Page 3 of Her Billionaire Hero
Jasper’s eyebrow cocked as he browsed, and then he looked at me. “You really think you can get people to pay over a thousand bucks a night to stay at this place?”
“It’s all-inclusive. That amount covers the room, the meals, the spa treatments, and whatever else they might want. I currently manage one similar to this. Iknowpeople will pay that price.”
“Interesting,” Tyrell said as he took out his phone and started tapping away on it. “If you booked even half of the hundred rooms you’ve got on the plan, then you’d still come out pretty good.”
“I’m not sure about the all-inclusive idea,” Cash said. “You’ve got two bars in that plan. People can drink in Texas, Baldwyn. You could go broke giving out unlimited alcohol.”
“The fine print is where we take care of that. There are limits. We will not offer buffets or open bars. Our one and only restaurant will offer meals. Our bar will offer up to five free drinks. After that, if our guests wish for more, it will be added to their bill. The same goes for any food they want over their included meals.” I wasn’t new to this game. I’d done it for years. “I’m thirty-five now and started working at a Houston resort fresh out of high school. As an errand boy, I learned my way around the place as I went to college and learned how to run the place. I went from one resort to another, gaining experience as I went.”
Patton patted me on the back. “Our oldest brother made the industry sound so interesting that we all took jobs at the various hotels, restaurants, and resorts in our city. We all eventually went to college to gain degrees to help us move up. And its paid off. We’re all doing very well. And, as you can see, the oldest of us is only thirty-five. Stone’s the youngest at twenty-four and he’s worked with world-class chefs. We can make this work. And that means you will make even more money if you decide to finance this endeavor.”
Jasper’s brow furrowed. Tyrell sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. Cash tapped his fingers on the table. None of them wore a frown, which I found promising.
Standing, Tyrell gave me a nod. “Can you give us a minute? We’ll be right back.”
“Of course.” I stood and smiled as they began to leave. “Hey.” I wanted to make sure they knew how we all felt. “No matter what you come back here and tell us, we’re very glad to have met you and this won’t affect the relationships we hope to build with you men, as our cousins. So, don’t feel like you have to say yes to us.”
Patton stood up next to me. “But don’t think we don’t want to hear a yes from you.”
Stone added, “We can make this work. I have faith in that. But what matters most is that you know you’ve got family. Family understands the word no. At least some of us do.”
Nodding, they left us alone.
We sat in silence until they returned. I honestly had no idea what the verdict would be. But I was ready for anything. Or so I thought.
Sitting down, the three of them looked at us all before Jasper said, “Let’s do this, gentlemen.”
Stunned, we all sat there looking at the men who sat across the table from us.
Cash said, “We’re going to give you all the money you need to make this a success.”
I felt the room tilt, then spin. Then a solid clap on my shoulder brought me back to earth.
Cohen stood behind me with an answer for our cousins. “Thank you. We graciously accept your offer. Together, we will make this work for all of us!”
I’m going to be a business owner. I’m going to have my own resort!
Chapter Two
Sloan
One, two, three, four, five—deep breath.
Hands on the steering wheel, stomach in knots, brain on fire—and all because I was about to start my very first job as a structural engineer.
Whispers Resort and Spa would be my premier project—one I prayed would lead to a prestigious career. Proving my ex-husband wrong about women belonging in the engineering field was one of my top goals in life.
Preston Rivers and my father were into some sort of business venture together and Dad brought him to the house for dinner one evening years ago. I was only eighteen. I’d just started as a freshman at the University of Texas in Austin where I’d grown up.
Preston found it hard to hide his interest in me, a thing my father didn’t like at all. Who could blame him? The man was his age, after all—twenty-four years my senior.
Preston tried to hammer into my head that I was wasting my time by taking engineering classes in college. He had no trouble letting my dad know that my current goal would never be attainable, and he should make me change majors. Lucky for me, Dad didn’t care what I majored in, as long as I went to college.
Preston and I had already begun dating a few months before Dad moved away to Greece to help his company with a start-up there. My father was extremely unhappy about our relationship though. But just like my college major, he kept his nose out of my personal relationships as well. Plus, Preston always seemed to have my best interests at heart and treated my father and me with the utmost respect.
Not that our relationship moved fast enough to freak my father out anyway. It took Preston four years to decide that he wanted to ask me to marry him. I said yes, of course. With my mother out of the picture and not having a soul to claim as my family anywhere near me, I was eager to make one of my own. So, Preston and I became husband and wife only a month after I received my degree.
I was ready to start looking for a job shortly after we returned from Greece where we took our honeymoon and visited my father for a couple of weeks. But Preston nixed the idea, as he thought we’d be starting a family and he wanted me to stay home with our babies. Working away from home wouldn’t be in the picture forhiswife and the mother ofhischildren.
