JUNE AND EVIE greeted guests at the door of the Lake Breeze Hotel. A hot mid-August day, members of the press and media looked relieved to enter the air-conditioned lobby where a reception announcing the renovation of the old hotel awaited them.
“Good call on the red dress,” June commented to her sister. “Power color.”
Evie laughed. “Clearly I have acquired immense clout this summer.”
“You have. You opened the marina and got the hotel project started after we’d just talked about it for years. Plus, you’re the only one of us three who isn’t in crazy baby land.”
“Behold the magnitude of rational thought,” Evie said.
“You’re always the most rational one. Although I did think you might have been distracted by a certain firefighter for a while.”
Evie smiled and shook hands with a local reporter, glad for the interruption. The certain firefighter mentioned by her sister hadn’t crossed Evie’s path in a week. Clearly, she wasn’t a conflict of interest for him anymore. He had not been on the late-night ferry. When she’d responded to two ambulance calls in the park—both minor health issues—he had not been on duty at either one. His truck had not been parked in the fire station lot at Starlight Point when she’d zoomed by on a park scooter. Every day.
“Minor distraction,” she admitted to her sister. “More of a complication. And now that I have my plans approved, I don’t even have to be nice to him anymore.”
June gave Evie a raised-eyebrow look and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I mean it,” Evie said.
“But I thought you said he wasn’t the one who approved the plans in the end.”
Evie shook her head. “He wasn’t. The fire chief at Bayside did it himself because Captain Bennett believed he had a conflict of interest.”
“Humph,” June said.
“What?”
“What was the conflict of interest?”
Good question. “Because he worked here, I suppose.”
“But he’s worked here all year. Including when he tore up our marina plans. And when he nearly closed the employee dorms.”
“He didn’t tear up the marina plans,” Evie said.
“Fine.” June huffed. “He loved the marina plans. Either way, why the conflict now?”
Evie and June left their post by the door and walked into the hotel lobby. The rotunda area had been converted for the day into a pressroom. The wicker couches and settees had been shoved back against the walls. Tables covered with white cloths held crystal glasses and trays of tempting finger foods. Local newspapers, media influencers and even the television station from Detroit were on hand to see the drawings and hear details about the hotel renovation.
Evie took a small white plate from a stack on a table and began filling it with fruit and desserts.
“You’re not even going to eat that,” June said. “You look calm, but I know you’re too nervous. And you won’t want food on your teeth for your big speech.”
Evie held out the plate. “I was filling this for you. I thought you might want to eat instead of talking about Scott.”
June grabbed the plate. “One more thing. If Scott was going to back out, anyway, because of some recently discovered conflict of interest—” she pointed at Evie with her spare hand “—it wasn’t very nice of him to hold up the process for so long. You’re dancing pretty close to your deadline at this point in the season.”
Evie shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. Full steam ahead.” She checked the time on her phone. “Only a few more minutes until the big reveal.”
“You’ll be great,” June said. “I’m going to check on our big brother and make sure he’s staying awake over there.”
June, still dancer-slim with hardly a bump alluding to her January baby, delivered a glass of champagne to Jack and the editor of the local paper. The three of them stood by the table where framed diagrams were draped with cloths.
Speech time, Evie thought, moving to the podium. This was the moment she’d been dreaming of all summer long. At the end of her speech, she would reveal the diagrams and hand out press releases with complete details.
“Thank you for coming,” Evie said. She raised her voice to get the attention of the people in the room, but she wouldn’t need a microphone because of the acoustics in the rotunda. The reporters and invited guests standing around with drinks formed a semicircle and silenced their conversations.
“For the second time this summer, we’re pleased to host you as we continue our capital improvement projects here at Starlight Point.”
Evie had a folded program in her hand. She’d memorized her speech, but she was glad to have something to hold on to. Her hands were damp with nerves. The butterflies in her chest were like the feeling she got whenever she stood too close to Scott. Or thought about him.
What would he think of her grand unveiling of the renovation plans? Sadly, she already knew. The red marks on the original plans were painfully clear. But he’d been overruled by his boss.
“I’m pleased to tell you the marina is practically overflowing. Docks are filled, the restaurant is booked solid, and we’d like to thank you, the media, for spreading the word about it.” The reporters clapped. Smiles all around. This is going very well so far. “Your press kit includes a coupon for a dinner for two at the marina restaurant to show our appreciation. But you might want to call ahead and reserve a table.”
Evie took a moment to glance around the rotunda. Her siblings were impressed with her planning and execution. The marina project was such a success, her mother had begun hanging out on the family boat with her dog, just to be close to the action. I should be happy. But there was a long way to go before her visions were realized. That’s why they were here today.
“As you may know, the Lake Breeze Hotel has graced the shoreline here for over a century. It’s had a few changes over the years, but my plans are the most substantial since President Eisenhower was in office.”
A few members of the press chuckled. Evie reminded herself to smile. This was the grand occasion she had been anticipating for over a year, ever since she had convinced her partners to let her explore ideas and funding.
“Our hotel refurbishing is a two-part project. Part one,” she said, pausing for effect as she placed one hand on the white cloth covering a large, framed picture. “The wings behind the hotel are showing their age. They were not part of the original structure and never reflected the quality and grace of the rest of the hotel. Starting next week, we’re tearing them down.”
A murmur went through the crowd. Evie had been thinking about the demolition for so long, she was surprised by the reaction of people who were hearing the dramatic news for the first time.
“But don’t worry,” she said. “We’re going to rebuild them throughout the winter.”
She pulled the covering off the framed drawing and the crowd moved closer. The artist’s rendering depicted the new buildings and their beach-hotel design. Because they were separate from the main hotel, the drawing featured gardens, pathways and a courtyard uniting the structures.
“Instead of two stories, they’ll now have three stories so we can increase our overall room count. And building a new structure allows us to include completely new amenities. The buildings have the look of an old-fashioned seaside resort, but you’ll find modern comfort inside. New furnishings, world-class technology and the kind of luxurious comfort our guests and their families expect.”
A reporter raised his hand and Evie acknowledged him with a nod.
“Are you tearing down the attached wings and rebuilding them, too?”
Evie looked around the room, almost expecting Scott to show up and protest.
“Not exactly. The attached wings will be renovated extensively, along with the rest of the original hotel, including the part we’re standing in right now.”
A reporter directly in front of Evie frowned.
“I know what you may be thinking,” she said, raising a hand and smiling reassuringly. “Don’t worry. We are still keeping our place on the historic register because the changes are cosmetic and functional. Not architectural.”
The reporter smiled and nodded. Evie breathed. Despite Scott’s bullying about the fire code, she was gratified that someone else recognized the value of cosmetic renovation. Even if he was a reporter from a tiny paper an hour away.
“All the elegance we love about this historic building will remain, it’ll just be improved,” Evie said. She uncovered the next framed picture and the crowd moved a few steps closer. Cameras flashed.
Judging from their expressions, they liked it. What a relief. Although she’d been bolstered by the success of the marina project, Evie still awoke in the night worrying that her grand plans for putting her stamp on Starlight Point would fall flat and cost her family their livelihood and their legacy.
“Your press kit contains details,” Evie said after the reporters had perused the drawing and taken pictures of her standing by it. “But I’m happy to take any questions you have right now.”
“How many total rooms will you have on property next year?” one reporter asked.
“Three hundred rooms in the hotel,” Evie said. “That’s eighty more than we have now, and some of them are suites and family rooms.”
“Do you think you’ll have the project done when the park opens in May?” another reporter asked.
“That’s the plan. And that’s why we’re starting the tear-down of the back wings next week. We need to work on the site itself and outdoor construction before winter. We can move indoors when the bad weather comes.”
Evie removed another covering. “Here’s an artist’s rendering of the lobby and rotunda.” The new stamped-tin ceiling and carousel décor added to the old-fashioned summer resort theme. Guests would feel like they’d stepped back in time, but they would still enjoy wireless internet wherever they went.
With her official speaking role finished, Evie wandered among the reporters and bloggers, answering their questions. Some hotel guests wandered through and stopped to look at the drawings. Evie overheard them talking about returning next year to stay in the renovated hotel. Exactly my plan.
She and her siblings stayed until the last reporter left and then they split up to get back to work.
In her capacity as safety manager, Evie decided to walk by the fire station since she was in the vicinity. As she approached, she saw that the two scooters and all the fire trucks were lined up. Although the afternoon was hot and sunny, her radio—a new one after the boat accident on the break wall—had been quiet since she’d switched it back on after the press conference.
Chief Harlan had the hood up on the pumper truck.
“I hope the truck’s not broken,” Evie said as she came up behind him.
He turned and smiled at her. “Just checking the oil, boss.”
Evie laughed. “You can’t call me boss, not when you’ve worked here longer than I have.”
Harlan wiped the oil off a dipstick with a paper towel and slid it into the engine. He pulled it out one more time and checked the fluid level.
“Won’t be long and you’ll be breaking in a new chief here,” he said.
Evie sat on the bumper. “Any suggestions?”
Chief Harlan closed the hood and sat next to her. “I did have one good candidate, but I guess he decided working here is not for him.”
Evie felt her chest hollow out. “Who?”
“Scott Bennett.”
“Are you saying he doesn’t like working here?”
The chief shrugged. “Guess not. He took himself off the schedule last week, and processed out at human resources a few days ago. His name tag’s on my desk.”
How did I not know this?
“I thought you knew,” the chief said.
“I’m not in charge of human resources. Just safety and resorts.”
“Just,” he said, grinning.
“And I’ve been preoccupied with the hotel renovation. Apparently, I didn’t notice we’re down one firefighter.” Evie tried to think and sound practical. “Do I need to see about replacing him, or can we limp by the rest of the season?”
“We’ll get by. Some of the younger guys who need the paycheck have stepped up and picked up an extra shift. And the park’s only open a few more weeks.”
Evie ran her fingers over the rough, expanded metal of the bumper. Why had Scott quit? Especially if he had any interest in the job of fire chief. Had he ever mentioned the chief’s job to her? No. She’d heard about it from Chief Portman. Had she just assumed that was the conflict of interest? What if that wasn’t the conflict?
“When does the hotel demo start?” the chief asked.
Evie snapped her mind back to the present. “Soon. A couple of days. We’ve moved guests into the main building for the remainder of the season. My construction boss has the demo crew lined up to start Friday.”
“Want me to keep a fire truck and crew with them as they tear down?”
Evie cocked her head to the side and looked at the chief. “Is that customary?”
“It’s not a bad idea. Demolition involves cutting torches, sparks and usually a few surprises.”
“I didn’t think of that. You’re pretty close here as it is.”
“True,” he agreed. “We’re only a minute away.”
“And since you’re down one guy, maybe it would be hard to cover the park and the demolition project,” Evie said.
“You’re probably right. I’ll keep an eye out over there, but keep my men and equipment here for now. Unless I see something that changes my mind.”
“I’ll leave it up to your judgment.” Evie put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you. And thank you for everything you’ve done over the years. You’ve been the chief here all my life.”
“You’re welcome. But don’t start getting sentimental. You have to save some of that for my retirement party.”