Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Matthew pushed the last of the chairs out of the way, then stood back to admire his handiwork. He’d dragged the dining table from its original position in the center of the room and placed it against the wall. Next to it, he’d stacked a few of the dining chairs. His efforts had resulted in creating a large empty space in the middle of the room. He could see miles of bare beige carpet.
Perfect.
People paid good money to stay in luxury, but he knew from personal experience that more wasn’t always better. And especially not when you needed space to make battle plans. And to think.
He’d booked a private serviced apartment in a hotel complex, just off North Second Street for the next six months. The service staff was under firm instructions not to disturb Mister Jones, the long‐stay guest in room two-fifteen. The changing of linens and any cleaning were strictly by appointment only. Food deliveries were to be to the front door and no further.
The last thing he needed was for any of the locals to get wind of who he really was and what he might be doing here and decide to take it upon themselves to come knocking on his door. He’d been in the resorts business long enough to know that everyone had their opinion about what a good hotel looked like, and that it was rare for those views to all line up.
Once the plans for the new hotel complex were approved and the Green Tree Resort was officially in the hands of Royal Resorts, then he would relax. Then he could get about Aspen as Matthew Royal, not Matthew Jones.
That would be great. The whole cloak and dagger, sneaking around, using his mother’s maiden name as a cover, got stale, and tiring very quickly.
Maybe once this is a done deal, I might carve out some time for fun. I could do with getting away from work. A vacation would be nice. Along with a friendly female.
He’d penned getting a social life, somewhere in his extensive to-do-list. Just below it he’d added a note to do something about the lack of a warm body in his bed.
But not yet. I’m just too damn busy. A relationship needs time and attention.
At the moment he didn’t have either to spare.
Retrieving his phone from the table, Matthew hit the number at the top of his recent calls. Mia picked up on the third ring. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Good. I’m at the apartment in Aspen, and I’ve been moving furniture for the past hour. Any word on a date for the council meeting?” He was impatient to get things sorted.
“You and your need for space,” huffed Mia. “I literally just got off the phone. The meeting is at six o’clock on the first Friday in April. That gives us roughly two and a half weeks to get ready. If you can get the final site checks done today, I’ll get the team to finish up the model. ”
And this is why she will make such a great executive one day. Always on the ball.
He fully supported Bryce’s position that all future executive and board appointments for the USA operations should be merit based, not just because they were members of the Royal family. People like Mia, and others outside the Royals had to be given real career opportunities.
“Two and a half weeks. That’s doable.”
“I’m sure once the council and the Brocks see your model, they will understand your vision. I can’t wait for the day when we break ground on the new build.”
“I’m looking forward to that day too. I’ve just finished rearranging all the stuff in the living room to make the place more comfortable, so I’d hate to have to move it all back and go home if the Brocks decide not to sell.”
Not going to happen, have faith. Aspen will thank you for this new project.
“Are the hotel people leaving you alone? I mean, we don’t want anyone figuring out who you really are, not at this late hour.”
The only Aspen townsfolk who knew him as Matthew Royal, not Matthew Jones, were the Brocks, the reclusive owners of the Green Tree Resort. And the only face to face meeting he’d ever had with them was well over two years ago. Since then, the rest of their discussions, and disagreements, had taken place via either phone or email.
“I left a good tip when I got here and let them know that if they left me in peace, I’d continue to match it each week.”
“As always, Mister Royal, smart thinking.”
Matthew’s long held plans were now on the move. They finally had a date for the meeting, and soon he would have his model. People loved models. There was something about seeing a project in miniature that got people excited. And he needed the people of Aspen to be excited over his project .
Royal Resorts Aspen designed by Matthew Royal. I wonder if I can put that on a small plaque somewhere in the building.
“I’m going to be here until Monday, do you think that will be long enough for the team to have the model finished if I send the final pieces today?”
“Yes, that should be fine. It’s basically finished already.”
“Good. I’ll come back to New York on Monday afternoon and collect it. Unless of course you want to fly out to Colorado and bring the model with you.” He stifled a grin. Mia was not one for the cold. In New York, she could hide away from the chill, but in Aspen, that would be unavoidable. Every year she begged him to get the Royal Resorts board to relocate the company offices and staff to Florida for the coldest winter months.
“Hard pass on that, Matthew. You can keep your reindeers and sleigh. But don’t forget to give my regards to Santa. The fat man in a red suit owes me big time. I’m still waiting on that private yacht I asked him for last Christmas.”
Matthew laughed. “Hate to break it to you, Mia, but Santa lives at the North Pole. And yes, I get it, you won’t be coming out to Aspen until the Summer.”
He caught the sound of keys being quickly tapped, then Mia came back on the line.
“I’ve just emailed you the details for the planning meeting. Let me know if you need anything else. I’ve got a catchup with Bryce in ten minutes, so I’d better go. Talk to you soon.”
She was gone before he had the chance to say goodbye. He’d long accepted that Mia only had one speed, and that was full throttle.
Putting his cell down, Matthew had a sudden thought. If the model was going to be ready soon, he’d need a place to set it up. Being a rental, the apartment had locks on the doors of both bedrooms. He could put the model in the second bedroom and whenever anyone came to clean or service the apartment, all he’d have to do would be to make sure that door was kept locked.
He picked up the hotel’s landline phone and dialed reception. “Hi, this is Matthew Jones. I was wondering if I could get someone over to clear out the second bedroom in my apartment. Yes, that’s right, I would like all the furniture removed. I do a lot of yoga and need the space. Thank you.”
“Thanks,” said Rachel, doing her best not to give Dan a dirty side eye as he brought the last of her super heavy suitcases into her bedroom and placed them in the corner.
And bless your evil heart.
Finding out that the man who’d broken her sister’s heart was still around and from the look of it staying on permanently was a bitter pill to swallow. She’d had a year of being disappointed by the male of the species. First her father, then her ex-fiancé. She wouldn’t be seeing either of them any time soon, but living under the same roof as villain number three was going to take some getting used to, as well as some serious holding back of snarky remarks.
“You are very welcome, Rachel,” he replied.
And you are very welcome to kiss my ass. You son of a…
If she gritted her teeth any harder, her jaw would break. And as much as Rachel hated to admit it, she could understand why Kellie would be reluctant to let her husband go.
Dan Brock was handsome in that all-American, rugged, mountain-man way. He was tall, well built. Worked as a pilot and winchman for the local mountain rescue service. He’d even done a neat job on repairing Rachel’s broken head. The only thing missing was a T-shirt stretched across his broad chest with, “ Mister Perfectly Fine” printed on the front.
Getting over a man like Dan would take a special kind of woman. And if the way that Kellie stared into his eyes with such devotion every time, she looked at him was any indication, her sister was still hopelessly in love with Dan.
Rachel’s silent dislike followed Dan to the door, where—to her surprise—he stopped and turned round. “I’m glad you’re here, Rachel. It means a lot to Kellie to have you come and stay. You’re welcome here for as long as you want.”
Her fingers curled into tight fists. If she hadn’t been sitting with her left knee wrapped up in several ice packs, she would have climbed off the bed and wagged a finger in his smug face. The best she could manage was a weak, “Thank you, Dan.”
Kellie appeared in the doorway, giving her husband another of her lovestruck looks. Rachel’s fingernails dug deep into the palm of her hand. Any moment now, she’d draw blood.
“Did you mention the job?”
Dan bent and placed a tender kiss on his wife’s lips. “No, babe. I was going to wait until Rachel had got settled, but I can ask now if you like?”
“Yes please, honey,” purred Kellie.
I don’t know how much more of this lovey‐dovey stuff I’m going to be able to stand. I seriously want to puke.
It wasn’t just the adrenaline from the fall that had her stomach churning. Her brother-in-law took a gentle hold of his wife’s hand, and together they faced Rachel. Dan cleared his throat.
“There’s an old rundown ski lodge, called the Green Tree Resort which my father inherited from my grandfather about five years ago. My parents are keen to sell it, but they will only let it go to the right sort of buyer. To someone who will try and preserve the original building. I’ve convinced them that they should engage an architect to help advise them during the sale process.”
Kellie was bouncing on her feet with excitement. “And we were thinking that since you are a qualified architect with commercial design experience, who just happens to be in the market for a new job…” Her eyes glinted with unshed tears. “That you might be interested in taking on the role.”
The penny finally dropped for Rachel. Now she understood why her sister had been so keen to get her to pack up and move to Aspen. While it was a cunning move on Kellie and Dan’s part, it was also an absolute godsend. A proper project would help set her career back on track and take her bank account off its tenuous life support.
An old resort. It could be an interesting gig. And if she did a good enough job, it could possibly lead onto other things. Bigger things. Aspen had an international reputation which meant that any success here would reflect well on her chances for future projects. She’d be a fool to walk away from such a great opportunity.
But first I want to see this place. It all sounds too good to be true.
People close to her, people she’d trusted, had burned her in the recent past. Those wounds were still raw. The scars barely formed. So before she agreed to anything, she wanted to have a full understanding of what she might be getting into. To be able to say no if this project wasn’t right for her.
“Where exactly is this Green Tree Resort? I mean how far away is it? I’m interested but if it’s way out in the backwoods of the Rocky Mountains, I might have second thoughts.”
You could take the girl out of the city, but the bustling streets of Atlanta were in her blood. She couldn’t imagine working miles from civilization, far from the joy of a good coffee shop.
Dan and Kellie exchanged happy smiles .
“It’s about three miles out of town, on a fully sealed road. When you are feeling well enough to venture out and take a look, I can drive you,” said Dan.
Her face hurt and there would certainly be bruises all over her legs and hip tomorrow, but the promise of a new job was too much to resist. Three miles wasn’t that far.
“How about now? I can continue watching reruns of The Real Housewives of Orange County on my laptop when we get back.”
Rachel shifted the ice pack from her leg and moved to the edge of the bed. She winced as her foot touched the floor. “Ooh, that smarts.” She waved their hurried offers of assistance away. “No. I need to be able to stand on my own two feet. I’m going to have to get used to walking on ice and snow, or if that fails, then learn to fall more gracefully.”
Though if a hot guy in cute glasses comes to my rescue each time …
Getting gingerly to her feet, Rachel reached for her purse, then paused. “Is there any chance that we could stop at a store on the way and get some grip thingies for the bottom of my boots? I’m sure I’ve seen those things online.”
Dan frowned. “How about we pay a visit to the mountain rescue service instead? I’m sure we could rustle you up a spare pair of proper winter boots, ones which have both grip and insulation. We’ve boxes and boxes of them in the store room. Those other elastic grip things don’t last.”
Kellie pointed at Rachel’s boots. “Dan’s right. You should keep your Atlanta boots for the summer when you want to go hiking in the mountains. If you continue to wear them, the rock salt on the roads and sidewalks here will destroy them in no time. I lost count of the pairs of good shoes I ruined when I first moved here.”
Hiking could be fun, but only in the warmer weather. “Let me get my coat and we can go.” Doing her best to ignore the high five, which the grinning Kellie and Dan shared, Rachel headed for the closet.
Who knew, she might have settled in and want to stay on by then. Or at least have got her money situation a bit more sorted.
Scrap that … come the summer, I’ll have my life and career back on track. Then I’ll decide where I want to live, and with whom.