“Hannah Miller is your only option. Too bad she’ll most likely send you on your way. As any woman in her right mind would.”
“Are you on my side or not?” Drew grumbled.
Blake ran a hand through his hair. “I’m the voice of reason. Without proper incentive, your Hannah will never say yes, and thousands will lose their jobs. I’ll be forced to return home and become a proper gentleman once more.” He let out a shuddering breath. “Think of the children, Andrew. All the children I’d be forced to produce in order to have an heir and a spare.”
“Shut up.”
Blake smirked for a moment, but then turned serious. “I might have exaggerated my part, but the rest…”
Blake was right. Thousands were depending on him. He knew that. He hated it, but his feelings wouldn’t make the end result go away. Either he married and saved thousands of jobs, or he refused to be manipulated by his dad and thousands would lose their jobs.
Slowly, Drew pulled out his wallet and opened it. He gingerly pulled out a yellow piece of paper, shaking it at Blake. “She’ll say yes. I have it in writing.”
Chapter Four
Standing to one side in the lobby, Hannah watched as the last family staying at The Majestic Dunes loaded everything they brought into their minivan and drove away.
This time of year was usually bittersweet for her. Come tomorrow, the staff would begin the process of winterizing the resort. Linens would be packed tight, water lines drained, the pool half drained, and the walk-in freezers emptied—the perishable items given to local soup kitchens to stock up their freezers.
By the time all was said and done, The Majestic Dunes would look like a ghost resort. It didn’t help that the resort was still decorated in a style of a bygone era with dark wood accents and elegant chandeliers. Sometimes, on the days she would travel with her grandparents to check on the resort, she could swear that Big Band music played and glasses lightly clinked together in toast as soon as they stepped inside the great foyer.
Then again, her grandparents had always claimed she had a huge imagination. Completely their fault of course, since they’d been the ones to fill her head full of coastal North Carolina legends and ghost stories.
“Staff meeting in twenty minutes,” Allen called out.
With a frown, Hannah turned around. “I don’t remember a staff meeting scheduled.”
Allen shrugged. “It’s a last-minute thing. The new owner wants to meet everyone.”
Hannah nodded. “I’ll be there.” She was very curious about the new owner, a man who had bought the place last night. Like at the midnight hour. Something virtually unheard of, or so the rumor said.
She didn’t put much stock in rumors. For all she knew, there could have been negotiations going on for months. In any case, as long as her grandparents’ jobs weren’t threatened (or anyone else’s) and they could retire next year, then she didn’t care who bought the resort.
Smoothing down her dove-gray uniform, she headed to the café to grab a sandwich before the meeting. Up since the crack of dawn to get an earlier start on winterizing the empty guest rooms, she’d scarfed down some breakfast and had only a quick snack at lunch.
The café was mostly empty, only a few employees milling about. “Any turkey and bacon subs left?” she asked Tony, the café chef.
He grinned. “I might have saved one just for you.”
She kissed his paper-thin cheek. “You’re a lifesaver.” Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out some cash to pay. “When’s Layla starting?”
Tony always lit up when he talked about his granddaughter and her new position as publicity manager at The Majestic Dunes. “In another week or two—once she gets settled into her new place. The resort might be closed, but she will be hard at work for next year.”
Hannah smiled. “I can’t wait to see her again. And what she comes up with.”
“Me, too. Price includes chips and a drink, you know,” he reminded her. “And scintillating conversation provided by yours truly.”
Hannah laughed. Tony always had something flirty, yet completely complimentary—about himself—to say to each customer who shopped in the café. He’d been doing it since before she was born.
Peeling off the butcher paper from around the sandwich, she took a huge bite and said, “I’ff woff to, but snaff neetin in nifntin nuhtues.”
Tony gave her a strange look. “Is it just for house staff?”
She shrugged, swallowing down the delicious sandwich before grabbing a bag of chips and a bottle of water. “Thanks, Tony!”