The one thing that I hated most about being out of school was that there was no summer vacation. I had to pull myself to work everyday without fail. Luckily, King made work fun. It was 5 months after Park left and spring had passed by without incident. July had brought heat and humidity. Summer in the city was always hotter than summer in the country. We were in the conference room, new staff and all. Somehow, after all the disaster that had struck, our team managed to pull through. Jean Woods was spending life in prison, Jasper Cunningham (well, Jasper Elliot) went back to Interpol, and to my sadness, Dhalia Wright and Arthur Ryan remained dead. It wasn't like a fairytale at all where they all somehow live in the end.
"California?" Sam Forge was the first to speak after King's proposal.
"Yeah! One of the resorts there wants to merge, and I decided it was a good idea. So we have to conduct reconnaissance," King answered chirpily.
"Because the last time we tried to merge worked out so well," I crossed my arms, recalling my many near death experiences.
"Hence the recon! We're not going to go into this deal blind. This time, we'll be more careful about who we get close to. Besides. California!" King said as if that was a good enough excuse. Thomas Trainor shook his head, clearly not amused.
"How would we even benefit from merging with another hotel? Ours is still superior-" Wyatt Brown tried to say. King held up a hand.
"Superior? Have you not been reading the news? I'm thoroughly ashamed in you. Benedict Hotel, a small company originally started in Florida. Over five decades, they've become a global standard for hotels. They've taken root in Canada, over a dozen European countries including Russia and Spain, Korea, Japan, China, Australia, India, and the UK. Yes my friends. That look on your face is intimidation. For such a new company, how can they be so awesome? Well, rather than be taken down by competition, let's join them. Graham! What's that one saying?"
"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," David Graham sighed reluctantly.
"How are the stockholders going to feel?" I wondered aloud. King clapped his hands.
"50.4% of our stockholders are already invested in their company. That's over half. Just barely, I know, but still over half," King explained. There was a collective nod from everyone, even our new members. I felt my head fall into my hands.
That was how we ended up in California on a business trip. We went for a weekend, 3 days and 2 nights. We stayed in The Benedict Hotel, and I have to admit, the place had a lot to offer. Not only were the rooms the epitome of luxury while just barely grazing affordable, but the food was amazing. The pool inside was heated, and the pool outside had a mini waterfall that I enjoyed standing under. On our second day, we went to lunch in the hotel with the other executives.
"I still think our pool is best," King said as he walked beside me. I looked up at him skeptically.
"I think you're denying that they're obviously better," I said. He narrowed his eyes at me.
"My great grandfather would hate to hear those words come out of your mouth," he responded sassily. I just rolled my eyes at him and walked farther ahead. We came to the hotel restaurant and I marveled at the view. Our table was outside, next to a beautiful fountain that gently spewed water. Our long table overlooked the ocean. The hotel was on a private beach, so the waves lapped gently on the sand with no disruptions. I sighed blissfully as the ocean breeze blew trough my hair.
Our groups arrived at the same time and we were seated by hosts. I ended up being towards the head of the table next to King, Graham, and the other CEO. She was a woman with sharp dark brown eyes, bone straight hair pulled into a bun, and a youthful look to her face. She shook hands with King as she sat down, We had all met the night before at dinner, so this was less formal than it was before. There was polite chatter all throughout the table. The CEO of Benedict Hotel was named Anna Carter.
