told me she would start right away, I couldn’t believe it.
That day was here. I wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted her to see how well I had done for myself. She was not an easy person to impress. At least, she never used to be. I doubted much had changed.
I walked through the lobby, noting the work being done and was happy with the progress. It was coming along nicely. I just needed Harper to put the finishing touches on things. I was hoping she could take it over the top. This resort was different than the others. It was luxurious and comfortable without being too sterile.
This was the first one I was doing that would be all mine. It had my personal stamp on it. I was hoping to eventually upgrade the others if this one was a success. It was time to move our resorts out of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. We needed to up our game if we wanted to stay at the top. That was why I needed Harper.
I called out the name of my assistant. “Jake Brown.”
“Here. I’m here.”
I spun around and saw his dark hair moving through the crowd of workers painting and cleaning the lounge area. “There you are.”
“I was checking on the dishes,” he said, a little out of breath.
“Are they all here?”
“Most.”
“Most?” I repeated. “What does that mean?”
“The champagne flutes were broken. I’ve already placed a rush order.”
He was about half an inch shorter than I was. “Good. Thank you. What about the linens? Did you send them back?”
I was micromanaging. I knew I was, but I couldn’t stop it. I was nervous and had the jitters. It wasn’t just about Harper. It was a lot about Harper but not just about her. I was nervous about opening on time. Not just opening on time but doing it right. It all had to be right. I couldn’t afford to have any of those first-day disasters. It had to be perfect.
“Relax. It’s going to be fine. Everything is moving along just fine.”
“Did you get the spa manager lined out?”
“Yes, she is going to use the towels you ordered instead of the ones she thought she should use.”
I nodded. “Good. Mine are better.”
He gave me a look that said he didn’t think so. “It’s handled. Everything is going to be fine.”
“But—”
“I’m going to your office to work. You’re going to be out here, right?”
“What?”
“I can’t get shit done with you yakking in my ear all the time, asking me the same questions over and over.”
If he were a normal assistant, I would have been pissed, but he wasn’t a normal assistant. He was a friend and I credited him for keeping me on the right path. I had a lot of balls in the air. It was his ability to stay organized that kept things running.
“I only wanted to make sure—”
He held up a hand. “Yes, you’ve lost your mind.”
“I have not.”
“This is all going to go just fine. I’m going to go check on a few more details. You greet your guests and get that situated. I’ll be doing everything else.”
I smiled, appreciating his bluntness. “Got it. I’ll call if I need you.”
“Please don’t,” he groaned as he walked away.
I had to smile as I walked toward the doors that led to the indoor pool. It was already filled with water and, from the smells of it, a lot of chemicals. I pulled out my phone and spoke into it, sending Jake a voice message to tell the pool guy to back off on the chemicals a bit.
I imagined we would be hosting some bottle blondes. I remembered an incident with one of Cori’s friends that dyed her hair. There was too much chlorine in the pool and her hair turned green. I didn’t want to leave my guests with green hair.
The response to voice text was a thumbs-up. I imagined it was a substitute for the middle finger. I strolled around the pool and moved to the hot tubs positioned around a warm enclosure. Tall palm plants and lots of other greenery hung from the walls. It had a Grecian-waterhole feel to it. That was exactly what I was going for.
“Mr. Adams.” I heard my name called through the small walkie I had clipped to my pants.
I quickly pulled it to my mouth. “What’s up?”
“You have someone here asking for you. A Miss Lincoln.”
Harper. “I’ll be right there,” I said, feeling the familiar butterflies in my