Page 60 of Too Busy for Love

‘Oh wow. That’s stunning,’ I breathe.

‘Yes and, according to my sister, it actually fits with the vibe of the place perfectly.’

‘So what you’re saying is modern food needs a modern room?’

‘I think so, yes. It also solves a lot of problems.’

‘OK,’ I say after reflecting for a moment. ‘I suggest we pause this room until we have the chef on board, but in principle, I like the idea if we can do it well.’

‘Let’s have a look at the rest of the place then,’ John declares, leading the way back into the lobby.

It takes us a couple of hours to tour the whole hotel, as Ella, John and Noah want to look in every room and discuss the plans for it. In the end, we agree that the standard rooms willhave a common look and feel, but the larger rooms with the sea views will be where we focus on creating something a bit more special to attract a premium price. What I’m most happy about, however, is that most of the issues with the building appear to be cosmetic rather than structural, and the others are talking about it as if it’s a feasible project now. Even John has stopped harrumphing and started writing notes on his pad.

‘Right,’ Abby says as she locks up a while later. ‘Next steps. Ella, I want you to work with Noah and John to put together a report on what we’d need to do to the building. Beatrice, you need to write me a full business proposal with projected costs and revenues. If we’re really going to do this, we’ve got to put a bullet-proof case to my dad. Oh, and you’d better talk to your chef. If we don’t have him on board, we won’t have a USP.’

She’s gone for it and given me an excuse to talk to Jock. I could dance for joy.

24

As soon as I get back to the flat, I send a message to Jock.

I have news…

He’s obviously at work as he doesn’t reply until late afternoon.

Sounds intriguing. Go on.

I smile as I type:

Can I call?

Sure.

You know how it feels when you’ve been in a dark wood, and you step out into the sunshine and automatically turn your face to soak up the warmth? Seeing Jock on my screen is like that. Although we’ve texted, this is the first time we’ve actually talked since leaving Hotel Dufour.

‘How’s Margate?’ he asks.

‘Interesting. I mean, the first impressions aren’t great, but once you start to scratch under the surface, it’s got a lot going for it.’

‘How long are you planning to stay?’ I’ve told him about visiting Abby’s hotel, but not my plan to save it, so this is a reasonable question.

‘I’m not sure,’ I tell him with a smile. ‘I might hang around. Something’s come up, actually.’

‘Don’t tell me, let me guess. You’ve fallen in love with this derelict hotel and you’re conjuring up a plan to reopen it.’

‘How did you know that?’ I ask in amazement.

‘It’s obvious. What do you need from me?’

‘Why should I want anything from you, apart from to talk to you?’

‘Because I know you. If all you wanted was to tell me about your plan, you’d have done it in a message. You’re calling because you want something.’

‘You make me sound like an awful person!’ I exclaim.

‘Sorry, I don’t mean it like that. Let me rephrase it. You’re calling because you want to ask me something, rather than just give me information.’

‘I prefer that,’ I tell him, feeling mollified.

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