Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
The next day, Milo was sitting at his new desk in his newly finished office staring at the plans for the amphitheater.
There wasn’t much he needed to do; they had covered everything at the meeting the other day, but there was a part of him that wanted—needed—to add something of his own to the project.
Something technical that would make people want to come and stay at the resort because their shows did something no other amphitheater did.
He had a list of ideas that he shared with everyone, but the only feedback he got was a sea of confused looks.
“Hey, Milo.”
Looking up, he saw Walker standing in the doorway. “Hey. What’s up?”
Walker grinned as he took in the space. “Wow. Maisie did a great job in here. I thought for sure you were going to go with the whole minimalist glass and metal vibe you have back in Seattle.”
“Yeah, well…that was the plan, but the wrong desk got ordered, so…”
Chuckling, Walker shook his head. “Dude, you don’t believe that, do you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, come on. This desk looks nothing like the one you probably ordered. Not only that, but the office got completed relatively fast, almost like everything else was already in place to match it.”
That would mean…
“Maisie wouldn’t do that,” he countered. “We talked about it and she was fine with everything I picked out.”
All Walker did was shrug. “If you say so.”
But now he couldn’t be sure.
Dammit.
Frowning, he pushed the thought aside. “Anyway, so what’s up?”
“Reece Barrett is here to talk about the amphitheater.”
“Did we have an appointment?” He automatically pulled up his calendar on his phone but didn’t see anything.
“No, but he had some ideas and wanted to run them by us. Slater’s on a hike, Connor’s not in today since he’s meeting with some contractor about the new house, and Axel’s dealing with the land surveyors, so it’s just me and you. Do you have time?”
“Uh…yeah. Sure.”
When he went to stand, Walker stopped him. “We can meet in here if that’s okay with you. Or would you prefer the conference room?”
“This works.”
“I’ll be right back.”
He was back a minute later with Reece. Milo stood and shook his hand before they all sat down. “What can we do for you?”
“I appreciate you both making the time for me,” Reece began. “There were so many people here with us the other day between architects, engineers, designers, and whatnot, I thought it might be nice if I could put my two cents in as a lifelong resident of Harbortown.”
Milo and Walker briefly exchanged glances before motioning for him to continue.
“Look, I’ve lived here my whole life. My parents own the ice cream shop in town—The Daily Scoop.
I got into carpentry while I was still in high school and then I went to work for local contractors before branching out on my own, which really happened because of this project.
I was working for someone else, but they weren’t putting the time into a job of this scale.
So, I got my general contractor's license and here I am.”
Milo wasn’t sure where this was leading, so he simply listened.
“With the resort reopening, it’s brought a lot of work to the area, but I’m also branching out.
I’ve got a place in Albany and I’ve been dividing my time between here and there based on the jobs,” he went on.
“This amphitheater…well…” Pausing, he turned his attention to Milo.
“You’ve got a lot of big plans for it. Technical stuff that you said you hadn’t worked out yet.
And I got the feeling it’s going to be the kind of plans that will take the engineers a little extra time to work out. ”
Walker leaned forward slightly. “I get the feeling you’re trying to back out of the job, Reece.” He said it casually without accusation, simply stating a fact.
“I’m not backing out, it’s just…” Another pause.
“I just signed a contract for a couple of houses in Albany. They’re not going to demand all of my time, but for the next month, they will.
So I guess I’m asking if you would rather hire another contractor for the amphitheater.
And no hard feelings if you do. I just prefer not to be standing still.
” The nervous laugh that followed felt very familiar to Milo.
The man was hardworking and almost felt bad about it.
He exchanged glances with Walker again, and it was a no-brainer.
“Reece, we want you on this project. You’ve been with us since the beginning and the last thing we want to do is keep you from other jobs,” Walker said.
“And you’re right,” Milo chimed in. “There are a lot of things that will need to be worked out, but I plan on sitting down with the engineers when I get back from Seattle and talking things through with them. I have several ideas, but I want to talk to my team back home to see if we can make them work.”
To say that Reece looked relieved was an understatement.
“You said a lot of things in the meeting and I think I sort of…um…well…”
“It’s okay to say you zoned out,” Walker joked. “When Milo gets an idea, he gives everyone the really technical description, and we all just smile and nod before walking away and wondering what the hell he was talking about.”
Milo rolled his eyes. “I’m not that bad.”
“No, but most of what you do is in a language the average person just doesn’t understand,” Walker countered. “So why don’t you try to give us a simple explanation of some of the things you’re going to work on?”
“Fine. But some of these are just ideas. There’s no guarantee that we’ll use them.”
Both Reece and Walker nodded.
“Okay, I’ll try to make it make sense,” he murmured.
“First, I was thinking of an adaptive spatial audio system. The sound would automatically adjust based on audience size, weather conditions, and performer movements. Essentially, the result would be no bad seats. It’s about the experience rather than doing anything flashy. ”
“See? That wasn’t so hard, right?” Walker asked with amusement.
Milo wasn’t listening. He just went on to the next idea.
“Then I was thinking about using smart environmental tech. You know, maybe a weather-responsive canopy system. The canopy would automatically respond to wind, rain, and the overall temperature. It can deploy partially for shade or fully for storms. It would have to be made of a lightweight but durable material.”
“That sounds amazing,” Reece commented.
“Of course, we could also look into climate-sensing comfort zones,” he continued. “Heat sensors that monitor audience density, fans and radiant heaters that can be activated by zone, but a system that keeps guests comfortable without visible machinery.”
“Is that even possible?” Walker asked.
“Anything is possible,” Milo replied. “Like…what about an augmented lighting system?” The idea just came to him.
“We could have smart lights that adjust the color temperature as the sun sets.” He quickly made a note of it on his phone.
“I can see it having a gradual transition from daylight to evening ambience, and it would make sunset shows feel cinematic!”
“Um…sure, but that all just seems like a bit much for a venue that’s just for the resort,” Walker said carefully. “I’m not sure we need all of that. Do you, Reece?”
“Uh…that would depend on what kind of shows you were going for…”
“We can create an app,” Milo said absently, adding that to his notes. “Make it an integrated seating and experience where it would give directions to their seats, show notes and set lists, drink delivery options…”
“Milo…”
“Naturally guests can opt out or have silent notifications…”
“Milo…”
“But the big thing really is sustainable power integration—solar panels that are integrated into surrounding structures or into the landscape away from any guest experience, battery storage for night performances, and naturally, we want the amphitheater to run independently, especially during a power outage. We don’t want the guest experience to be ruined. ”
Walker sighed loudly before repeating his name for the third time.
“What?”
“Everything you just explained—while understandable—just seems like a lot. Again, like way more than what we need. You’re overthinking this. We need to narrow it down to a few of those options so we can stay within the budget.”
“I’d cover any overages if it’s my suggestions that make us run over.”
“Not the point,” Walker said wearily before looking at Reece. “So, um…yeah. Go and do what you need to do in Albany, and we’ll obviously keep you in the loop on where things land.”
“Thanks, Walker. I appreciate it.” He went to stand, but Milo stopped him.
“There’s one thing that’s nonnegotiable,” Milo said sternly. “I don’t want a lot of trees removed for this.”
Reece looked mildly stunned. “Okay, we can certainly try, but depending on the piece of land you pick, that may not be something we can control.”
“Then I’ll talk to the land surveyors when they get back with Axel. I just feel like the landscape needs to be protected.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Reece assured him, reaching over and shaking his hand.
“Thanks, Reece, and we’ll be in touch,” Walker said.
They both waited until the contractor was gone before they spoke.
“What was that all about?” Walker demanded. “Kind of late in the game to be playing the ‘don’t destroy the trees’ card.”
Raking a hand through his hair, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I know. Slater mentioned a conversation he and Nora had a few weeks ago, and she’s mentioned it to me, and…it just made sense.”
Walker sat down with a loud groan. “So you’re already at that phase of the relationship, huh?”
“What phase?”
“Where you throw your own ideas out the window and start thinking like she does.”
The bark of laughter was out before he could stop it. “That’s rich coming from the guy who was going to make this an upscale deluxe resort until his girlfriend told him not to.”
“Harlow didn’t tell me…”