Page 21 of Holiday Reunion

He could have argued against her. He probably should have. Money wasn’t the reason he’d come home to Hollyberry Harbor.

It wasn’t. Why would it be? There were no guarantees that his changes would actually make his company the money that it was projected to make.

Then again, he was fooling himself if he didn’t think it wasn’t a factor.

Every single one of these men who sat around the table had a job to do. And that job was to make money for his company. They were hired for that purpose.

Risks weren’t to be taken without high rewards. That was why the Lake Harbor project had been run through enough simulations and data tests.

Sarah had to be right about one thing. The men and women he worked with on this project weren’t doing it out of love for Hollyberry Harbor. They planned on making money, and a lot of it.

James shifted in his seat, hating how the realization only made him feel worse. No longer did it matter that James had wanted to fix something he had fond memories of as a child. No one cared that he was trying to breathe life into a town that may or may not have needed his help. Everyone wanted stability and that was what he offered.

Sarah had wanted something different.

“Mr. Stetson.” The head of the board members settled into the seat to James’s right. “I have to say, I’m impressed by what you’ve done with Lake Harbor so far.”

James stared at him with confusion. “We’ve barely made any changes.”

“I’m referring to all the work you put into that Christmas festival.”

“You visited?” James’s confusion continued to grow.

“Of course I visited. I had to see what we were dealing with. Tell me, do you think we’ll be able to convince the mayor to host the festival at the harbor every year? It appears to be a wonderful draw to that area.”

“I’m—not sure,” James murmured.

“You look into it, will you? I know you have a rapport with that town. I think it would be a great way to stay relevant. People love Christmas.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “They do.” His thoughts went reeling. He glanced around the room at the signs and posters filled with plans and statistics. Everything he saw offered the guestssomething more modern—activities and shopping they could get anywhere. But what didn’t it offer? Something unique.

He frowned at an illustration of the strip of stores where Sarah’s bakery was located. She’d struggled so much to get that bakery on its feet. It wasn’t until that last night that they’d finally saw an uptick in their revenue.

The vision he’d had for Lake Harbor wasn’t quite fitting with what everyone had come out to see over the last week and a half. Maybe James had been wrong.

“Stetson?”

He glanced over to the board member.

“Is everything alright?”

James shook his head. “I don’t believe it is.”

The room went completely silent. All eyes were on him, waiting for him to explain himself, holding their breath as one.

Slowly, James got to his feet, a realization finally hitting him hard in the chest. “This is wrong.”

“I’m sorry?”

Several voices started speaking at once, murmurs and mumbles with one another around the conference table.

James moved away from his seat and closer to the posters that were propped on the easels. He pointed to the first one, the one with Sarah’s bakery. “It’s all wrong.”

“Sir, we haven’t had time to draw up something different for the bakery. But rest assured we will be making changes now that we’ve acquired it.”

“No, you misunderstand.” James faced the group of men—the same group he’d pitched the original idea to. He knew the risks of proposing a change, and yet there was nothing else he could do. He needed to make a couple more changes.

THIRTEEN

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