Page 38 of The Last Resort
“He’s a hotel accountant. How can he possibly afford something like this?”
A niggle of doubt stirred in the back of her mind. The expensive travel bag at the airport. The fancy restaurant. And now this.
She knew all about men who lived beyond their means. Her father was the poster boy for expensive and extravagant taste.
Perhaps it was an investment piece, and it was the only scarf which Matthew owned. Plenty of people worked a capsule wardrobe. The olive green was a timeless shade. He could get many years wear out of the scarf. Considering his occupation, he’d probably done a spreadsheet to work out the payback period for such an item. Making a sound financial case before buying it.
Which made his lending it to her this morning a hopelessly romantic gesture. He cared so much about her that he was prepared to trust her with an expensive personal item, while he went cold.
But as she opened the car door and a blast of biting air chilled her face, she couldn’t hold back the sense of unease which crept through her. She’d made mistakes with her father. Ignored the obvious signs of him living well beyond his means and had refused to accept the truth until it was all too late.
And she’d been blindsided by her ex.
Please lord don’t let Matthew be another male who’s too good to be true.
The universe had to be ready to cut her some slack.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The 3D model had cost Royal Resorts a pretty penny, but every time he looked at it, Matthew knew it had been well worth the money. His glass and steel vision had come to life, albeit in miniature scale, but he would challenge anyone who dared to say it wasn’t a fantastic design. Even Jordan with his obvious reservations about the new resort had been impressed. For his brother to offer any sort of praise was nothing short of a miracle.
This is all my own design. My work. I am proud of what I’ve done.
Now he just had to build the real thing. Tonight was the big test. If he could dazzle the planning committee with his presentation, and they went ahead and approved his design, the Brock family would surely have to cave and agree to sell.
No one else will take on the site. I must make sure I say that in my speech.
If he managed to pull off the deal, then the fifteen-thousand-dollar investment he’d sunk into the model would be nothing compared to the millions of dollars the new Royal Resorts Aspen would bring to his family’s company.
As soon as Rachel had left this morning, Matthew unlocked the door of the second bedroom and went to check on the model. He’d taken a few more photos and sent them to Bryce, along with the note.
Counting down the hours
Big day. Big plans. Go for it
Bryce had always believed in him, encouraged him to dream his dreams. His brother had been the one to steer him away from going down the obvious path which led into company management. He’d encouraged Matthew to enroll at Cornell University and pursue a degree in architecture.
Another message pinged on his cell. This one was from Jordan.
Chloe says I have 2 B nice 2 U. Good luck, bro
Thanks
U R still a pain in my ass
Always
With his brothers’ good wishes warming his heart, Matthew spent the rest of the morning dismantling the model and carefully packing the pieces back into their custom-built cases. If the project did get the go ahead, this model would be making a few trips back and forth between Aspen and New York before construction began. He couldn’t risk having it damaged.
There were fourteen pieces in all. They slotted perfectly together to form a site model some five feet by five feet. Hecould have gone smaller but worried it would have lacked the details that he felt it needed in order to give the all-important wow factor. The only way the planning committee were going to give him approval was if they fully understood the breadth of his vision.
Later that afternoon, he followed the courier van as it delivered the boxes to the city council planning offices. Once he and his model were inside a private ante room close to the main meeting space, Matthew called Mia.
“How’s it going? Nervous?” she asked. If anyone knew how much this project meant to him it was his assistant manager.
Matthew’s mouth was dry, and his hands were sticky and clammy. “Terrified, but eager to get this done and dusted. I think the video you put together will seal things. If I haven’t already said it, you are an amazing talent, Mia.”
Mia, who had a background in tourism marketing, had created a kick ass two-minute video presentation which superimposed a 3D version of the model at the Aspen site. Last summer she’d filmed the original lodge and using AI technology had replaced it with the new building. Matthew had later taken footage during the winter months. They’d created a year-round view of how the new hotel and resort would look like once it was completed. Anyone watching the video would think that the new resort had already been built.
