Page 12 of Meet Me at the Grand

“Seb Jonathon. Remember him?” Dad caught his eye, his brow furrowed. “He was my college roommate at NYU.”

“Yeah, of course. We visited his family a few times in New York when I was younger.”

“Right. And I don’t know if you rememberthis, but he took off work for two weeks and flew out here to help with the funeral and other arrangements after…”

Yeah. He remembered that too. Liam cleared his throat. “So what’s the project?”

“Renovating a hotel on Jonathon Island. That’s where Seb and his family live now. Upper Michigan peninsula. Small town. Not really our normal place. And the deal’s different too.”

“In what way?”

“Well, look. No other developer would touch this, but we owe the Jonathons a lot. Seb, he held us together when your mother…” Dad swallowed, looked away again. Stuck his hands inside the pockets of his wrinkled gray pants. “Thing is, we will take on the initial expense of rebuilding the hotel. Then, along with the town, which now owns the hotel, we’ll sell it and split the profits. Hopefully, we’ll recoup whatever we spent on the restoration.”

“Hopefully?” Liam paused. “Dad, I respect that Seb did a lot for us when Mom died. But how can he ask you to risk our company’s reputation and financial security? We have to provide for fifteen employees.”

“Now, I’m not entering into this deal lightly. I’ve thought about all of that, and I think there’s great potential there.”

“Why do they even need us to do this? Can’t they just hire us like any other client?”

“The town has had a big economic setback after the pandemic. The hope is that rebuilding this hotel will bring tourism back.” Dad rocked on his toes, blew out a breath. “But of course, nothing’s guaranteed.”

“In other words, we might completely lose our shirt with this thing.”

“It’s a minor possibility.”

“Dad—”

“I’ve already made up my mind, Liam. We’re doing this. If we don’t have loyalty, we’ve got nothing in this life.”

“Yeah, Dad, I know you’re loyal, and you’ve created a good business by remaining that way. But you’re so close to retirement. What happens if this deal goes south and it somehow bankrupts the company?” Liam started to pace, then stopped, looking Dad dead in the eye. “I know you. You’d rather take care of your employees than yourself if that ever happened. And you’ve already shown that you will work yourself ragged to the detriment of your own health.”

Dad frowned. “That was one time, Liam.”

“Yeah, well, one time was enough.” And next time? Dad might not be so lucky.

His dad placed a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Son, I know there’s a lot at stake, which is why I need you to be the one to go. It’ll mean more to Seb if a Stone goes.”

“I’m not changing your mind on this, am I?”

“I don’t know if you realize this or not, but your old man is stubborn.”

Liam huffed out a laugh. “Think I caught that.” He lightly punched his dad in the upper arm. “All right, Dad. I’ll go. But it sounds like this is a multi-month project. And I can’t stay that long. Not if I’m going to head the California hotel project here with Travis.” He lifted his eyebrows in challenge.

His dad chuckled. “Methinks the stubborn apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Yes, fine. You go, get the project started, draw up the plans, and stay until they’re approved. Once demo starts, we’ll get Rob out there. Hopefully we’ll be in, be out, and make a tidy profit in the end. And I’ll feel good about repaying an old debt.”

Liam’s heart rate started to slow. Okay, fine. He could do this and probably be back by the weekend. With a few late nights, he could draw up the most modern and luxurious of hotel plans in his sleep.

Especially with the right inducement. “So you’re willing to consider our proposal when I get back?”

“Absolutely.”

All right then. “When do I leave?”

“That’s the thing. I need you on a plane bound for Jonathon Island tomorrow.”

“Good thing I’m already packed.”

ChapterThree

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