At ten, they had a call with the contractor. Dad had already approved the layout before he’d told Cami about the transfer. The building had been gutted, new windows put in, and the walls re-drywalled. He’d even repaired some electrical wires. At eleven, Cami had a Zoom tour with Max. She passed on the apartment, but Astrid had chatted the Realtor up, giving him much more to work with than Cami’s non-enthusiastic specifications.
They’d just ordered lunch when Brant entered Cami’s office. His presence filled the room. “Got a sec?”
His nod of dismissal had Astrid scurrying to the door. She mouthed good luck and shut the door behind her.
Cami stood. “Sure, we just ordered lunch.”
“Then I won’t take much time.” There was a spark in his eyes above his calm demeanor. “Jeremy was reviewing your project schedule and saw you added the Hearts Bend Inn.”
“Yes, I bought it Fourth of July weekend.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I don’t tell you about every acquisition.”
“But this is the inn,” Dad said, his tone conveying what his words did not.
“All the more reason not to involve you. Ben Carter inherited the place from his grandparents, but he works for Viridian Jewel Resorts and is opening a new place in Sydney. I sent him the contract this morning. I’ll close with him the fifteenth of August.”
“Cami, I don’t want the inn. Withdraw the contract.” No give. No take. Just a command. It was like she was twelve years old, not a twenty-nine-year-old professional. “There’s no ROI.”
“There will be. If you saw the project board, you saw my initial projections. We’ll have to invest some money but, Dad, Hearts Bend Inn is a landmark. It’s in a prime location. All we need is some investment capital. I’ll run everything with Astrid from Indy, don’t worry.”
“Drop the project, Cami.”
She stepped around her desk to face him, but she couldn’t meet his gaze. “Just like that? Drop it? I gave my word, and isn’t our word golden around here? One of our values? At the very least, let’s renovate and sell it. We could get one point eight to two million for it. How is that not a good ROI?”
“Camellia, as your boss, I’m telling you to stop. We are property developers, not property managers.” Dad turned for the door, paused, and with his head down, hands in his pockets, added, “As your father, I’m asking. Do not buy the inn.” His voice was so low she could barely hear him. “Please.”
Cami dropped into a chair. Dad’s simple, vulnerable please struck her heart and sank deep.
“You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll withdraw the offer. But it’s going to cost us our earnest money.”
“Fine. It’s a write-off.”
When Dad left, Cami felt winded and stunned. She couldn’t move she was shaking so much. What had just happened? Emotion from her dad? There was so much more to his story. Would he ever share it with her?
9
How was Cami going to tell Ben? She wasn’t going to buy the inn. After convincing him to sell it to her. She parked next to his truck and glanced up at the restaurant—Angelo’s. It was becoming a thing.
She’d waited a day to see if Dad would change his mind, but when he hadn’t, she’d called Ben and asked to meet for dinner.
She’d tossed and turned all night. What was behind Dad’s soft, emotional, humble please? It had nothing to do with the inn’s ROI. Cami guessed it had everything to do with Mama.
The turmoil had also diminished her memories of Ben. She couldn’t remember the taste of his kiss. After she gave him the news, he’d probably never kiss her again.
Did she want the inn? Yes. But Dad had stood in her office and asked her to let this deal go. Please.
She heard, even felt, the tenor of his voice every time she thought of it. Since she could count on one hand the number of times Dad had asked her for something, she would rescind the offer without further delay. Ben would just have to understand.
Cami glanced down at her Jimmy Choos, straightened her pencil skirt, and touched her hair. Smile in place, she headed inside Angelo’s.
The cool, dim restaurant had a date-night feel. The string quartet played in the corner, and two couples danced on the open floor. The comforting scents of fresh Italian food filled the air.
