, upon invitation from the Bridge Club, to attend one of their weekly gatherings (shirt optional, but not recommended).
Sterling Knight scannedthe ridiculous list of demands he’d received from Katarina Hopa, who owned the beachfront lodge his company wanted to acquire, and returned to item seven, arching a brow. He wondered who was responsible for determining whether a man met the criteria for being “attractive”—and also what drug Mrs. Hopa had been under the influence of when she’d penned this letter.
If he agreed to her conditions of sale, the property would be rendered useless. His boss wouldn’t be able to develop it, and Sterling wouldn’t be able to prove how worthy he was of the great responsibility bestowed upon him. He shifted in the seat of his car, took a pen from his shirt pocket, and tapped each item in turn. Were there any he could accept?
For starters, the market value of the land was only a quarter of what she’d requested. He’d stopped by the place on the way to the cafe where he was scheduled to meet her in five minutes, and the building wasn’t in great condition. He couldn’t leave it standing because it would be an eyesore to the wealthy clientele he intended to attract.
Number three, he could work with. Keeping a resort on the smaller side would add to its perceived exclusivity. Number four was also a possibility, although he hadn’t seen the trail, so he didn’t know what he’d be working with. Still, having private access to a waterfall would be another drawcard for guests. Demand number five was impossible, as was six. If they demolished the lodge, the cat would be homeless. He’d do the right thing, though, and have someone catch the creature and take it to a shelter. Maybe this Tione guy. He sounded like he’d know how to deal with a cat.
He eyed the seventh request, rapping the pen against the paper as he thought. Who were the Bridge Club, and why did they want access to handsome guests? The whole thing sounded shady to him. Quite possibly illegal. He put a strike through the words, then tucked the paper into his pocket, adjusted his suit, grabbed his briefcase, and climbed out of the company car, locking it behind him. Haven Bay seemed like a safe little town, but hundreds of tourists passed through each day, and he wasn’t taking any chances.
He made his way into the town square, a cobblestoned area speckled with old-fashioned streetlamps like something out of a quaint English village, and searched for Cafe Oasis, where Mrs. Hopa had asked to meet him. Spotting it on the opposite side of the square, he made his way past a statue and pushed his way in.
A doorbell chimed as he entered, and he only just managed not to flinch in surprise—it had been a long time since he’d heard anything of the kind since they weren’t popular in busier Auckland stores. The cafe’s interior was charming, he supposed, if you liked wooden floors and patterned wallpaper. He didn’t see anyone who looked like he believed Mrs. Hopa would, and he was debating whether to order coffee when the table nearest him fell silent, six gray-haired ladies turning to stare with expressions ranging from curious to hostile.
One of them, a cherub-cheeked biddy in a pink tracksuit, slowly rose and shuffled over. She was less than five feet tall, but her piercing blue eyes skewered him, threatening all kinds of harm that should have made him laugh, but oddly sent a cold shiver down his spine.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Knight,” she said in a tone that wouldn’t have been out of place in a face-off from an old western movie. He half expected a tumbleweed to blow by.
“Mrs. Hopa?” he asked, surprised. He’d assumed the Katarina Hopa he’d be meeting was the same one who’d risen to fame in the women’s rally circuit—it wasn’t a common name, after all—but perhaps he’d been mistaken.
“No.” The old woman’s voice was steely, her apricot lips pursed together. “I’m Betty. I represent Mrs. Hopa.”
“Oh.” He glanced back over at the table she’d come from. “Is she here?”
“I’m afraid not.” Betty crossed her arms, scowling up at him. “You’ll be dealing with us today.”
“No offense, ma’am, but I prefer to deal directly with my business contacts rather than an intermediary.”
“Too bad.” Her eyes narrowed. “If I’ve learned anything in all my years, it’s that we don’t always get what we want. As far as you’re concerned, today we are Mrs. Hopa. We have her best interests at heart, and to be blunt, she doesn’t want or need to speak to you.” Then she took him by the arm, led him to her cronies, and claimed the last proper chair, leaving him with a stool that had no back and was half a foot shorter than the others.
He suppressed a laugh. The wily woman was trying Psychology 101 tricks to put him at a disadvantage. “Nice to meet you all,” he said, nodding to each person in turn. “I’m Sterling Knight, and I represent Lockwood Holdings.”
“We know who you are,” one of them snapped, leaning across to glare at him. The set of her jaw and folds of her face reminded him of a bull terrier. “Tell us what you want.”
He sat back. “Aren’t you going to introduce yourselves to me?”
“No,” the old bulldog growled. “That’s not pertinent to this conversation. Tell us why you want Kat’s property.”
Judging from the determined expressions around the table, he wouldn’t be making any ground until he gave them something to work with. That was fine by him. All negotiations required a bit of give on both sides.
“My employer would like to purchase Mrs. Hopa’s property for a competitive price to redevelop the site into a five-star resort.”
