Chapter Eleven
Now We’re Talking
Rachel sipped her coffee, grimacing when the cold liquid hit her tongue.
It seemed like just a moment ago, she’d poured herself a fresh cup.
Glancing at the clock on her computer she couldn’t believe two hours had passed.
Shoving the cup away, she looked back over the document she’d been formatting.
Since arriving at the office early this morning, she’d been hunched over her desk.
It had been a long day out at the estate yesterday, and she was due back again this afternoon.
Which meant she had little time to catch up on the administrative and analytical aspects of the project—writing up her notes, pulling industry data, researching potential improvements for the business.
Her breath caught as she remembered Cal’s return to his office after handling the linen mishap the other day. She was behind his desk diving into the financials. He’d rushed in to grab a folder, but he’d stopped to thank her.
“Your sister came through for us,” he said. His gaze was intense, his green eyes stormy as they examined her, as if she were an enigma he struggled to decipher.
“I’m… I’m glad,” she stuttered, flustered by the power of his look. It made her stomach fill with butterflies. And she didn’t like that one bit.
“Please give her my thanks,” he continued, closing the distance between them. “And thank you for helping.”
Rachel nodded, not trusting her voice. She could smell his tantalizing smokey cologne, now that he was so near. It had a hint of leather and tobacco. It was messing with her ability to concentrate.
“Seriously, Rachel,” he said, as he reached out to cup her shoulder. “I appreciate it.”
His hand could have been there a minute or a millennium. She couldn’t say. All she could focus on was the wave of warmth that spread throughout her. Before she had a chance to reply, he was out the door, leaving her feeling unsettled.
When she left the estate, he remained locked in Trace’s office. To avoid disturbing them, she left without saying goodbye. They certainly had other things to worry about right then. Her additional questions about the invoicing system could wait.
But what couldn’t be delayed now was her need for more caffeine. She leaned back and rolled her shoulders to relieve tension. That cold coffee wasn’t going to cut it. She also needed something to stop her from thinking about the emotions Cal stirred up.
And what was good for unsettled feelings? Work. Work was great for that. Numbers and figures and invoices. All great for ignoring whatever that moment yesterday was.
Happily, the news on that front was not only straightforward, it was positive.
She conceded that the business was in excellent hands.
What Cal had accomplished in the short time he’d been running the estate was impressive, especially considering the renovations he’d had to manage.
As disagreeable as it could sometimes be working with him, his balance sheet said he was doing something right.
A quiet knock on her office door interrupted her thoughts. When she looked up, Seth was standing in her doorway.
“You available for a quick check in?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” she responded, wondering if she should chug the cold coffee anyway. A little jolt of caffeine would be great right about now. As Seth settled into one of her office chairs, she saved her document. It only took one time losing her work to make her paranoid.
“I know you haven’t spent much time at White Hall Estate,” Seth started. “But what are your first impressions?”
Her stomach dropped. She was much better when she had time to prepare and think through her remarks.
If Seth wanted to talk facts, she could do that for days.
But an impression or opinion was risky. She could say the wrong thing or say it in the wrong way.
It was a field of land mines waiting for her to make a wrong step.
Rachel attempted to avoid thinking too hard about her answer. She knew Seth was feeling her out, trying to get an idea of where her head was at. She wrestled with the choice: a carefully crafted reply or some unrehearsed remarks. All she could do was hope they wouldn’t come back to haunt her.
She hesitated and then responded, “From what I’ve seen of the books, which is really only a glimpse, I’m impressed.
At least initially,” she hedged. Seeing Seth’s quizzical look, she continued, “Again, it’s the early days, and I haven’t reviewed all the information, but Cal pretty much started from scratch.
He had to renovate, market, staff, and basically build everything he needed.
The business is operating at a fair profit in a very short time especially given the start-up costs. ”
“Let’s hope that your first impression holds out as we get more of the numbers in. Anything else stand out?”
Rachel thought about the riot of blue hydrangeas and the delicate colors of the stained glass dancing across the wide plank antique flooring. White Hall Estate boasted beautiful ocean views and interesting architectural elements around every corner.
Covertly wiping her sweaty palms against her pants, she nodded. “The physical buildings and location are not to be undersold.”
“You’ve been there before, right? A wedding, I think you said?”
“Yes,” she replied. “While I haven’t gotten a complete tour yet, what I have seen of the grounds is striking.
The renovations were done well and preserved or even enhanced the many original architectural details.
The projects were also chosen with care, obviously with long-range planning considerations. ”
“How so?” Seth asked.
Rachel tried not to dwell on the fact that this was feeling more and more like a test.
“In the main house, they installed more bathrooms than strictly needed for the capacity of the ballroom. So future growth can be accommodated easily. The chapel entrance was constructed to allow for zero-step entry, as were the bathrooms that were put in that building. Unique elements like stained glass, pocket doors, and historically accurate chandeliers were either refurbished or created. That attention to detail adds interest and makes the venue stand out from competitors.”
Seth smiled. “Very insightful, Rachel. Especially for not having a complete tour. I look forward to reading through your progress notes.”
Rachel’s shoulders lowered as she relaxed a bit. It was easy to get wrapped up in her head about how important this project was—for her career, for the firm’s business, for Cal and his family—hearing Seth approval on even just a tiny piece of the project, helped ease her stress.
“You’re saving everything in the project folder, correct?” he asked.
“Yes. I just added my notes and put some other materials out there today.”
“Excellent. You probably haven’t had time to review, but I put in the latest golf course industry revenue forecast along with some golf case study material that might be useful.”
Rachel frowned, forgetting for a hot second that she needed to school her speech and her reactions.
Seth’s brows furrowed. “You disagree with the golf course option?”
Damn her reaction. When he mentioned the golf course, she inevitably flashed back to her disagreement with Cal. Not that she intended to share that with Seth. But it brought up something she’d been contemplating.
“No, I don’t disagree with that option,” she responded slowly. “It’s occurred to me, the Fitzgeralds came in with three specific options for us to evaluate,” She paused, wondering how much she was comfortable sharing.
“Yes,” Seth prompted. “That’s not unusual for our clients to do.”
Maybe it was safe to test the waters and see his reaction?
“But they also said they wanted what was best for the estate,” she cautiously reminded him. “What if the best option is something they haven’t thought of? Something outside the predetermined list they gave us?”
“Why do you ask? Have you come across something that stands out as a solution?” he asked. She questioned whether Seth’s tone sounded slightly harder or more aggressive or if she imagined it, but it was enough to have her retreat a step.
“No,” she assured him. “I don’t have information on another possibility.
I was simply curious.” What she wanted to add was that since Cal had mentioned a distillery, she’d been pondering it as an option.
Cal also referred to the five-year business plan he’d created.
Given the impressive job he was doing so far, she wondered why his parents weren’t using that.
She was curious about his plan, specifically about the feasibility of a distillery. How did that change the earnings projections? She didn’t know enough about the distillery business to even harbor a guess.
“I see,” Seth responded. “Well, the three options Jay and Celeste came in with are all strong contenders.
“Besides the golf information, I created a file in the project folder with information on some local developers. I know the Fitzgeralds already have some names, but it doesn’t hurt to have some additional ones, along with the sort of projects in their pipelines.
Who knows? There may be something that dovetails nicely with developing this property. ”
“I will definitely review the materials,” she assured him.
Seth got up and smiled. “Excellent. It’s clear to me the project is in excellent hands.”
Rachel’s spirits soared. She knew this was just the project she needed to show Seth her potential. Finally, it felt like she was finding solid footing on the team. That was until Seth finished his thought.
“I’ll be sure to tell management you’re doing a great job bringing this home for us,” Seth added as he left.
With that stressful reminder, she plummeted back down to earth with a resounding thud. Despite her mind wanting to panic, she knew her time was better spent focusing on the project. She grabbed a fresh cup of coffee and powered through her remaining to-do items so she could get going to the estate.
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