Page 38 of The Mistakes I've Made
“Well then,” I said, feeling defeated, “I guess you have him pegged.”
He must have noticed the change in my voice because his next words were softer, less direct. “Has he always been like that?”
“You mean, always Stephen Hart, super CEO?”
“Yeah.”
I tried to think back, tried to remember a time when he was a father first.
“When I was little,” I said. “Before there was a Hart International. When it was just Hart Hotels. There were only a few of them back then. Quaint little island hotels my grandma and grandpa had opened right after World War II. My grandmother was a native of Oahu, and my grandpa was stationed there. Back then, he was more of a normal dad. Chill, you know?”
“Wait, your grandfather was stationed at Pearl Harbor during World War II?” This bit of information piqued his interest.
I nodded. “He rarely talked about it, but I know he was trained as a medic, but after everything he saw and went through during the attack, he never wanted to work in a hospital again. So, after he married my grandmother, they purchased a small inn and then another one years later. I think they had maybe four or five when my father took over the business, and he kept it going that way for years.”
“What changed? Why your father’s sudden thirst for power?”
“The threat of failure, I think,” I answered. “I don’t remember it well, but I know from public record that the hotels weren’t doing well, and the company was facing bankruptcy. My father must have been racked with guilt over the idea of losing the legacy he’d been given.”
“Mmm,” Taylor agreed. “I know that feeling. The fishing business has been near ruin more times than I can count.”
“Yeah?” I found myself saying. “And what did you do?”
“We fought back,” he answered. “We changed gears, thought up new strategies. Adapted.”
I nodded in agreement, becoming more impressed with this man with each passing minute. “And that’s exactly what Stephen Hart did. He took my grandparents’ cozy island hotels and turned them into billions.”
It had been a gamble, but it’d paid off big time.
“So, why didn’t he stop there? He’d obviously reclaimed your family’s legacy and secured your future. What drove him to go on to dominate the world?”
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully, remembering all the times I’d wished for a father and seen an empty seat at my ballet recital. Or a voice mail instead of a hug. “I guess he wanted more.”
“We’re here,” Taylor said softly as we came to a full stop.
I looked around, seeing a small house to my right. But it was the bright white fence that captured my immediate attention. My eyes followed it down a long path until it reached the end.
“Wow,” I said.
“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?”
I simply nodded, my feet already moving forward toward the massive white lighthouse in front of me.
“I saw it from the sky when I flew in, but honestly, I kind of forgot about it.”
“I figured. Come on. Let me give you a history lesson.”
He took my hand, something I hadn’t expected but didn’t mind. His fingers wove between mine, so warm and sure as he pulled me down the wooden path toward our destination. Every step only made the lighthouse bigger and more impressive in my eyes.
My expertise might lie in the interiors, but it didn’t stop me from appreciating the beauty of this old lady.
When we got to the base of the lighthouse, Taylor let go of my hand. I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointment coil around my heart and then a quick shot of annoyance that I’d even felt anything at all.
“Now,” he said quite formally, “what you see before you isn’t the prettiest lighthouse in the Outer Banks or the biggest, but she is the longest running, and she happens to be the second oldest to still stand.”
“That’s incredible.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you think so.”
