Page 31 of You Know You Wanna

He chuckled. “It’s about damn time that something comes up for you, Remi. How’s the old man owner treating you? Have you convinced him to take our money yet?”

“Nope. I’ve given up on that, actually. He’s not interested in anything we’ve got to offer. It’s not going to happen.”

Declan paused for a beat. “Wow. He has to be a tough old codger if you’ve given up. You’re sure?”

“Positive,” I said. “Maybe in a year or two, but not right now.”

“Okay,” he replied. “We’ll shelve it for now, then. If you couldn’t convince him to budge, no one can. So wait, does this mean that you’re actually just on vacation now?”

“Yes and no. I’m still taking notes on how we can improve the Greens to make it more like this, but for the rest, yes. I’m on vacation.”

Laurene scoffed down a laugh and shook her head without turning to face me. My eyelids slammed shut and I breathed through the flare of frustration. It’d been a few damn meetings. That was all. It hardly felt like it was as big a deal as she was making it, but I also didn’t want to fight with her. Everything I did just pissed her off these days, and the best course of action right then seemed to be no action at all.

“I’m going to come down to see it next week,” he said. “I’ve also been in touch with people at the Greens to let them know changes will be coming. I made it perfectly clear that the current situation is unacceptable.”

“Good. I’ve got a few ideas for how we can start recovering our losses from the summer in the winter peak, but there won’t be much time to get our ducks in a row.”

“We’ll move fast,” he assured me. “It’s a lot of money we’ve got tied up in that place. Do you really think we’re going to be able to start recovering this coming winter, though?”

“We’re sure as hell going to try. We’ll talk more once we’ve got a better idea of what’s practically possible, but we’re also going to have to invest a bundle in marketing.”

He groaned. “Yay. That’s even more good money we’ll be throwing after potentially bad, but okay. I’ll talk to Moira and the advertising team. It’s too early to start designing a campaign, but they can start researching.”

“Have them specifically look into the key search phrases for winter breaks in the mountains but ignoring all the regular stuff. I want to focus on niche markets. What makes some places different to the norm?”

“You got it,” he said. “Anything else?”

“Not right now.”

“Alright, then. See you next week.”

We hung up and I saw that Laurene was gone.

My heart skipped as I got up, but then I smiled when I realized she was just lying down on the couch. Out cold already, it seemed. Wow. My phone call bored her to sleep.

For a minute, I stood stock still, just staring at my little girl who looked so relaxed and innocent in her sleep. With no fight on her features or disappointment in her eyes, she looked so much younger and less worldly.

How the hell am I supposed to send her across the ocean alone, to some boarding school I’ve never even been to? My heart went on a striking rampage at the thought, and I resolved then and there that I’d talk to Jacqueline about it. I couldn’t just go along with the settlement if it was making our baby girl so miserable.

Carefully carrying Laurene to her bed, I laid her down and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. Heaving out a breath through my nostrils, I walked back to the living area. As if thinking about talking to her had summoned the demon, my phone rang. It was Jacqueline.

My skin prickled as I eyed her name. She’d just keep trying if I ignored the first call. I didn’t really want to talk to her, but the boarding school discussion needed to happen. Both of our lawyers had stressed that we had to remember we were both still Laurene’s parents and, as such, we had to keep talking. Besides, if there was a chance to make my daughter happy, I would make the sacrifice of talking to the woman I’d once loved.

“Hey,” I said as nonchalantly as I could. I didn’t like talking to her, but if my tone was too sharp, she’d get all offended and emotional, and then she’d insist that she’d speak to me once I calmed down. Which would only mean kicking this hateful ball a little further down the road. “How are you, Jaqs?”

“I’m just checking in,” she said breezily. “How are you guys?”

“We’re fine,” I replied, feeling so detached from the voice at the other end of the line that I couldn’t even really believe the divorce had only been finalized earlier this year.

It also wasn’t only because we’d been separated for so much longer that I felt so detached from her, though. Jacqueline and I had been growing apart for at least a decade before we’d signed our names on those dotted lines this year.

Even prior to our separation, we hadn’t talked often, nor had we seen a whole hell of a lot of each other. We’d lived in the same house, but we were like ships in the night for a long time before that. Our official separation had happened after I’d found out she’d been having an affair, but I considered even that as much my own fault as hers.

I hadn’t ever been around. I’d put work in front of my family since the minute I’d found out she was pregnant with Laurene. The babymoon I’d taken her on before the birth had been the last time we’d spent any real, quality time together and I couldn’t say I’d missed her since.

In my early twenties, she’d been the dream, beautiful as a fucking painting and with loaded, connected parents to boot, which meant she wasn’t just after me for my money. She’d been refined with a polished exterior, a deep love for frequent enthusiastic sex, and a network of people behind her that were, admittedly, beneficial to my business.

At the time, it had felt like a match made in heaven and she’d agreed. While my father had fucked up his business, I’d reversed the family fortune by that point. I’d been a rising star in Manhattan and everyone figured that, together, we’d take over the damn world. Both young, hot, and in love, it had seemed like a no-brainer.