Page 42 of You Know You Wanna

I nodded, but I was finding it tough to concentrate on our conversation while Birdie’s abrupt departure played over and over in my head. “The one thing that the Greens is missing that this place has gotten very right is the Kids Camp. Laurene loves it there and the staff have been amazing with her. They just seem to have a knack for knowing what city kids want and need from the experience. I’ve learned a thing or two about how to better lay out the facilities, but hiring the correct people is key.”

Declan glanced at me. “So Lulu’s really having a good time here, huh? I was wondering whether she’d adapt.”

“It took a minute, but she’s settled in pretty well now. I can’t say a single bad thing about Blue Pines Resort when it comes to kids. Obviously, that makes it a very attractive option for families and any groups traveling with children. It’s either that, or it’s mostly couples coming for romantic getaways, which I think the Greens is stronger in, but the market doesn’t seem as busy.”

He nodded slowly. “Okay, so a kids camp with good facilities and a properly trained staff. That shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish at the Greens, but I’m not sure what they do with kids during the winter peak.”

I shook my head. “I don’t have a clue either, but we could try to find out. Alternatively, if we hire the right people, they should know anyway.”

Cracking open his water, he took a long sip and cocked his head at me. “I’m onboard with turning the Greens into a more family-friendly destination, but this place has had a head start where that’s concerned. I’m not interested in being second best. Have you really given up on getting a foot in the door here?”

I exhaled heavily. “Nope. I gave it another shot just yesterday, but the owner is reluctant to even talk to me, let alone to consider a possible investment.”

“Want me to try?”

“I’ll think about it,” I said mildly, already running over several possibilities in my mind for how that would go.

Either Declan would make inroads where I’d failed and he’d never let me forget it—which I was okay with—or we’d be pushing the old man even further. If he felt cornered, we might lose even more ground than I already had.

Dec didn’t question me, simply moving on with our impromptu meeting. “What do we know about why he’s so hesitant?”

“He grew up on the property. Started this place with his wife before she passed. It’s sentimental as fuck to him and he doesn’t seem interested at all in upgrades or taking on partners.”

“Okay, I mean, the place is clearly a real moneymaker, but it’s still outdated and rundown. Have you tried approaching it from that angle?”

“Yep. I even took it so far as to point out that he wouldn’t be able to keep doing the maintenance himself for much longer and asked if he was serious about working himself to death.”

Declan’s eyebrows swept up before he chuckled. “I’m going to go ahead and assume that he said he was?”

“You got it. He seems to think that I’m trying to steal the place from him. I’ve tried explaining that it doesn’t work like that, but…”

He nodded when I trailed off. “This isn’t the first time he’s been approached by a potential buyer and he’s afraid we’re going to pump the money in and then toss him out,” he guessed.

I made a finger gun and fired it at him. “Bingo.”

“Shit.”

“I know.” I took a long sip of my water and thought about Birdie again. “What Alan doesn’t seem to realize is that the kind of money we’d put into it would keep it going well into the future. Until long after he’s gone.”

Which also meant that if it was true that Birdie was set to inherit it, she’d have a safety net for years to come. I wonder if I should pitch it to him that way.

It was the one thing I hadn’t tried, but I wanted that for her, and I was sure he did too. Making up my mind to talk to her about it before I approached Alan again, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “I’ve done some initial calculations about what it’s going to take to bring the Greens up to standard while we’re negotiating about Blue Pines. I’m sending them to you now.”

“Do your calculations include an upgraded spa?” he asked. “I read rave reviews about this place’s Nordic Spa. On the flip side, there are virtually no new reviews mentioning the Greens’ spa at all.”

“How did we miss that?” I asked sharply, not blaming him any more than I blamed myself. “Did we fuck up our due diligence?”

“No, man,” he said. “I went back over everything when you called. Two years ago, the Greens’ numbers were looking great. It seems things started dwindling after that. I’m not entirely sure it’s only because of what they’ve done here, but something seems to have gone wrong.”

“That’s what I thought, but do you have any idea what it could’ve been?”

“Nope. I even went so far as to check out almost every other resort in these mountains and no one seems to have lost as much business to this place as the Greens. I’m not sure if it’s a proximity thing or if the service there has just gotten really bad, but based on reviews, the rest of the resorts are still going strong.”

“Let’s look into it some more,” I said, itching to finish up with this meeting so that I could send him off to explore while I went to find Birdie.

I needed to know what was going on with her. Before Declan had arrived, she’d seemed fine about last night. It certainly hadn’t looked like she’d had any regrets this morning. Plus, while I was talking to her, I might as well bring up the resort’s succession plan.

“Tell me about her,” Declan said suddenly, smirking as he held my gaze. “Birdie, right? You’ve seemed a bit lost ever since she took off. Does this mean you’re finally moving on from Jacqs?”