Page 22 of The Last Resort
Mia stood in the doorway of the meeting room, her ebony eyes full of mirth.
“I wouldn’t let either of them in here until you’d arrived. The groveling and begging I’ve been subjected to over the past few hours has been nothing short of pathetic.”
Jordan gave her a gasp of mock outrage, while Bryce simply shook his head. Matthew suspected his eldest brother was still minding his manners around Mia since she was rumored to have been instrumental in helping him win over his now fiancée Vivian.
I would love to know what dirt she has on Bryce. It must be good.
His light mood disappeared the second he set eyes on his model. His hands tightened into balls. What had only been at best a 3D computer image now sat before him in all its scaled glory. Matthew’s heart was pounding as he approached the design he had created. The molded and colored plastic couldn’t match the glass and steel of the real thing, but there was no mistaking the emotion it stirred in him.
Tears pricked at his eyes.
Jordan and Bryce moved silently around to the other side of the table. The model was a scale version measuring five feet on every side. Even at this reduced size, it still had an imposing presence.
“It’s definitely a statement piece, and certainly different from all our other resorts, both here in the US and Europe,” offered Bryce.
Matthew slowly nodded. “It has to be, otherwise no one will bother to venture out from Aspen to see it. Or to stay at the hotel.”
He was sure of his design, but the defensive tone in his voice betrayed his insecurities. This was the first major hotel piece he’d put forward at Royal Resorts, and so much was riding on its success. The board had approved his initial designs, but funding and the final go ahead for construction wouldn’t happen unless he could convince both the Aspen planning committee, and the Green Tree Resort’s current owners to support the project.
Matthew’s mouth went dry. Pitching this model to his brothers was a critical test run to the presentation he would soon be making in Colorado.
“The insulated glass will allow our guests to fully experience the light and color of the Colorado wilds, while remaining protected from the elements.” He pointed to another building which sat at the back of the new site. “The main bank of solar panels which cover this entire section of the utilities wing will store enough electricity to power the site for twelve hours in the case of a blackout, while the rest of the time it will feed back into the grid. Every spot in the main parking garage will have access for electric powered vehicles to charge at a fast rate.”
The plan would be to add more solar panels over time once the site was closer to completion.
“And of course all communications will be linked through to our Royal company satellite. A global first for any resort. It will mean we can hold world class conferences and our attendees won’t be scrambling for signal.”
He waved his hand over some other parts of the design. “The water is all recycled. Um. Sewerage treated. Um.” He was all but spewing his speech, annoyed with himself for letting his nerves get the better of him.
Stop babbling and take a deep breath.
The rest of his partly written speech was more detailed. It needed practice, but having the model in front of him would help calm his mind on the big day of the council meeting.
I can’t let anyone, or anything rattle me during the presentation.
His gaze tracked Jordan’s movements as his brother slowly walked around the table, stopping every so often to take a closer look at the model. Jordan’s cautious reaction to the design was not unexpected. The two of them had long had a complicated relationship. For many years they’d been closer to frenemies than supportive siblings. And while Jordan’s mental problems over the past couple of years and eventual nervous breakdown had helped reframe that connection, old habits still died hard.
“Go on, tell me what you are thinking, I have to know,” pleaded Matthew.
His brother crossed his arms. “I’m just not sure about it. I love the whole Louvre vibe, what with the glass pyramid, but this is Aspen not Paris. Aren’t you just a little bit worried that this is going to look like a space ship has landed in the middle of the mountains?”
Matthew bit down hard on his bottom lip. As he did, Mia let out a loudtskof disapproval. “Jordan, I think you need to see beyond the obvious. We must build something that people will talk about. If it does resemble a space ship, which it doesn’t, that will only serve to attract attention. And getpeople deciding they have to come to Aspen and see the resort for themselves.”
He let his assistant manager speak her truth. Under Bryce’s new leadership the team at Royal Resorts were being actively encouraged to share their opinions in meetings. Their father, Edward Royal, the previous CEO, had been more traditional in his management. He’d been less interested in hearing the thoughts of others.
To his credit, Jordan listened carefully to Mia’s words before responding. “I’m worried about what the locals are going to think. This new building means Royal Resorts is going to tear down what I expect is a beloved old ski lodge. An historical link with the past.”
This new reflective version of Jordan was still taking some getting used to—he was a long way from the wild billionaire playboy of his younger years. Sobriety and the love of a good woman had seen positive changes in Matthew’s brother.
“I will take your considered comments onboard, thank you, Jordan,” said Matthew.
Bryce stood back from the table, hands on hips. He hadn’t said he loved the design, but nor had he said he hated it. “Get this through council first, then let’s see what we might do to tweak the design to fit in a little more with the location. The Brocks will no doubt also have one or two things to say about this radical design.”
Matthew and Mia exchanged a look. The boss was hedging his bets. Mia moved toward the door. “Excuse me, I have a meeting scheduled.”
As soon as she had left the room, Jordan made his way over to where Matthew stood, less than thrilled at the response his design had received. “Look, I’m sorry if that came out as being unsupportive, especially in light of all that you did for me during the Laguna Beach resort disaster. But I didn’t want to just stand here and say I thought the conceptwas fantastic. Don’t get me wrong, the glass and steel is really cool, I’m just not entirely sold on the idea of tearing down the old building.”
Jordan had been out to the site early last year and voiced the same opinion at the time. Matthew also had his own concerns about losing the original Green Tree Resort, but the financial case to keep the old building simply couldn’t be made. The board of Royal Resorts had made their position clear, they wouldn’t support an expensive renovation.
