Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 47223 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47223 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
They jump apart guiltily. The brunette sends me a nervous glance and tucks her phone away. “Hi.”
“Sorry to interrupt. I just need a napkin.” I grab a paper towel from the roll and shove it into my lunch bag.
“We weren’t talking about anything important,” the redhead volunteers.
I almost laugh at her sheepish lie, but it wouldn’t make me any friends, and I don’t have time for their gossip, even if it’s true. I have a meeting to get to. “Of course not. Have a good afternoon.”
After retracing my steps, I find Savannah waiting in my office.
She glances at the bag in my hand. “I see you found lunch. Good. Turns out we have a few more minutes before we need to convene upstairs. Chad—Mr. Force—is rounding up a few people, along with the new intel we have about the property. I’ll tell you what I know while you eat so you’re up to speed and can participate in the decision making.”
I force aside the gossip I just overheard and focus on my new boss. “Please.”
As I spread my food across my desk, Savannah pulls up the guest chair, sips from the tumbler of water in her hand, then launches into her spiel. “Recently, we began investigating a piece of property on behalf of a group of investors. This dovetails with our desire to diversify beyond traditional investments.”
“You mentioned that when we interviewed.”
“The property is located on the windward side of the Big Island of Hawaii. We found out this morning that we’ve been granted exclusive access for the next two weeks. The site was a hotel in the sixties. It shut down permanently in the late nineties. The owner intended to gather funding to reopen, but his health failed. It fell into disrepair and sat vacant. The state seized it for back taxes before selling it to another investor, who bought it for pennies on the dollar in 2009 with big dreams. After all, the property is prime oceanfront real estate on a charming, unspoiled part of the island. But the price tag for simply bulldozing the structure, along with conducting the necessary environmental studies and permitting was well beyond thirteen million. So that guy sold it to a wealthy Asian family, who intended to develop it for an upscale Pacific Rim clientele. Rumor has it, the refurbishment was his wife’s pet project. When she died, he gave up, only deciding to sell it a handful of weeks ago. Here we are.”
“So now we see what it would take to make the place profitable.”
“Before we purchase it, yes.”
“If the scenery is as beautiful as it sounds, that shouldn’t be difficult, but it always depends on budget, timeline, and other factors.”
She nods. “Finding a reliable workforce will be one. For decades, the locals have been hired off-and-on to work the property in different capacities, so getting them to believe that plans for the place will amount to anything may be an uphill battle.”
“It sounds that way.”
“The terrain will be tricky, too. It’s in between an eyesore of a hotel that was given a patchy facelift eighteen years ago and a former motel converted into cheap condos. We’ll have to conceal all that. And it sits on the edge of a high-risk lava zone, because the Big Island has active volcanos.” She winces. “Given how the property is situated, we’ll have to see if it’s even possible to cost effectively operate a resort there before we make an offer.”
I swallow another spoonful of my delicious soup and nod. “Not much to be done about volcanic eruptions, but I can find a creative way to cordon our property off from its less attractive surroundings while promoting a sense of beauty and exclusivity.”
“Perfect.”
“Unfortunately, that’s likely to make any renovation more expensive. And I’m guessing the town has laws about how tall we can make any new resort? If there wasn’t, the place would probably already be a tourist hub.”
Savannah nods. “I’m sure. So we’re going with luxury from top to bottom. This will be an exclusive getaway spot, and it will cost a pretty penny to visit this slice of paradise. We want every room to be a suite—and command the commensurate price. The pool has to be top notch, the beach and access to it pristine.”
I warm to her topic. “The restaurants must be four star—”
“At least.”
“And the service must be impeccable.”
“Precisely. We will make recommendations, of course, but service will fall under the purview of the investor group,” Savannah assures. “If everything is a go and the resort comes to fruition, once it’s complete, we’ll be turning operations over to them and merely retaining a stake in the venture.”
Makes sense. “What else do I need to know?”
“Sorry this is last minute, and I realize you just got to Boston…but you leave Thursday for your initial assessment of the grounds. Your first order of business is to compile a list of what would need to be done, along with a timeline, and draft ideas for the resort itself while working with local officials to identify which studies and permits we would need and costs associated, then report back to corporate.”