As she walked the short distance to his office she greeted some of the guests she recognised and nodded politely at those she didn’t. She smiled in sympathy when she saw her friend Kate, dealing with a clearly testy guest at the front desk, and laughed when Kate mimicked placing a gun to her head as the guest leaned down to sign something.
Connor’s door was slightly ajar when she got there, and she paused before knocking when she heard voices.
‘If we keep doing what we’re doing, in a couple of years—three, max—the hotel will be turning a profit again, Blake.’ Connor’s voice sounded panicked. ‘I’m just not sure this plan is the best option. Surely there’s something else we can do? Especially after we’ve stepped up in the last few years.’
‘Connor, no one is denying the work you’ve done at the hotel. You’ve increased turnover by fifty per cent since you took over—which is saying something when you consider the state Landon left it in. But three years is too long to have a business running in the red.’ There was a pause, and then Blake continued. ‘Would you rather we move on to the other option? I’ve told you that it would come with a lot more complications...’
‘Of course I would prefer any other option. But you know what’s best for the hotel.’
Callie felt a trickle of unease run through her when she heard her brother’s voice. It wasn’t panicked this time, but resigned, as though he had given up hope on something.
‘All right, then.’ There was a beat of silence. ‘I suppose we should start preparing to lay off staff.’
The words were fatalistic, and yet it took Callie a while to process what she had heard. Once she did, her legs moved without her consent and she burst through the office door.
‘No!’ she said, and her voice sounded as though it came from faraway. ‘I can’t let you do that.’
‘EXCUSE ME?’ BLAKE LIFTED his eyebrows, and suddenly Callie wished her tongue had given her the chance to think before she spoke.
‘I’m so sorry, Mr Owen... Connor...’ She saw the look in her brother’s eyes and hoped her own apologised for interrupting. ‘I just heard—’
‘A private business conversation between members of management. Do you make a habit of eavesdropping?’
His eyes were steel, and she could hear the implication that he thought she had more poor habits than just eavesdropping.
‘No, of course not. I was on my way to ask Connor if he’d like to do lunch, and then I heard you because the door was open.’ She gestured behind her, although the action was useless now, since it stood wide open after her desperate entrance. ‘I didn’t mean to listen, but I did, and I’m telling you that you can’t lay off staff. Please.’
Blake’s handsome face softened slightly, and she cursed herself for noticing how his dark blue suit made him look like a model from the pages of a fashion magazine. It was probably the worst time to think of that, she thought, and instead focused on making some kind of case to make him reconsider.
‘There are people here who need their jobs. Who love their jobs.’ She could hear the plea in her voice. ‘Employees here who have families who depend on them.’
‘I’m aware of that, Miss McKenzie.’ Blake frowned. ‘I’ve thought every option through. This one is the best for the hotel. If we downsize now we can focus on operations and then expand again once we turn enough profit. It would actually be fairly simple.’
‘For you, maybe. And for the hotel, sure. But I can assure you it would be anything but simple for the people you lay off—’ She broke off, her heart pounding at the prospect. ‘This is a business decision without any consideration for your employees.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘I have considered my employees, and I resent your implication otherwise. You have no idea what any other option would require from us. This is the most efficient way to help Elegance, Cape Town, get back on its feet.’
‘Are you listening to yourself?’ she asked desperately. ‘You’ve been tossing around words like “downsizing” and “efficiency” as though those are good things. They aren’t!’
‘Callie—’
Connor stepped forward and she immediately felt ashamed of her behaviour when she saw the warning in his eyes. She knew she was embarrassing him in front of their boss. She even knew that she was embarrassing herself in front of her boss. So, even though more words tumbled through her mind, and even though the shame she felt was more for Connor than for herself, she stopped talking.
‘It’s okay, Connor.’ Blake eased his way into one of the chairs in front of Connor’s desk. ‘I understand your sister’s anger. However unprofessional.’
Callie’s heart hammered in her chest and she wished that she hadn’t said anything. But then she thought of Kate, and Connor, and of the fact that her job meant the world to her, and she straightened her shoulders. She wouldn’t feel bad for standing up for their jobs. Not when it meant that she’d at least tried to save them.
‘There is another option, Callie.’
Blake spoke quietly, and she wondered if he knew the power his voice held even so.
‘I’ve looked into other investors.’
‘Why did you dismiss the idea?’
Something shifted in his eyes, as though he hadn’t expected her to ask him about his reasons.
‘The Elegance hotels are the product of my father’s hard work, and mine, and I don’t want an outside investor to undermine that. Not at this stage of the game.’
He looked at her, and what she saw in his eyes gave her hope.
‘Of course I have considered it. Especially an international investor, since that might give Elegance the boost it needs to go international. But it would be a very complicated process, and it would require a lot of negotiation.’ He turned now, and looked at Connor. ‘Like I told you before, I would have to think through the terms of this thoroughly before I make any decision.’
‘But you’ll reconsider it?’ There was no disguising the hope Callie felt.
Blake looked at her, and those blue-green eyes were stormier than she had thought possible.
‘I don’t want another investor. This hotel group has been in my family for decades, Miss McKenzie. It’s a legacy I want to pass on to my children.’ He paused. ‘But if we can secure an international investor, that legacy might be even more than I thought possible. We’ll talk about it.’
He gestured to Connor, and then moved to sit behind the desk Connor had had put in his office for Blake.
Callie waited, but the look on her brother’s face told her she had been dismissed. She nearly skipped out of the room, because despite his non-committal response Blake Owen was considering an option other than laying off staff. If Blake chose an investor it would mean that everything her brother had worked so hard for wouldn’t have been for nothing.
He had toiled night and day to try and get the hotel running smoothly again, and the news of Blake’s arrival had been a difficult pill to swallow—it had been a clear sign that everything Connor had done hadn’t been enough. Callie knew he loved the hotel, and the last thing that he wanted was for his employees to lose their jobs. And, she thought, the last thing she wanted was for him to lose his job—and for her to lose hers.
So before she left she wanted to say one more thing to Blake.
‘Mr Owen... Blake?’
He looked up, and she