Chapter 26 Cole
Cole
La Dolce Vita came with its own ancient ruins underneath.
How fucking marvelous. It would hugely inflate the price.
What’s more, the place seemed to have been restored with a limitless budget.
There were polished marble staircases, frescoes, original period features, and Roman busts in the lobby.
It was part museum, part hotel. If the shareholders were pissed off with me now, then they were going to be furious when I put an offer in on this place.
It wasn’t at all in keeping with the brand.
I’d be lucky to get any backing for this.
I’d be lucky not to fucking bankrupt us.
“Just think. This dates back to antiquity. These tunnels are over two thousand years old.” Charlotte’s smile was charmed as she peered around the dimly lit winding cavern.
Antiquity was going to cost me a fucking fortune.
This was a bad investment. Gabe probably wanted to get rid of it because it was costing too much to maintain.
My father would probably stick a casino or something in these crypts.
Not like he gave a fuck about culture and history.
He’d do what he always did. Sack everyone.
Strip the place and run it at half the cost.
Charlotte’s sandals echoed on stone as she moved further into the tunnels.
My head ached with exhaustion. It had been impossible to sleep last night.
My mind hadn’t stopped racing. It was terrible to see Charlotte in pain and not be able to do anything to fix it.
Awful to feel so helpless. I ran a finger over the scarred stone walls.
Had my mother been down here? She’d never had much interest in history.
She would have been here for the luxury spa and the perfect Aperol spritz in the terrace bar.
Charlotte beamed. “This place is another level. I love all of the period features. Did you see the frescoes in the reception?”
Right, the bloody frescoes. More added to the price.
She pulled out her phone and scrolled with an animated expression. “Nobles and royals visiting Rome used to meet at this hotel. There’s so much history here. No wonder Dad liked it.”
My phone buzzed with a call from the office. I itched to get back upstairs to the room to work. I’d already taken too long off.
“My driver is going to take you to meet the tour guide.”
Charlotte’s face dropped. “You sure you don’t want to come?”
“I can’t.”
She blew out a breath. “OK, well. I’m going to have fun in the Eternal City.” She smiled. “Enjoy your spreadsheets and your . . . whatever else it is you do. See you for dinner?”
“I’ll grab something quick in the room.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Nope. You said you were interested in the restaurant. There’s a world-famous chef and a view over the city to die for. We need to eat together. It will look weird if I eat alone.” She gave me a playful boop on the nose. “See you later, Mr. Ackroyd.”
My skin tingled with the warmth of her touch. Our eyes locked for a moment. I tried to keep my expression calm, but my pounding heart betrayed me. Her hand hovered a fraction too long before she swooped it away and pressed her arm to her side.
Her cheeks reddened and her gaze darted away. “I’m sorry, I have no idea why I just did—”
“It’s fine.” I resisted the urge to brush my nose and feel where her fingertips had been. “Enjoy your tour. I’ll see you for dinner.”
I worked in the hotel bar. The air conditioning was distracting in the bedroom and the balcony was too hot.
This was just right. Nice to have a bit of a buzz, but still quiet enough to concentrate.
I took another sip of perfect coffee. Whoever had made this was an expert.
When I sealed the deal on this hotel, I’d have to make sure we held on to the barista.
My father usually sacked everyone when he made a new acquisition.
It wasn’t a nice way to do business, but it was often easier.
Fresh staff were usually more amenable to a new vision and change in operation.
I called Lucas. His face appeared on the screen. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to talk to you about the offer on the hotel.”
His brow knitted. “God. I thought it had to be an emergency. Why are you calling me on your honeymoon?”
“Because the world doesn’t stop just because I’m in Rome.”
“No. But work should. Go back to your wife.”
“What does it matter to you?”
He scraped his embarrassing beard and smirked. “Fine. It doesn’t. Carry on. What about the offer?”
“We won’t be able to beat him on price. I’m thinking of a different angle for the negotiation. It’s a high-end boutique hotel. Gabe Rivers might appreciate if we make promises about preserving what his father has built here.”
Lucas sighed. “That may be, but I think you should drop it.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ve only just won the shareholders back on side and now you want to piss them off again?”
“Who’s going to be pissed off?”
“All of them.”
Fuck.
Lucas pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “You know why the Roman Empire collapsed, don’t you?”
“Let me guess. The emperor had a bunch of wankers with too much power on his board?”
“The emperor stretched himself too thin. He bit off more than he could chew. Probably an egotistical bastard. You run affordable family resorts. Stay within the brand remit. This is personal, not business. You know you have to drop it.”
Lucas only cared about the business when he had his begging cap in hand, asking me to fund another hospital wing or a multi-million-pound research project. His background was science. He didn’t know the first thing about business. “If I want business advice from you, I’ll ask for it.”
I was about to hang up when I remembered something. “What do the boys want me to bring them back from Rome?”
“I’ll ask them,” he said, scratching his head.
“Don’t forget.” No way was I giving up my favorite-uncle spot to Theo.