Page 43 of Bubbles at the Beach House Hotel

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The next morning, Rhondaand I met in our office. After catching one another up on personal news, we discussed hotel issues.

“Manny has the landscaping back in order after the storm. We might want to discuss building a storage unit next to the sundeck,” I said.

“Why don’t we go down to the beach and look at the area,” said Rhonda. “It’ll do me good to have a breath of fresh air. Drew is better now, but when he’s sick, he clings to me.”

“At eight, he still needs a lot of attention. Such a sweet kid.”

“Yes, even when he’s sick, he’s easier to handle than his sister,” said Rhonda.

I couldn’t help chuckling. Willow, at ten, was very much like her mother.

Rhonda and I left the office and walked to the beach. The minute she stepped onto the sand, Rhonda lifted her arms and gulped in the fresh, salty air.

Beside her, I felt my body lose its tenseness. Relaxed now, I walked toward the water. The beach was strewn with seaweed and other items tossed ashore from the storm. Two of Manny’s landscapers were raking up the seaweed in front of the hotel.

The waves washed into shore with a little extra force, still exhibiting signs of the storm, which had now died down. I couldn’t stop looking down at the sand to see if I could find a treasure. I was still studying the ground when Rhonda said, “Here comes Brock.”

“Well, I see you can take care of your own property but can’t be neighborly and assign a couple of your staff to help me,” said Brock.

Rhonda placed her hands on her hips and stared at him incredulously. “What is this you’re talking about? Are you fucking crazy?”

“I didn’t bother telling you about our conversation,” I told Rhonda. “It was so ridiculous that I didn’t want to rile you up.” I turned to Brock. “You already have your answer from both of us now. Just drop the subject.”

Brock shook his head. “You’d better be careful what you plan next. I’ll be sure to find a reason to block you.” He turned on his heel and marched away, his feet pounding the sand like a pouting schoolboy.

“Is he just stupid, or does he enjoy aggravating everyone else?” muttered Rhonda. “He actually asked that of us?”

“Yes, it seems he can’t find a landscaping company to work for him after insulting most of the staff at local companies.”

“I guess he’s just stupid,” said Rhonda. “Let’s look at the addition we want to make to the sundeck space and pray he doesn’t get wind of it.”

We walked over to the sundeck. It was a moneymaker for us, but being able to store chairs and other equipment nearby would make it much easier when we wanted it cleared for different functions. And a storage shed would’ve made it easier to handle chairs and equipment during the last storm.

We had a talented team of architects who usually came up with simple, attractive solutions to any problems we had. Standing next to the sundeck, I could see how we could add a space to the side of the building. Something that wouldn’t obstruct the view approaching it from either the hotel or from the beach.

Rhonda and I discussed it and agreed on what we wanted. “If we’re adding to a building we already have, it shouldn’t be up to the Neighborhood Association to approve it. A separate building might be different.”

“I agree,” I said, feeling strongly about it. “We’ll quietly get the work done. No fuss, no muss.”

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