Chapter 19
T hey didn’t make it far outside the Under the Waves construction site after they finished their walk-through. Gregory was helping Charlotte untangle the site-required hard hat’s strap from her hair and she was picturing him grabbing her hair in a another, very inappropriate circumstance when her family approached, each of them wearing a different expression: Emily’s was determined, Frank’s was resigned, and Marianne appeared irritated. It was enough to kick out the delicious thoughts of Gregory’s fingers in her hair.
“Charlotte, did you forget to put on sunscreen?” her uncle scolded. “You know better.”
She’d slathered on fifty SPF, the same as every day, but she wasn’t about to tell that to Uncle Frank and have him inquire further about why her face was so red. Imagining telling her uncle about the inappropriate thoughts she was having about Gregory increased the flames on her cheeks. Once she pulled the hat off her head, she fibbed, “I must have been too excited about the presentation this morning to remember to put it on. What are you all doing out here?”
“We need to talk,” Emily said, crossing her arms, mouth in a flat line.
Charlotte shot a questioning glance at Gregory, but he shook his head. He didn’t know what was up either. “Did you all change your mind about the faery festival? You could have sent an email or a text.”
Charlotte knew that was unlikely with the air of intensity hanging around all of them, but she could hope.
“It’s not that, Charlotte. We just wrapped another call with Peak Fusion about Heroic Patrol and wanted to loop you both in,” her uncle said, voice apologetic.
Charlotte’s brain did one of its best things and went to the worst interpretation of what her uncle said: that they were in full-blown negotiations with Peak Fusion when she thought the meeting had been on hold. Emily had seemed more agreeable than usual lately—was this why? Because she was going behind Charlotte’s back?! They’d butted heads, but Charlotte hadn’t thought Emily would ever outright lie to her about something like this.
“ Another call? I don’t understand. Emily mentioned a meeting weeks ago but anytime I followed up about it, I was told it was moved given our busy schedules getting Waves open.”
Marianne’s eyes were soft but blazing. “I’m sorry. Emily led us to believe you knew we’d chatted with them. We only now realized that was not the case.”
Competing questions hammered in Charlotte’s head; she went for the lowest-hanging fruit first. She faced Emily, who stood tall, no trace of shame in her posture. “Emily, what’s going on? Why tell me you were going to have the meeting and then lie to me about having it? And to your parents? Wait. Gregory, did you know about this, too?”
“He didn’t,” Emily answered for him. “He’s been busy, so I’ve been going through Ian after the first conversation with Peak Fusion proved interesting.”
“Excuse me?” Gregory straightened and adjusted his tie. His tone was measured, but Charlotte picked up on a dissonant trace that told her she was hearing Gregory being angry for the first time since she’d known him. “Busy. Yes, busy working here every day alongside all of you as the representative for Ever Fund. And you bypassed me.”
“Yes, I bypassed you. I knew Ian would give me an answer more quickly and I knew he would get it. As the park’s manager, it was within my rights. Especially with Mom and Dad on board. I won’t apologize for it when these meetings could change so much for Lands.”
“Honey, we wouldn’t have been on board if we knew you’d been keeping information from your cousin and Gregory,” Frank said with a strain in his voice. “I’m sorry, you two.”
Charlotte saw the line of Gregory’s sharp jaw tighten, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Emily cut them both out and she wondered if it was also because Emily didn’t think Gregory would keep a secret from her. Her veins boiled. “This is wrong, Emily, and you know it. You are the park manager, yes, but Gregory and I aren’t your subordinates. This is key to park operations and no, talking to Ian isn’t a substitute.” Emily looked like she wanted to speak, but Charlotte cut her cousin off with a lifted hand. “I know you didn’t come track us down to tell us about covering this up. What’s going on?”
Emily squared her shoulders. “I don’t know why you care so much, Charlotte. We all know you have one foot out the door. And no, it’s not all. They’ve made an interesting proposal. It would be an addition to Under the Waves, another phase after opening, with a ride and small area themed after Heroic Patrol . They’d have their branding there and at the park entrance and offer character meet and greets. One of the Patrol members, Scylla, is a mermaid with superpowers so they think it could all focus on that—her, her history, and her aquatic home.”
Frank added, “When we first talked, I didn’t agree with it. I still don’t. However, if it means building an even more secure future for the park, I could see extending the overall look and design motifs for Under the Waves into Scylla’s Lair, or whatever we’d call it, but it would have a separate arched entry and signage.”
“If that’s the case, why not build a whole park of their own?” Charlotte was confused. “What’s the point of coming to Lands with their offer if they don’t want to be like the rest of the park?”
“Because we already have infrastructure with the existing park and we have construction crews with theme park experience on hand who we can roll right onto another project. It saves them from buying land and starting from scratch,” Emily explained, tapping her boot.
“What exactly are they offering us for this and what are they hoping to get from it?” Gregory asked.
Frank sighed and pulled on the sleeves of his flannel. “It sounds too good to be true, and the money is the only reason I’m considering it. Based on what Ian said, the revenue projections associated with Heroic Patrol brand studies are appealing to Ever Fund. But that doesn’t mean I like any of it.” He paused to grab Charlotte’s hand. “And I know you hate it, but I’m trying to think past Under the Waves and to what this park will be years from now. To keep this place going for years from now.”
Charlotte squeezed her uncle’s hand. “I get that you have to make hard choices, Uncle Frank. Being here in the trenches with you all these last couple of months has shown me exactly how much you’ve all put in to make Lands of Legend so incredible for so long. You’ve had to decide when and where to make compromises—even the compromise of agreeing to take money from Ever Fund.”
“More compromises than you can know, kid,” her uncle said.
“And Lands is still here because of that. Because of both of you.” She grabbed her aunt’s hand, too. “But please think about this one. Peak Fusion has an awful reputation—one I don’t want to tarnish everything you’ve built here. Their cutesy stories seem like a facade for some real shit, and that is not worth it.”
She spared a glare for Emily, who shouldn’t have let things get so far.
Likely sensing the tension, Gregory spoke up, “Going forward, I have to be part of these kinds of conversations from the beginning. Ian can be present if you want, but again, he’s not here. I—we, Charlotte and I—will take a look at Peak Fusion’s proposal and then we can all discuss it and next steps.”
Oh, how Charlotte couldn’t resist take-charge Gregory. She could feel another kind of emotion roiling in her underneath the irritation with her cousin.
“Fine,” Emily spat. “But we shouldn’t take too long; they might pull the offer.”
“Since they can’t seem to get any amusement or theme park to take their IP, I don’t think we have to worry about that,” Charlotte scoffed.
“Let’s set something up as soon as we can,” Gregory interjected. “I’ll check all of your calendars and reach out. Now, if you’ll excuse us, Charlotte and I have to check out something in Adventurer’s Gate. After you, Charlotte.” He put a hand on the small of her back as they walked away.
When they were out of hearing distance of her family and Charlotte had brought her frustration down to a simmer from a raging boil, she made a request. “Let’s not talk about work on the rest of our walk today, okay? Except to say that Emily was wrong to go to Ian. You would make time to hear any idea that could help Lands.”
“I would. Thanks for saying that. Emily was also wrong to keep such a big potential change from all of us,” Gregory answered. “I feel like she knew Ian would be an easy yes because of the dollar signs involved.”
“Yeah, that sounds right. Glad we, at least, have each other’s backs.”
“Me too.”
Charlotte jerked her head toward the office. “You know, let’s grab our things and go get an early dinner.”
“I support this plan.”
Having Gregory’s support, Charlotte thought, was becoming more and more important to her.