After staggeringout of Chloe's restaurant, having been stuffed with food and loaded down with a bag of desserts, I forced myself to walk the thirty minutes to my closest hotel. It gleamed from down the block. I loved seeing my hotels. I always chose beautiful old historic buildings, or if one wasn't available in the location I wanted, I had a luxury building built. In the first floor or two, I would put galleries, restaurants, high-end bodegas, or nice retail stores to make the hotels feel more a part of the neighborhood. They were nice amenities for the community and made hotel guests feel like they were having an authentic experience.
When I walked into my hotel, I greeted the staff and answered questions. We had a celebrity with a big baby shower coming in the next few days, two weddings that weekend, and a prom. I had expert staff, and I was pleased with the plans they showed me. I set my bags of food in my office—I had an office in every hotel I owned. Then I wandered the hallways under the guise of quality control and looked at all the expensive artwork. It was collectively worth a fortune. I wondered if Hazel would like it. I wished she were here so I could see her reaction.
Going back to my office on the third floor of the hotel, I settled down on the couch and pulled out my phone. I swiped at my phone, ignoring all the messages from people begging me to come party and instead pulled up Hazel's Instagram.
It wasn't even midnight when I fell asleep, scrolling through the pictures of her.
* * *
"I hopeyou didn't sleep here like a homeless person," Mike said the next morning as he shook me roughly awake.
I blinked and yawned. "Why are you here so early?"
"We need to get the conference center under control," Mike said, opening the curtains, letting the light stream in through the window.
"I have a plan," I assured him, pulling a cookie out of the bag of baked goods Chloe had given me and taking a bite.
"That's not the point. You can't just neglect the other hotels," he said.
"I'm not neglecting them. They're running great!"
"Yes, for now. But part of what makes Greyson Hotel Group special is our attention to detail. You can't do that when you're in Harrogate all the time."
"I'm going to go through the New York City hotels today," I promised.
"No, you're not. We have the interns," Mike said, snatching the cookie out of my hand.
"What interns?" I asked, trying to decide if I had enough energy to fight him for it.
Mike frowned. "Our brothers who are interning at our company. Do you pay attention to anything?"
"Ugh, I thought that was a joke."
"No. And Hunter wants them to be supervised. There have been complaints of them riding their bikes up and down Main Street at all hours. We need to start training them. They can't turn into useless playboys."
"All right, maybe next week." I yawned.
"They're here now, Archer," Mike said. Several of my brothers poked their heads around the doorframe.
"Cookie?" I offered. Mike made a disgusted noise.
My brother tapped his pen on the desk impatiently while I made myself as presentable as I could. Then we went on a tour to several other boutique hotels that our company owned nearby. On the way, I made us stop by several of my favorite food trucks.
"You can't get empanadas like these in Harrogate," I said, blowing on the crispy pastry. I munched on the food as our group followed Mike to our newest hotel.
"Can anyone tell me why we chose this location?" Mike asked. Eli raised his hand to answer, and I tuned them out. I looked through the window of the retail space. There was a restaurant on one side of the entrance and an art gallery on the other. And who should I see through the window but Hazel.
13
Hazel
Itook an early train that morning—you never knew with the train system—and I arrived in New York City with an hour and a half to spare.
I decided to stop by to see a couple friends of mine from art school. I had some ideas for how to make Harrogate appealing to the Art Zurich Biennial Expo search committee, but I needed some help.
"How's the restaurant business?" Katie asked. She worked in a shared sculpture studio in the Bronx.
"Oh, you know," I said. I didn't want to go into how badly I was failing. "So I have a job for you."
