‘Yes, yes, I would. What happened to the Xavier I used to know? The one who wanted to protect this island at all costs? Now you’ve gone and got investors for the Last Chance Resort… Given half of it up like it doesn’t matter.’
Xavier’s eyebrows pull together. ‘How do you know about the investors?’
‘Word gets around, even when you use fancy lawyers to keep your secrets.’
‘You’re still shooting off your mouth, when you don’t have the facts.’
‘Now, now,’ I say, feeling like a schoolteacher. ‘Let’s keep it friendly.’
‘You’ll sell your own mother out, all so you could buy more land and raze the rainforest and the natural habitat. Newsflash: islanders don’t want another resort, Xavier. They don’t want to line your pockets.’
‘Who told you about the land sale? That needs to be kept quiet or the whole deal will be at risk.’
‘Helicopter pilot, remember? Your buddies weren’t as circumspect as you might have imagined.’ Michel glares. ‘Aren’t you listening? If the deal falls through that’s even better.’
‘It’s not, you know.’
‘What do you mean, Xavier?’ I ask. ‘Do you plan on building a resort on that land? You might as well just tell us, since everyone will find out eventually anyway.’
‘Why on earth would I do that?’ he says, his voice tinged with anger. ‘Do I look like someone who goes around destroying rainforests? My mother would disown me for one and I’d never do that, especially on Esperé island. Why am I suddenly labelled this destroyer of worlds? Everything I’ve done since I took over has been to preserve what we have. Everything.’
‘So demolishing the Cabana Bar and developing the promenade, that’s preserving the land, is it? Looks to me to be the very opposite. Let me guess, your hands are tied.’
Xavier glares. ‘Yes, my hands are well and truly tied when it comes to the promenade, but it’s not like I haven’t done my utmost?—’
Michel sneers and Xavier’s eyes turn black.
I sigh. ‘Let him speak.’
‘It’s not as cut and dried as you think. When my mother went through her last divorce, her lawyer told her that a conglomerate had put feelers out on buying the land next to the Last Chance Resort. At that time, we were focused on not losing half of this place to a guy she’d only known for a year. Once we got past that obstacle, we returned to the matter at hand. How could we stop them buying and developing the rainforest right next door to us?’
‘I bet you bribed someone.’
‘Michel!’
Xavier shakes his head as if Michel just doesn’t get it. ‘Mum and I had endless talks about what our options were. Either let the land be sold and live with it – hoping whatever they built would be as eco-friendly as possible. Or stop it happening altogether. In order for that to happen we needed capital, which we didn’t have. The only asset we have is the Last Chance Resort which needed a renovation we also couldn’t afford. We decided to meet with investors and see what they were offering.’
‘And?’ Michel says.
‘And we met with a range of investors and took the deal that allowed us to retain 51 per cent of the Last Chance Resort, and they’d also paid for the renovations.’
‘And then you promptly bought the land the conglomerate were after?’
Xavier’s fierce expression falls away and he smiles, as if he’s proud. ‘We did. But negotiations were tough. The sale hasn’t settled yet but they have accepted our offer. Mum and I have been sick with worry that they’d sell to the conglomerate, and we’ve tried to keep it hush-hush so nothing will interfere.’
Is that why Mrs Bastille was sitting forlorn at the Cabana Bar that day with Doris? Not because she was going to lose the bar where happy hour goes all day but because she was worrying about protecting the rainforest? And why I’ve caught Xavier and his mum, heads bent, fiercely gesticulating? They were worried the deal would fall through. That makes so much more sense.
‘Who were the suits that day for the joy ride?’
‘The enemy!’ Xavier says. ‘But we didn’t want them to know we were trying to buy the land too. So we met with them, tempted them with various options that we had no intention of going through with and kept it all cordial.’
‘How did you convince the owner of the land to sell to you?’
Xavier laughs, and it changes his whole face. ‘The three Lucys dug up some dirt on those suits, and I let that information slip to the owner. Let’s just say their plans weren’t very eco-friendly, if their other hotels are anything to go by. No local wants to sell to a company who isn’t honest, and so even though they had deeper pockets, our bid won.’
The three Lucys, really? Maybe I do need their help when it comes to the Tia fiasco? ‘But the three Lucys didn’t know anything about the deal.’ They were shocked the day Michel mentioned it at the bookshop.
‘They knew we needed help and we told them we’d explain it all later.’
