I spent the rest of week two organising the itinerary for Oliver to tour all our hotels, which was pretty simple work, in that I was mostly just booking travel, drivers, meetings and accommodation for him. Given that I had just got home from two weeks away from Ella, the timing wasn’t great for me, so I also arranged for various assistants to go with him to each state. His first visit was scheduled for the end of next week, with him flying out to Brisbane on the Friday.
There were a bunch of projects from Hartwell Holdings, including the review of every wine we had in every single hotel. I sat in on a phone call with Oliver and their head buyer, Louise Carlow, who wanted to utilise the local wine industry in a more boutique way. Oliver wanted the same thing to happen regarding the restaurants using local seasonal produce.
Nick avoided me. There was no other way to put it. While Oliver would spend the day calling me or utilising me in some capacity, Nick had moved himself into the boardroom and barely looked in my direction. Occasionally, rebellion would overtake me, and I would very deliberately take him in tea, which he would pretend he did not want, before groaning over the cup as I left.
I was in complete denial about my feelings for him, and if I’d somehow imagined spending more time with Nick would cure me of them, I was sadly mistaken. The man was a powerhouse. He would rock up every day in his bespoke suits, distractingly fitted to his body with a perfection that made me jealous of his tailor. His workload was enormous and his passion for his business was unmistakable. He vibrated with the culture and ethics he spoke about. And yes, he was tough, but he was also approachable.
Mike had not had the benefit of a handover in his new role, and Nick carved out a whole day to work with him and the rest of the finance department. At lunch the next day, it was evident Mike’s crush had switched.
‘He’s just so … understated and down to earth. Much more so than you’d expect from a guy with that much money. And, honestly, he is way smarter than me. What is going on with his hair? Is it product? Can I get mine to be so fucking touchable? Also, Abbey, his arse …’
Jesus Christ.
I’d also had glimpses of the love and care he had for his brother, such as on the Wednesday night, when I might have been pacing outside Oliver’s office, waiting for a meeting of his to finish up.
Nick approached me, his hands stuffed into his pockets. ‘Who’s he on the phone to?’
Oh, hey! Hi, baby. You wanna come to my place for dinner and then spend the rest of your life with me?Thankfully, that did not escape my brain and I said, ‘Sydney City Council.’
Nick had suggested Oliver contact them over the no-standing zone directly out the front of the Delacqua Sydney. It meant guests had to be dropped off further back and walk to the entrance, and that was not good for business.
The discussions were in their second hour.
Nick opened the office door without knocking and held it back for me. I ducked under his arm, entering ahead of him, and took a seat across from Oliver. Nick sat beside me.
Oliver looked tired; he had all day. I was getting emails throughout the night from him and Nick was too.
Nick stayed quiet, listening to the discussions, which had turned from the parking to possible refurbishment of the interior of the hotel, to the mayor of Sydney worming his way into the launch party on Friday night.
Nick was itching to jump in. I could feel him virtually vibrating in his seat, but he managed to stay silent.
Oliver finally hung up.
‘You okay?’ I asked.
‘Politicians …’
‘How did it go?’ Nick said seriously.
‘They’re willing to discuss it, but also want to talk about subsidised accommodation when the mayor travels, as well as subsidies to surrounding businesses when we renovate and sponsorship of the mayor’s Staycation campaign. Our discussions went in a fucking circle and got us nowhere.’ He ran his fingers through his hair roughly. ‘That’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back.’
‘It wasn’t pointless, Ollie. You’ve opened up a communication stream. You can continue it Friday night,’ Nick said.
‘I should have let you speak to him.’
There was something vulnerable in that. Nick was obviously Mr Fix It in his family.
I was about to interject, but Nick beat me to it. ‘You did everything I would have, though I may have ended it an hour earlier,’ he joked, a genuine smile lighting up his handsome face. ‘You’re doing a good job, Ollie.’
Oliver yawned. ‘Abbey, what are you still doing here? Go home.’
‘I didn’t want to leave in case you needed me.’
Oliver smiled and closed his eyes, rubbing them with his hand. ‘I’m exhausted.’
‘Let’s go get a beer and some dinner,’ Nick said. ‘You’ve been killing yourself for a month. Phones and laptops down, okay? Abbey, you are all done here. Thank you. Head home,’ Nick said, turning his dazzling smile on me.
Inwardly, I sighed and basked in it.
