Sam chuckled. “You may think differently by the end of the day.”
“And that’s exactly why you’re here,” Gabriel said. “I mentioned this to Xander and Carmichael yesterday, but I’d like us to start with a tour.” As he spoke, an eight-passenger golf cart pulled up to the entrance. “Our grounds are quite extensive, and we can show you them from both the guest and employee perspectives. It shouldn’t take too long, then you all can do your thing.”
With nods of agreement, they loaded into the golf cart. Kwon was driving, and Gabriel sat shotgun in a rear-facing seat and donned a headset. He fiddled with it for a moment before chuckling. “Apologies, it’s been a while since I’ve done this.”
Forty-five minutes later, they were back under the resort’s porte cochere. As the group stepped out of the golf cart, Gabriel said, “If you’ll follow me, we’ve set aside one of our private dining rooms for you to use as a meeting room.”
There was a large round table in the center of the spacious room, with notepads, pens, and bottles of water at each seat. One wall had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Salish Sea, and along the opposite wall was a banquet table with fresh and prepackaged snacks, along with water, coffee, and tea stations.
“Thank you,” Xander said as his team took seats around the table. “We’re going to touch base for about ten, and then I’ll send Sam over to Kwon, and the rest of us will check things out.”
“Sounds good,” Gabriel said. “I’ll leave all-access key cards for each of you up at the front desk. Sam, check in with them when you’re ready, and they’ll call Kwon back for you. I’ll be on-site all day, so if there’s anything you need from me, just let me know. You all have my cell, but if for whatever reason you can’t reach me—cell service can be spotty up here—let the staff know, and they can radio me.”
Once Gabriel stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him, Xander looked at his colleagues. “Thoughts?”
“The security here’s a joke,” Wilson said.
“I wouldn’t necessarily go that far,” Tash said, cracking open a bottle of water. “There were cameras and lights by the guest residences and villas. Good lighting along the main walkways.”
Wilson scoffed. “Did you notice the perimeter? Their supposed ‘secure entry’ means jack shit when you can get on the property from countless access points.”
Tash wrinkled her nose as she took a sip of water. “Yeah, that could definitely use some work, but the property is massive. Aside from fencing the entire perimeter, I’m not sure what the other options are.”
Wilson shrugged. “That’s exactly what we do at Hudson Security.”
“True,” Xander said. “We can show Ortiz how we secure our property and see if that’s something he’d be interested in.” He turned to Abbot. “What’s your initial take on their security?”
“At first glance, it looks to be pretty high-end but basic. I’m guessing the surveillance will be standard. Hallways, main areas, walkways, guest entrances, and exits. I mean, no offense to Gabriel or Kwon, the stuff they have is good quality, but it’s still your standard, bare-bones hotel security... just upgraded to the deluxe package, you know?”
“That’s what we’re here for, people. Not only to assess the physical security, but to check out their processes too.” Xander placed a map of the property on the table. “Everyone’s supposed to initially check in at the front desk in the main building. All other buildings are secure, and everyone is issued a customized key card that works for their guest room and allows them to access all the buildings.”
“I wonder how many keys are lost during the course of a day,” Carmichael pondered.
“Apparently, guests are given lanyards, but since you’re talking with the front-desk staff, I’ll leave that with you.”
Carmichael nodded. “Will do. Plus, on our tour, I noticed two buildings had their front doors propped open, so I’ll check to see what their actual policy is on that.”
“Great,” Xander said. “Now, the resort also offers limited day passes for the spa and salon. These folks get a key card that supposedly only gives them access to the spa building. But the guy who shot up the place yesterday bypassed the front desk and walked right over to the spa building where someone held the door open for him.”
Everyone around the table winced, and Xander agreed. It was one thing to install cameras and lights, it was another thing entirely to change people’s practices.
“We need to provide them some options that they can realistically implement, things that the staff will actually do. However, knowing people the way we do”—he turned to Abbot—“I’d like you to focus on really tight surveillance that also still maintains the guests’ privacy. I’m sure privacy is important, but overall security holds a higher priority. I know you’ll find a way to balance the two.”
Abbot nodded. “Go overboard on the cybersecurity, because the worker bees won’t want to confront anyone, and make sure guests’ privacy is maintained. It’ll be costly, but the dude’s a billionaire. He can afford the upgrades.”
After another few minutes of everyone sharing their thoughts, Xander doled out the assignments, and the team disbursed. Making his way to the spa, he was surprised by the high-energy atmosphere buzzing around him. Numerous guests milled about in their athleisure wear, happily chatting as they sipped on freshly made smoothies. Others hustled down the resort’s paths in small groups of twos and threes, making their way to their various scheduled activities. A group of ten women laughed loudly as they followed three identically dressed staff members to the outer edge of the property for what he assumed was a guided hike.
Following the path, Xander arrived at the spa. Designed to blend into its surroundings, the building was a sprawling two-story wood, stone, and glass marvel with a cascading water feature to the left of the entrance. It was obvious Gabriel hadn’t spared any expense.
Xander was glad to see a security camera discreetly monitoring the spa’s entrance, but he hadn’t noticed any along the pathways from the main building. Glancing around, hefrowned. The spa was roughly a hundred and fifty yards from the main building. Yesterday’s shooter shouldn’t have been able to get so deep into the resort property without anyone noticing him or stopping him.
Fresh soothing spa scents wafted over him as he entered the building. He made his way to the check-in counter where a young woman was in conversation with two guests.
Patiently waiting his turn, he glanced around. Not that he was hoping to catch a glimpse of a certain raven-haired beauty or anything. Freya had mentioned she’d been given the week off, so the chances of running into her were slim. If he wanted to see her again, he’d have to actually reach out, which... wasn’t something he was sure about.
It was one thing to flirt, but it was another thing entirely to follow through. Again, he wasn’t sure that was something he wanted to do. She didn’t seem like the casual sort. Though he was kind of over that, he also wasn’t in the market for any sort of relationship. So reaching out probably wasn’t the smartest idea. Yeah, Freya was beautiful, seemingly sweet, and funny, but there wasn’t much he could offer her aside from a night of fun, or maybe two?—
What. The. Fuck? Focus, Bonetti.
