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With her heart pounding in her ears and her finger hovering over the send icon, she groaned. Hope opened another tab and stared yet again at the home page image, memorizing the beach, waves, palm trees, and beautiful pool as her fingers trembled above the keys.
Make a decision!
She hit send, her breath bursting from her lungs. Clapping her hands over her mouth, she laughed.
* * *
The next day, Hope sat in her office and listened to Eduardo chat with a guest as she nursed her fourth cup of coffee. Her phone vibrated, and she froze when Unknown Number appeared on the display. She’d been expecting a call, but not this soon.
“Hi, Hope. My name is Steve Jackson, and I’m the owner of Half Moon Bay Resort. I wanted to call and congratulate you. I got your phone number off the raffle entry. Is this a good time to talk?”
“Of course.” Hope got up and shut her door. “I’m still in shock. It’s very nice to speak to you. I have to admit to being a little overwhelmed by the whole idea.”
“I’m sure I would be too, if I were in your shoes. I wanted to go over a few formalities before we can officially declare you the winner. I assume you’re all right with us running a background check on you?”
She laughed, pushing her cup away. “I’d be concerned if you didn’t. Don’t worry. You shouldn’t find anything alarming.”
“Good. I’m glad.” He laughed. “So, do you have any experience in the hospitality industry?” Hope explained her background. “Ok. Things will be different down here, of course. But having some prior hotel experience will be a big help. Have you ever been to St. Croix or the Virgin Islands?”
“No. I went to Jamaica with some friends a few years ago, but that’s the only time I’ve been out of the country. Is St. Croix part of the United States?”
“It’s a US territory, along with St. Thomas and St. John, the other two US Virgin Islands. That makes it easy for Americans to travel down here, or move for that matter. My wife and I relocated here and started the resort back in the 1990s. We didn’t find the transition too tough. There are more resources available now, and of course the resort is well established.”
“What made you decide to part with the resort? Are you retiring?”
He hesitated for a moment. “This resort has been a real labor of love for myself and my wife, Susan. We raised our kids here, but they both moved back to the mainland. Susan passed away from cancer last year, and this place hasn’t been the same for me, so I’ve decided to retire and move to be closer to my kids.”
Hope raised a hand to her mouth, her stomach lurching. “Oh, I’m so sorry for your loss. I can understand why things would look different for you now.” She paused. “Why the raffle, though, instead of just selling the resort outright?”
“I liked the idea of the resort going to someone who could never have afforded to purchase it otherwise. Beachfront acreage isn’t cheap here, you know.” His warm laugh made Hope smile. “And we sold a lot of raffle tickets, so I’m coming out of this with a pretty tidy nest egg. It seems to be a win-win situation for both of us. Plus, it’s been done elsewhere and worked out well for everyone involved. I thought it was a great idea.”
“I’m certainly not going to argue! But I do have to admit to being a bit nervous. Do you have a plan for the transition?”
“Sure. I’ll hang around for a while. I’m committed to staying here for six months or so. We can get you set up in one of the guest bungalows. They’re pretty comfortable.”
Hope blinked, hardly able to believe it. “That sounds amazing. Really.”
“The sooner you can move down here, the more time we have for me to show you the resort operations. By the way, do you scuba dive?”
“No, I don’t. I know it’s primarily a dive resort, so I imagine I’ll need to learn at some point.” Hope wasn’t about to admit to him that the idea of being fifty feet under the ocean surface scared the hell out of her, and she had no intention of learning to dive. He’d be gone before it became an issue.
“There’ll be plenty of time for that. We have a great dive staff here. Our instructor Alex is as good as it gets.”
“It all sounds great, Steve. I can’t wait.”
“As I said, we have some formalities to clear before we can officially proceed, but do you know when you can move down here? I’d like to get an idea.”
“You know, it’s funny. The timing of this is pretty incredible.” Hope rested her head in her hand. “I gave notice at my job last week because I realized it wasn’t going anywhere. And my apartment is now on a month-to-month lease, so there’s not that much holding me back. I could probably wrap things up within a few weeks.”
“Maybe it’s fate then. Forgive me for the personal question, but no husband or kids?”
“No, I’m single.”
“I understand. Assuming you pass the background check, the next step will be the damn lawyers. Sorry about that, but we have to.” He paused to laugh again. “It was nice talking to you, Hope. We’ll keep in touch.”
“Thank you, Steve. It’s a big relief that you’re going to stay on and make sure this transition is as smooth as possible.”
After the call ended, Hope stared at her office walls but imagined palm trees and clear turquoise water.
