Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Aspen city council meeting room
That evening.
Who’d have thought this many Aspenites could be so heavily invested in the fate of an old ski lodge? Rachel took heart at seeing the number of people who were crowded into the planning room for tonight’s meeting. The energy coming from the hum of chat in the council hall could have powered a small city.
Not a spare seat in the house. I wonder if the Brocks called in a few favors.
As she followed Dan and Kellie to the front of the room, a large dose of déjà vu hit Rachel full on. A courtroom in Atlanta. People watching her every move. The sound of her heels clicking on the tiles, a multitude of people all talking at once, the powerful smell of commercial cleaning fluid. The synapse in her brain were firing at a rapid rate. Dread had her swallowing down the bile that rose up her throat .
Pull yourself together. This is Aspen not Atlanta. And no one is on trial tonight.
But her future still hung in the balance. So much depended on the outcome of tonight. If she could stop the tire kicker from making a successful bid for the Brock family resort, it would go a long way to resurrecting her career. And she would be able to secure the rest of the completion bonus from Dan’s parents. Money would open up many options.
As representatives of the owners of the Green Tree Resort, a table and chairs had been set aside for their use. At least we have somewhere to sit. By the time Rachel had finished setting up her laptop and papers, there was only standing room left at the back of the hall.
Across the other side of the aisle from her, was another table. This one was empty, but there was a placeholder card on top. She scooted over and picked it up. The card read.
Royal Resorts
They must be the people Dan said had been sniffing around the site.
She could just imagine an army of slickly dressed people marching into the room bringing with them their evil plans to destroy the heritage site.
Back at the table, she questioned her brother-in-law. “Are Royal Resorts the hotel people who’ve been trying to get your parents to sell?”
Dan nodded. “Their guy, Mister Matthew Royal, has been corresponding back and forth with my parents for over two years now. Dad got so sick of him sending long-winded emails full of questions, he gave him a key to the lodge and told him to go look at it himself. Don’t worry about him, as I said, he’s just a tire kicker .”
The Brock family clearly viewed Matthew Royal as a time waster, but if he was due to front the meeting tonight, it meant Royal Resorts planned to submit a proposal.
He might not be a tire kicker. Damn it, Dan. He might be a serious bidder.
Rachel sucked in a deep breath. She had to lock her growing panic down and fast. If she came across as nervous, the Royal Resorts people would eat her alive.
Dan’s phone rang, and he immediately answered. “Hi, dad. Yeah, we are here now. Just waiting on the committee.”
His expression turned from one of vague interest to deep concern. “What do you mean?”
There was a good deal of “What?” “Right” “Okay”, then finally “See you both soon.” Then he hung up.
“That was my father. Apparently, the head of the planning committee called a little while earlier and asked that he and mom attend tonight’s meeting. From the sounds of it, they are going to push my parents into making a decision about selling.”
Rachel met Kellie’s worried gaze. “Can they do that?”
Both Kellie and Dan nodded. “The Green Tree Resort stands on what was once public land, so everyone in the town has a vested interest in seeing the site revived,” explained Dan.
Shoot, this is not good. Why didn’t they tell me this earlier? If Royal Resorts succeeds in getting the committee and the locals on side, we might have a real fight on our hands.
Rachel’s mind was full of concern as the members of the planning committee filed into the room and took their places along the main board table. Five council representatives. All stony faced and carrying bundles of papers. What if the committee were prepared to accept Royal Resort’s proposal? And what exactly was the other proposal?
It had better not include a demolition team.
She had a sudden vision of herself chained to a bulldozer, watching as a man in a three thousand dollar navy blue suit took a pair of bolt cutters to the lock and cut her free. And just as the local cops slipped the handcuffs on her and hauled her away, the Royal Resorts ass chastised her. ‘Now, now, Ms. Little. You can’t stop progress.’
A world of expectation settled heavily on her shoulders as Rachel dropped into her chair. She glanced at Kellie, who gave her a wan smile in return.
I wish Matthew was here. I could do with seeing his friendly face.
The chair of the committee turned on his microphone. “May I have your attention folks? If you can find a seat, please take it. Everyone else you will need to stand at the back of the room. I don’t want the fire chief shutting this thing down because we’re over the limit for the space.”
Mumbles of discontent followed, but people did as they were asked. The room was uncomfortably warm, and it was obvious no one wanted to hold up proceedings.
“Right. Now there are a few things on the agenda, but the committee has decided that since most people here are probably only interested in the Green Tree Resort, we will address that issue first. After that folks can leave and free up the fresh air. Let’s get started. Please ask Mister Royal to join the meeting.”
Cue more mumbling from the audience, but the change in the agenda seemed to have pleased most. Rachel nervously clenched her left hand. She wasn’t sure if this was a fight or a flight response, but it didn’t matter. She had nowhere to hide.
Let’s see what this Matthew Royal has to say.
In the ante room, Matthew stood listening to the crowd outside in the meeting hall. From the sound of it, every second person in Aspen had decided to attend tonight. Large crowds were not his forte. He and Jordan both shared a degree of social anxiety.
I wish Rachel was here. I could do with seeing her friendly face.
In front of him was the reassembled model hidden beneath a silver cloth. Mia had suggested the cover. The plan was for him to wheel it into the room and leave it covered. Matthew would address the committee, then play the video, at the end of which he would remove the cover. It was meant to be for dramatic effect. Now, as he stared at the huge model which sat on the trolley, he wasn’t so sure.
It was going to take all his concentration just to negotiate the trolley through the door. He jumped when the door opened, and a council security guard poked his head inside. “Mister Royal, is it?”
“Yes.”
“They are ready for you now.”
“Thanks. Could you please push the double doors back and keep them open for me? I need to bring this through.” He nodded at the model.
While the security guard pushed back the doors, and locked them open, Matthew took a deep breath. He’d worked tirelessly for over two years on this project. He had an inkling that whatever transpired over the next hour, it was going to define the rest of his life.
He moved the table forward and carefully navigated it through the doors.
Here goes nothing— and everything.
The noise level in the room rose to a roar. As the doors on the opposite side of the room opened, the people nearest to it all stood up, blocking whatever was happening from Rachel’s direct view.
There were some unkind things said to the person moving into the room, and the head of the planning committee stood and bellowed at the crowd, “I will have order in the room. The next smart mouth who abuses Mister Royal will find themselves ejected from the meeting. Now you all go on and take your seats again!”
The only thing missing was the sound of a judge’s gavel hitting the table. The crowd cleared and as Rachel got her first glimpse of her tire kicker nemesis, she was certain her racing heart had spluttered and come to a dead stop in her chest.