Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“My sister won’t want that. The lodge was chosen because it’s significant to her fiancé. Plus, it’d be a nightmare, trying to move everything and everyone someplace else on such short notice.”
Mr. Rose chimed in, “Speaking of Ms. Sterling, shall I call her to let her know what’s happened, or would you prefer to handle that?”
“I’ll call her, but not yet,” Malcolm said. “I want to be able to tell her we have a solution before I hit her with this bombshell.”
The general manager still looked worried. “And what type of solution might that be, sir?”
Malcolm asked him, “Is there an excavator on the island?”
“Yes, a small one. It’s used for landscaping.”
“We could start chipping away at the mud with that machine while we made some calls. Maybe we can get two or three heavy equipment operators with large excavators onto a barge from the mainland. It’s a huge clean-up job, and obviously some repair work would follow, but maybe we could pull it off over the next three days with people working around the clock...”
“It’s not just the windows. The wood floor’s wrecked too, Mal,” I said. “I can see it buckling at the edge of the mud flow, and it’ll need to be replaced.”
Rose nodded in agreement. “Even if we could get this room cleaned up in time, your friend is right. Sourcing and installing new flooring would take a lot of time. More than we have.”
While they were talking, I turned and looked back at the main part of the lodge. Despite Malcolm’s optimism, there really wasn’t a chance in hell this room would be functional by Saturday. After a moment, I turned back to the two men and said, “I have two possible solutions for you, off the top of my head.”
Rose looked skeptical, but Malcolm said, “Okay. Let’s hear your ideas.”
“My first thought was moving the wedding and reception into the lobby. It would hold two hundred people, except that the way it’s laid out would mean dividing them into three or four groups. That’s obviously not ideal. So then, my next idea was to move it into the main restaurant, where we had brunch. It’s one huge room, bigger than this, and there’s still the second, smaller restaurant on the property to serve your guests. Obviously, that would involve totally clearing out and repurposing the space. But that seems way more doable than the major construction project you’re talking about here.”
Rose nodded. “I could make that work. What’s your other idea?”
I gestured toward the water with both hands. “Rent a freaking enormous mega yacht and dock it in the marina. The couple’s high society guests would feel right at home, and they’d still get a bit of the lodge experience, since a lot of them are staying here Friday and Saturday.”
Rose nodded again. “I could make that work, too.”
Malcolm pulled me to him and planted a kiss on my lips. “You’re brilliant, Daniel.” Then he pulled his phone from his pocket and said, “Now that I have some suggestions for her, I’m going to call Joy and see what she wants to do.”
His sister wasn’t on speaker, but I could hear her scream when he broke the news to her about the mudslide. She wanted to see it, so he switched to a video call. As he panned around the room, she started sobbing. “Don’t worry, sis,” he said. “I know this looks bad, but I promise I’ve got you. I came here with an amazing guy named Daniel, and he’s already come up with some solutions. The lodge’s general manager is here with us, too.”
He pointed the camera at us, and I waved while Rose said, “I assure you, ma’am, we’ll do absolutely everything in our power to make this work.”
Malcolm told her my ideas, and she took a breath and said, “Show me the restaurant.” We crossed the lodge, and after he took her on a tour of the dining room, she started crying again. “I can’t get married in there! Even if you took out all the tables and chairs, there’s still the kitchen, and the built-in booths, and those stations where the waiters ring in their tickets. It’s all wrong!”
I pointed the camera at my face and said, “Don’t look at it for what it is, Joy. Look at it for what it can be. All of those things you mentioned can be hidden away, with just a little imagination.”
She frowned and asked, “Who are you again?”
“He’s my date, Joy,” Malcolm told her. “And he’s right, this space could be totally transformed. We just need to get creative.”
She sounded defeated. “You know how Felix’s family is, Mal. They already look down on me, so maybe we should go with the yacht idea. It’s not how I imagined my wedding, but at least they won’t think it’s tacky.”