Chapter 5
Zoe
I’m riding high from my confrontation with Landon when I waltz through the doors of my gym to meet my besties, Kelsey and Emberly, for our weekly cardio kickboxing class.
My smile widens as I watch Emberly, our local police deputy, wrap her knuckles.
She won’t don boxing gloves. There’s no heavy bag for her to pummel, just the criminals in her imagination to take the brunt while she perfects her form, but she preps as if a seven-foot-tall, three-hundred-pound bad guy needs punishing.
She’s a badass. Even at five feet nothing, she’s the woman I want with me in a dark alley. Her butt-hugging teal yoga pants and matching tank top reveal the tattoos that tell the story of her life. She bounces on her toes and shakes out her arms, throwing a few practice punches to warm up.
Her energy is decisive and driven. It’s the same energy rolling through my system. Energy I’ve taught myself to avoid.
But this feeling is a high like no other. Main character energy, right? That’s the only way to get Landon to do what I want him to.
I just need to figure out how Emberly maintains that energy without exhausting herself. And how to make myself not feel like an overly aggressive fraud.
I can practically hear my dad scolding me for being bossy—bitchy?—for not negotiating with Landon, not charming him with smiles and cucumber sandwiches. But I know that billionaire won’t negotiate. Ordering him around is the only way to get what the town needs.
I toss my bag into a cubby, and Kelsey jumps to her feet. “There you are. I thought maybe your dad gave you another project and you had to ditch us.”
Physically—and in temperament—Kelsey is Emberly’s antithesis. In a baggie Backstreet Boys concert T-shirt that falls off her shoulder and basketball shorts that she may have stolen from her neighbor, she looks like she played the tomboy little sister in an early-2000s family sitcom.
I wrap my arm around her shoulder and give her a tight hug. “Nope. I’ve been solving town problems.”
“I heard you went to Pine Ridge today.” Emberly lifts her eyebrow. “What’s that about? Weren’t you just there yesterday?”
“You know about Landon Prince.” I run my fingers through my hair and pull it into a high ponytail. “I was making him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” I fill them in on the details of our new partnership with Collin and Archer.
“Did your dad put you up to that?” Kelsey asks.
“It was my idea.”
Emberly and Kelsey share a skeptical look. Emberly braces her hands on my arms. “You ordered him to build the resort?”
“I didn’t specifically tell him about the resort. I told him to hire Collin and Archer. The rest will be easier with the brothers beside me.”
“He’s all anyone is talking about,” Kelsey says. “People are worried.”
“About what?” The town council made their decision so fast, we didn’t have time to poll the community.
They should get a say in something that has the potential to affect Rainwater Bay so drastically.
As Dad’s eyes and ears, I need to understand the community’s concerns and manage the project accordingly.
Kelsey plucks at the hem of her shirt. “It will be nice to have new job opportunities, but is a big resort really the best way to do it? Does anyone want to clean up after drunk tourists and cranky kids who would rather be at Disneyland? I don’t.”
I scrunch my nose. “Still no interviews?”
“This isn’t about me. But no. Nothing.” She fakes a smile. “I hate that being Abby’s nanny is the only way I can pay my bills.”
Emberly snorts.
Kelsey elbows her in the ribs. “Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything about Sebastian.” Emberly makes kissing noises.
“I know what you were thinking. It’s all anyone ever thinks when they see me with Abby, but you know me better than that. Give me a little credit. Besides, we’re talking about Zoe. Do you think Landon will do what you tell him to?”
“I want to know where you got the guts to waltz into his hotel room and tell him he was going to do things your way. I’ve never seen you order people around.”
“It was the only way.” I shrug and shove down the nervous butterflies in my stomach.
“Maybe, but that’s a move I see Lucky making, not you.”
“I can be assertive.”
“Since when? Last month, when Lucky parked in your dad’s parking spot, you called me to convince her to move her car.”
“Lucky’s different.”
“All I’m saying is don’t turn into someone else just because you think it will get the job done faster.”
But what if the person I’ve been is the someone else I don’t want to be anymore? What if I like this energy—the thrill of making big things happen without having to apologize for myself and my behavior?
What if I’ve been hiding the real me so well, even my best friends don’t realize it’s been an act?
Landon
I sit on the estate’s back terrace as the afternoon sun beats on my face. A sharp wind buffets me with promises of a storm later this afternoon. I welcome the rain. It matches my mood.
Mayor Winslow put me in a compromising situation when she promised the renovation job to the Reeves brothers.
Cronyism has never been how I do business. I don’t care who you’re related to, friends with, or who owes you a favor. Every man or woman I work with needs to prove they are the right person for the job.
Are the Reeves brothers?
I spent last night and this morning searching every database I have access to for information about the Reeves family, all the way back to Thomas Reeves, the man who built the estate.
I didn’t find much more than I already knew. No social media presence. Minimal financial activity. Collin and Archer are two of six brothers from Rainwater Bay. They’ve lived their entire lives within the town limits, except for time away for college.
A-plus students.
Glowing letters of recommendation.
They live within their means…which are not much.
Raised by a single mom who worked two jobs to keep food on the table.
Collin’s construction company is thriving. No unexpected debts or lawsuits for poor craftsmanship.
Archer is well respected amongst the other lawyers he’s worked with. No crazy girlfriends or ex-wives.
They seem like upstanding citizens doing their best to thrive in a town that otherwise hates their family for the fallout after Emmett Reeves, their grandfather, closed the family shipping company.
He filed for bankruptcy, and the town suffered. The businesses that supported them closed. People moved away. Tourism died and took the economy with it.
Everyone has skeletons in their closets, family members they’d rather hide, but I need to know all the Reeves’s demons before I risk my reputation—and this project—on the brothers Mayor Winslow decided I should hire.
I shake my head. She’s ambitious, I’ll give her that.
At one forty-five, a red pickup truck follows the mayor’s Mini Cooper up the driveway. Their promptness is a point in their favor.
Mayor Winslow climbs from her car and ties her hair up in a high ponytail. She’s wearing another floral dress today. This one’s a rich emerald green with large white flowers. Same cowboy boots and leather jacket, though. She apparently has a signature look.
I’m man enough to admit that I like the look. Feminine with a little bit of edge. She exudes a soft professionalism which likely helps her win votes.
“Mr. Prince.” Her forced smile sets things back in place. Firmly.
I can’t forget that she’s here to break me to her will. It’s not going to happen, but it will be fun to watch her try.
“Mayor.” I tip my head in a mock bow. “Lovely to see you again.”
She tucks a folder under her arm. “Likewise.” Her reply is as sarcastic as mine. “Let me introduce Collin and Archer Reeves.” She gestures to the men walking around the front of the truck. I recognize them from my research.
I extend my hand to the man wearing a red polo the same shade as his truck. “Collin?”
“Landon.” He takes my hand.
You can tell a lot about a man based on his handshake. Collin’s grip is the perfect balance of strength and submission. No power struggle here. He knows we’re partners, not adversaries. Maybe Mayor Winslow was on to something. Too early to tell.
“Archer.” The lawyer takes my hand.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Prince.” His grip is a bit stronger. He wants to convey he’s not a pushover. Interesting given that he uses my surname instead of foregoing the formality like his brother.
“Call me Landon, please.” I gesture toward the house, and we fall in step together. “Mayor Winslow says you’re the men to make my vision a reality.”
“Mayor?” Collin glances at her.
Zoe steps between us. “We need to talk about your vision, actually. We’re changing it.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Is that so?”
“What Rainwater Bay needs is a resort. Nothing over the top, but something…” She wobbles her head and chews her lip like she’s looking for just the right word.
“Expensive?” I provide.
“No…well, maybe. We need something that’s cozy and inviting, but also magnificent. Something that highlights the beauty of the estate and makes tourists want to stay here instead of Pine Ridge.”
“No.”
“You can’t say no.”
“I just did.”
“If you say no, we will block your permits, and drown you in paperwork, and you will never move a single pebble on this property.”
“You don’t have the funds to fight me.”
“I don’t need them. I’ve got the power of the Rainwater Bay Historical Preservation Society, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, US Department of the Interior, and the National Registry of Historic Places.”
“I can still bury you in lawsuits and counter petitions for decades. You’d rather the elements destroy the house?”
“No. I’d love for you to make it beautiful again, but you have to make it beautiful in a way that helps the town. It can’t be your private retreat. Not anymore.”
I narrow my eyes and step closer to Zoe. “That’s not what you said before.” My voice is almost a growl.
“The town council has…” She sighs. “It has plans.”
“But not you? Aren’t you the mayor? Don’t you have the final say?”
Collin and Archer’s eyes ping-pong back and forth between Zoe and me. Collin hides a grin behind his hand as he whispers something to Archer, who nods in reply.
“Do you have something to add?” I ask.
Collin twists his mouth into a grimace. “Not sure if we should get involved in this quarrel.”
“Zoe.” Archer shakes his head. “This isn’t what we agreed to. You lied to us. To him.”
“We can all get what we want here. I know we can.” Zoe points to the house.
“Collin, restoring the estate will be amazing for your company’s portfolio.
I mean, can you even imagine the before-and-after pictures?
Arch, I know how much it bugs you the way people snub your mom because of what your dad and grandpa did, how they blame your grandma for the shipping company closing.
This is an opportunity to help Rainwater Bay find its footing again.
Attach your name to something good. We need this. ”
Archer drops his gaze to his dress shoes. “I don’t know.”
She turns to me. “You want the house restored and to build ten cabins. What if we increase the number to twenty with the opportunity to build more if this works? If people like the resort? You have hotels. This will be your crown jewel.”
“No.” I’m firm. This will not be a hotel like all the others in our portfolio. I forbid it.
“Why?” She pouts.
“I don’t want a crown jewel. I don’t want a twenty-cabin resort.”
“What do you want?” Zoe’s eyes plead with me to tell her my desires. To open a vein and admit my life is crap. That I need an escape.
But why should I?
What can she do about it?
She’s using me. Using my money to get what the town wants.
Typical. Predictable. Disappointing. For a moment I thought maybe my fiery little comet would be different, but I was wrong.
“I want you gone.” I spin on my heel and walk toward my car.
“Landon.” She calls after me. “My mom was the foremost expert on this estate. I have twenty boxes of research papers, blueprints, pictures, everything you need to accurately restore the house. Everything the Historical Preservation Society will require for you to renovate the house. If you agree to twenty…fifteen cabins and blueprints that show another possible twenty, I will give you everything.”
I jam my finger toward the house. “Why are you so desperate to make this happen? What happened to the bossy woman who barged into my hotel room and told me my opinions don’t matter?” I liked and respected her.
Zoe blinks like she’s holding her emotions by a thread. “I want to see my mom’s dream brought to life. You’re the only ones who can make that happen. You and Collin and Archer.” She laces her fingers together and braces them under her chin. “Landon, this is the best way to make everyone happy.”
I clamp my molars shut as my mind sorts through what she said. Her honesty is refreshing.
It’s not just a house. Not just a project the council wants completed for their own benefit.
It’s her legacy as much as I want it to be mine.
She wants a place to find peace. To bring her mom’s spirit peace.
“I can agree to fifteen if we place them appropriately. I don’t want to crowd the property.”
“Did you have the main house inspected as part of the purchase?” Collin asks.
I nod. “Your great grandfather built a sturdy home. The bones are good…mostly.”
The mayor’s shoulder’s sag. Relief? Probably.
“Let’s see what we’re dealing with.” Collin gestures for me to lead them into the house.
“Follow me,” I say.