Chapter Twenty
Jack
“Mr. Johnson, I’m so grateful that you were able to make it.” I smile at the CEO who has flown in from Florida to close the hotel deal. “As you know, these are some of the members of my board, and we will be going over the paperwork today with my attorneys here, Samson and Lucretia, and hopefully we can come to a deal.”
“Oh, I’m so grateful that you have decided to buy the hotel, Mr. Heathcliff. It really is something that I have been praying on, and I really believe that you are the right man for this project. You will really put Coconut Beach on the map.”
“Well, isn’t it already on the map?” I say, as I gaze at him.
“Well, of course,” he says quickly, avoiding eye contact. “I mean you will bring even more riches to the island. The island that has had my heart for such a large number of years.”
“Well, I think that we will definitely be able to do that. I’ve gone through the paperwork, and everything looks fantastic. In fact, I am eager to go and visit Coconut Beach myself soon.”
“Well, you’ll have a hotel to stay in when you go,” he says excitedly. “And if you are interested, my brother-in-law owns a private charter plane company that he may be interested in selling as well for a really good deal. It’s the only service that flies to Coconut Beach.”
“Well, let me think about it. Let’s worry about this deal right now. Excuse me,” I say as my phone beeps. I look down at the screen, and I see it’s Katherine. My heart races as I see her name. “One moment. I just need to take this.”
I answer the phone. “Hi, I can’t talk right now. Are you in the office?”
“I really need to talk to you.”
“I am actually about to go into a meeting.”
“Do you have like ten minutes?” She sounds insistent. “I need to see you.”
I start laughing. “I know you can’t get enough of me, but no, it’s not a good time.”
“Jack, I need to talk to you before you go forward with any of the?—”
“I have to go. Speak to you later.” I cut her off as Mr. Johnson steps outside and gives me a concerned look. “Maybe we can have dinner later.”
“Jack. This is important. It’s not about us,” She sighs. “It’s about?—”
“Fine. We can talk later. I’m in a meeting right now.”
“How long is your meeting?”
“It should be an hour or two. I’ll text you when I’m done.”
“Fine. But it’s really important. I need to speak to you.”
“You need to speak to me, or you need to touch me?” I lower my voice.
“Really, Jack?”
I start laughing. “Don’t worry. I miss you too. But now I have to go. I’m closing the Coconut Beach Hotel deal and I have to go.”
“Wait,” she says, but I hang up before she can say anything else.
I power off my phone just so I can’t be distracted in case she sends me some sexy photos. Katherine has completely changed my life and I spend every waking hour thinking about her, but now I need to concentrate.
“Where were we, Mr. Johnson?” I say as I step back into the conference room. He’s sitting at the table, and his eyes are shrewd as he looks up.
“I think we were just about to make a deal.” He taps his fingers on the wood table. “Mr. Heathcliff, you are about to become the owner of the Grand Palm Hotel of Coconut Beach, and I’m very excited about it.”
“So let’s look at these numbers,” I say as I take a seat next to my attorneys. “It looks like the offer is going to be fifty million, and we will secure all the reservations that you have in a seamless transition. You said that you also have beach rights. Is that correct? So that we can expand and build some additional beach bungalow properties?”
“Yeah, I think that will look amazing. Totally doable.” I notice he gazes at his attorney for confirmation.
