18. Theo
18
THEO
I’m standing over a table filled with blueprints and sketches of the resort, discussing final adjustments with my business partner, Steve. We’re deep in conversation about the latest layout changes when I hear footsteps approaching. I glance up, expecting one of the contractors. They always have questions to ask, and I’m the on-point person to answer all of them, no matter how dumb they might sound.
Instead, I see Mia. Her eyes are blazing with anger. She hesitates in the doorway and glances at Steve.
I clasp my hands in front of me and try to appear as calm, cool, and collected as possible, considering that she’s in my resort. She hasn’t seen it yet, and I want to take her on a tour. I want to show her the full beauty of it when it’s done.
But that doesn’t explain why she looks so furious.
“Mia, hi. How are you? I’m almost done talking with Steve, then we can?—”
But she cuts me off. “Can you explain why your contractors are dumping materials on my property?” she demands, her voice cutting through the room. There’s no mincing words. Mia is furious, and I actually have no idea how to answer her question. My contractors know where the property line is, and they’ve been respecting it. Until now, at least.
I step over toward the window, trying to get a picture of what’s going on.
Steve raises an eyebrow and looks at me. “This should be interesting,” he mutters under his breath.
“What?” Mia bursts out as I take in the scene from my window. “You don’t believe me? You think I’m just making things up now?”
“I didn’t say that. I just needed to see what was going on for myself.”
“The only reason you would want to see for yourself is because you think I’m making it up! I don’t have time to be over here talking to you when I should be working.” Mia snorts and shakes her head.
I try to maintain my calm demeanor as I snap the blinds shut and turn back to her. I can feel Steve’s presence over to the side. We’re partners, on equal footing in this business, but I can feel him wanting me to take the lead on this one.
“I apologize if it’s an inconvenience to you. The ground on our side isn’t level. They’re just trying to find a spot to unload. The materials will be there for a day tops. They’re being used so quickly that they don’t have time to sit anywhere and cause any damage.”
“I don’t care about your excuses, Theo!” she snaps. “You’re encroaching on my property and disrespecting my boundaries. This is unacceptable!”
I can feel my own frustration rising despite my best attempt at remaining calm. “We’re in the middle of a massive project here, Mia. Mistakes happen. I’ll talk to the contractors and get it sorted.”
“That’s not good enough. I want it dealt with now before they finish unloading the rest of that truck. Not in a few hours once my grass has already been ruined. I’m tired of you thinking you can just do whatever you want.”
“Look, I understand you’re upset, but we’re neighbors. We need to find a way to work together.”
“Work together ? You mean I should just shut up and let you do whatever the hell you want? That’s not going to happen. You’ve already flooded my yard. Now, you want me to stay silent while you kill the grass along the edge. Unlike you, who clearly does not care about having grass or not because you’re building such huge buildings, I actually need grass. It’s supposed to be part of the aesthetic.” Now, Mia sounds more defeated than anything.
I take a step toward her, then remember Steve’s presence and keep a good distance between us. I keep my hands to myself, even though it only seems natural to wrap my hands around her waist and continue my assurances.
Steve steps in, holding up a hand to halt the escalating argument. “Alright, alright. Let’s calm down. This isn’t getting us anywhere. Theo, you’re right. We need to respect her property. Mia, we’re sorry for the inconvenience. Maybe there’s a way to find some common ground?”
Mia crosses her arms and glares at Steve, then back at me. “And you are?”
“I’m the other owner of this resort.”
“Why have I never seen you around before?”
Steve glances at me, and I can tell he’s not used to dealing with someone who has her combative nature. “I have other properties to handle. I don’t get my hands dirty like Theo does.”
Mia lifts an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything. After an awkward silence, Steve finally continues. “I think the best way to work this out would be…” Steve glances at me, and I can tell by the slight widening of his eyes that he has no idea what the best idea would be.
“I’m listening,” she says, though it’s clear she’s not entirely calm.
I take a deep breath and look at Steve, who nods slightly, urging me to take over here. “How about this,” I begin, turning back to Mia. “Let’s call a temporary truce. We’ll have a business dinner to discuss a compromise. We need to find a solution that works for both of us.”
Mia’s eyes narrow as she considers my proposal. “A business dinner?” she repeats, skepticism clear in her voice.
“Yes, we can sit down, talk through our issues, and hopefully come to an agreement. It’s clear we’re going to be neighbors for a while, so we might as well try to get along.”
She hesitates for a moment and then lets out a sigh. “Fine. A business dinner. But don’t think this means I’m letting you off the hook. I want those bricks moved.”
“Of course not. We’ll deal with it then. When my contractors’ mistake caused your property to flood, I dealt with it, right?”
Mia reluctantly nods.
“And I’ll deal with this, too. It may not be ideal, but I’ll take care of it.”
Steve smiles, clearly pleased that we’re making progress. “Great. Theo, why don’t you meet with her tomorrow night? That should give you enough time to prepare.” Steve’s message is clear. She’s my issue. Steve can deal with marketing and idea generation, but I have to deal with the day-to-day issues, and today, Mia is one of those issues.
Mia nods reluctantly. “Tomorrow night it is. But if this dinner turns into another argument, I’m done trying to work with you. Putting your supplies on my property actually makes them mine, and I won’t hesitate to use them if they stay there.”
“Understood. Truce?” I extend my hand across the space between us.
She eyes my hand warily before finally shaking it. “Truce.”
As her hand grips mine, there’s a flicker of something in her eyes—maybe a hint of hope that we can find a way through this mess. I hold onto that flicker as she releases my hand and turns to leave.
I wish Steve wasn’t here. If he wasn’t, then maybe she and I could have a real discussion, the kind of meeting that we had in her house when our clothes started coming off. Why is Mia so difficult to work with?
“We’ll meet at the Blue Lagoon Restaurant at 7:00 p.m.!” I call after her.
“Fine. I’ll see you there.” I watch her ass as she walks out, the way it sways back and forth. And it’s hard to remember how frustrated I am with her for constantly finding issues with what I’m doing on my property.
I want to run after her, grab her, and pull her close to me. I want to whisper to her that I’ll find a way to fix everything but first I should help her de-stress. And I know just the way to do that.
I suddenly remember Steve is still in the room, and I’m not the best at hiding my thoughts from crossing my face.
“Well, that ended on a positive note,” he says.
I chuckle. “Better than you thought it would, anyway.” If I stay positive, then maybe tomorrow’s meeting won’t be as bad as I think it might.
Steve’s smile fades slightly. “Theo, you’ve got to tread carefully here. We need to keep popular opinion positive, and if she starts spreading rumors or lies about what we’re doing here, it could ruin our image before we even have the chance to fully form one.”
I run a hand through my hair, and my stress crashes back on my shoulders. “I know. I’m not trying to bulldoze her. I just want to find a way to make this work for everyone.”
Steve claps me on the shoulder. “Good. Because if we can’t find common ground, this project is going to be a lot harder than we anticipated. And we don’t need anything to be more difficult than it has been. The fact that you haven't convinced her to sell yet is disappointment enough.”
I don’t want to hear another one of Steve’s tirades about how I haven’t been able to convince Mia to sell the house yet. He has already told me that if he had been running point on that interaction, she would have sold during our first meeting. But I already know Mia won’t sell.
I’ve pretty much given up the idea, and I’m trying to accept that this resort is going to be smaller than we first imagined. It doesn’t bother me much, but I think Steve hasn’t quite given up the vision.