Page 27 of Taming the CEO

"Right. I have to say, I didn't realize you boys would be so against me coming back to Boston."

"Really? You thought that after you destroyed everyone's lives, we would want you back here?"

There was a pause, and then he said, "That was a long time ago."

"It took us years to rebuild Whitley Industries, Dad. Years. You left it in shambles."

"But now you're all doing brilliantly, judging by how much my shares were worth. Anyway, I'm calling with good news. At least, I think you'll take it as good news."

"I'm listening."

"I've decided to open a hotel here in Australia. I got your message loud and clear."

I exhaled sharply. Fuck yes.

"That's good. I wish you all the best."

Truly, I did. I hoped he succeeded and built an empire for himself. I just didn't want him anywhere around us.

"The same to you and Gabe," he said.

Nothing more was said, and after he hung up, I focused on the road. There was no need for him to actually inform me of his plans, so I appreciated that he did. I hadn't even realized it, but I'd been on edge ever since this whole debacle with Essex, anticipating his next move. In the past, I’d been the one to keep tabs on him, but now Gabe was spearheading the task.

I decided to push it to the back of my mind once I arrived in town.

We'd agreed on building a temporary structure on the premises where we could meet with the architect and the construction group to discuss business. Currently, my brothers and I were still discussing the outdoor area. Since the plans for the actual hotel were already finished, construction would start soon. Work on the distillery would begin later. Luckily, I wasn’t involved in that at all—it was all Gabe’s deal.

We spent about an hour discussing the landscaping on the property we actually owned. Then he pulled up our potential plans for Samuel and Cami’s land.

"Obviously, this involves actually getting the neighboring property," he said. "If not, I'll discard all this and start from scratch."

"We'll get it," I said confidently. "But I have a request." I looked straight at him, fully aware that my brothers wouldn't let me live this down. "I want to keep the land, especially the trees, as is on the neighboring property. One of the reasons the owners don’t want to sell is that we're cutting down too much of it.”

Aiden, the architect, frowned, glancing down at his laptop. "I need some time to think this over. Generally speaking, everything's possible. It's just a matter of cost."

I looked up at my brothers. Leo frowned, probably confused, but Gabe gave me a shit-eating grin. "I like where you're going with this." Then he glanced at Aiden. "The cost isn't a problem."

"Are you going to fill me in?" Leo asked.

"Samuel will be more inclined to sell if we can preserve the land," I replied.

Leo's expression instantly changed from confused to amused. "Samuel or Cami?"

"Both."

"Let me get this straight," Aiden said. "You want to preserve the adventure park too?"

I shook my head. "No. We'll remove it, but we’d like to be more considerate with the vegetation, the trees and such.” I was certain Cami would be more inclined to consider the offer if we didn’t bulldoze all her white cedar trees.

Despite the way things went down last time I saw her, something in her beckoned to me. Her protectiveness toward her dad, and even her connection with this place. She and I were similar in some aspects, just as Gran had pointed out. I cared about building a legacy; she wanted to preserve that of her family. I was usually an opportunistic bastard when it came to business, letting numbers decide. But in this case, I needed to approach things differently.

"Well, well," Leo said. "I’ll mark this day on the calendar."

Gabe whistled. "I agree."

Aiden was looking around the table at us as if we'd all lost our minds. Maybe I had, but I also had a good feeling about this.

"How fast can you draft up a new plan?" I inquired.

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