Page 1 of The Billionaire's Kiss
Chapter One
Warner
Whispers Resort bustled with activity as we celebrated the second anniversary of opening day. We’d awarded every guest who’d come the first day we were open with credit on every anniversary so they would return each year and join us to celebrate another year of success. And we had been extremely successful in our first year.
Along with celebrating, my brothers and I—the resort’s owners—met annually to discuss what role each of us had played to help the business grow. Somehow, I’d made it last to the meeting in the main conference room where my four brothers had already congregated.
“Finally,” my youngest brother, Stone, said as he took his seat at the round table, a cup of steaming coffee in one hand and a pastry in the other. “I’d like to get this over with.”
Grabbing a coffee and donut for myself, I apologized, “Sorry about that. It’s just that this place is hard to get around on days like this. There are people everywhere out there. It’s insane.” I took my seat as my brothers took theirs.
Baldwyn, the oldest, brought the meeting to order. “Patton, you take the minutes.” He pushed him the pad of papers and pencil as he was seated next to him.
We sat around the table in order of birth, which we’d chosen carefully to make us all feel like equals in the business. Baldwyn, Patton, me, Cohen, then Stone. As equals, we were to put in equal amounts of effort. And we all did—mostly.
As Patton jotted down our names, I began the process. “So, Baldwyn, can you tell us what you’ve done this past year to help grow Whispers Resort and Spa?”
“As you all know, it’s my job to bring in guests from around the United States. I’ve gone to conventions in each state this year.” He looked around the table at each one of us. “I’ve found that going to the conventions has increased what I like to refer to as our non-local clientele by twenty percent compared to our projections for our first year. As a matter of fact, I’d like to hold a hotel industry convention here sometime in the future. Do any of you agree or disagree with this idea?”
I was impressed. “I like the idea. Maybe we can hold a couple of conventions in the coming year. Like one for national hotels which you could head up. Then we could also do one for international hotels, and I could head up that one.”
Cohen, Baldwyn, and I each held degrees in business management. Cohen’s job was to oversee the entire resort and spa—he supervised all the department managers. When he heard my suggestion, his eyes turned bright with dollar signs. “Those two functions would bring in tons of revenue. I also like that idea.”
Patton was an interior designer, and he too lit up like a sparkler on the fourth of July. “I could hold a convention for interior designers too.”
Cohen liked what he heard and nodded with approval. “That makes three conventions in one year. I can almost already smell the money.” He looked at Stone, who was gingerly stirring his coffee with a tiny straw. “How about a convention for chefs, Stone?”
“I don’t care to head up anything like that. I prefer togoto the conventions, notrunthem.” Stone was the laziest of all five of us. His one job was to oversee the managers of the restaurants, cafes, and bars we had at the resort.
Trying to entice him into doing a bit more than he usually did, I said, “You know, if you host a convention, you’ll get to meet other chefs from around the world, and that just might inspire you. You should be cooking in this resort, not merely overseeing it.” Stone was an amazing chef, if only he’d apply himself more.
Not bothering to even look at me, he simply shook his head. “Not yet, Warner. I’m only twenty-six. Give me some time to find my feet in the world of cooking, will ya?”
“You worked with chefs in Houston for nearly five years before we moved to Austin. Since we’ve been here, you haven’t worked with anyone.” I’d been silently noting his lack of enthusiasm since the move, and it had me worried. “Aren’t you interested in cooking anymore?”
“I cook at home all the time. I cook for my friends often, Warner. I’m just trying to work out my own unique style before I ask for a restaurant here is all. I want it to be perfect, and I want the dishes I make to wow our guests. These things take time.”
“Spoken like a true artist,” Patton said as he shifted his eyes to me. “Warner, Stone and I don’t think the same way you, Baldwyn, and Cohen do. Our work thrives on creativity, while you guys are rooted in numbers. He’s doing well at handling the things he’s taking care of right now. We don’t need to push him.”
He’d always taken up to defend our youngest brother, especially when he was slacking. “Okay, I’ll let it go—for now.” If I knew nothing else, I knew that Patton would defend Stone like a lioness defends her cubs.
Baldwyn moved the meeting on, asking me, “And how did you grow our business this last year, Warner?”
I was happy to make my report. “Well, I didn’t attend conventions the way you did, big brother. I used the internet to reel in all the fish I’ve brought to our table. I’ve pulled in ten groups from Asian countries. I also brought in guests from Spain, Italy, and even India. At the moment, I’m corresponding with a group from Ireland. It’s a large group, too. Twenty people from a town called Kenmare who want to pay a visit to our fair city, and they’ve expressed interest in staying at our resort while they’re here.”
“That’s awesome,” Cohen said with a smile. “It’s good to see how our individual approaches have paid off. If we keep working like this, I see more resorts in our future.”
“I agree,” Baldwyn said.
Patton oversaw the spa side of the place. “I’ve brought in business for the spa through the internet as well.” He held up one finger as an idea struck him. “Ah, we can add one more convention to the list, Cohen. How about a spa convention? That way, I could gain some more knowledge about the industry and make improvements to our facilities here.”
“I think I’ve got my work cut out for me this coming year,” Cohen said as he shook his head. “Well, at least that means we’ll make even more profit next year.”
We’d already paid our cousins from Carthage nearly half the money we’d borrowed from them to start the business. Within the next year or two, we would pay them off entirely. It felt good to be part of something successful. It felt good to be working with my brothers, too.
We were a tight bunch. Even though we didn’t always agree or think alike, we still had a bond that seemed unbreakable. I suppose when you have no parents to make sure the family stays close, the children have to take it upon themselves to knit themselves together.
In the vein of keeping peace in the family, I asked Stone, “So, how about you make us dinner one night this coming week to show us how your menu ideas are coming along?”
