vivid detail in the picture depicting scenes familiar to book and movie lovers.
‘Our business is called Fantasy Rooms. In short, we give you the room of your fantasy in any hotel room of your choice. You can be a Regency duke or an explorer for the duration of your stay and, with just three days’ notice before you check in, we can transform any room to suit your ideal fantasy and provide the costumes and the props required to make your stay one hundred per cent authentic.’
A wild dart of excitement arrowed through me. When I was a child, my one guaranteed escape from the unpleasant roller coaster of watching my mother and the revolving door of unsuitable men she entertained had been through the magic of books.
My library card had been my most treasured possession almost from the day my father had walked out when I was eight. And as soon as I could afford it, I’d filled my reading tablet with more romantic fantasy books than any other.
The idea of bringing those two worlds together, incorporating them into my business, wrapped itself around my heart and held on tight. I needed to use my business head for this but I took a moment to indulge in the possibilities of what this could mean for me. For Nevirna.
I snapped into focus.
‘Three quarters of a million is a hell of a lot of money. Why such a big budget?’ Nate asked.
Tyler stepped forward. ‘We’ve only worked with a few small hotels on the East Coast. We’re looking to expand to the West Coast and eventually go international. The budget will go towards investing in manpower for a year. Ideally we’re looking at six teams, four in each team, to be available to transform the rooms with the three-day notice we aspire to. We’re also looking at hiring costume designers to produce bespoke equipment that isn’t readily available on the market.’
‘Bespoke,’ Damian echoed. ‘That’s expensive.’
‘But ultimately worth it,’ Sam replied.
‘You said you’ve been working with smaller hotels. Who are they?’ I asked.
Tyler named a chain of hotels based in Florida. They were good but not worthy competition.
‘I want an exclusive partnership.’ I boldly staked my claim.
Damian glanced my way but I kept my gaze trained on the Westons. They exchanged smiling looks before glancing my way again.
‘Nevirna Resorts is on our dream list, and, yes, we would consider an initial exclusive arrangement.’
My stomach dropped. ‘Explain initial,’ I pressed.
Sam smiled. ‘We really admire you, Miss Nolan. You cater to the type of clients we’re after. We’ve done tons of research and know you’re working on expanding your resort into Europe and the Caribbean. Our dream is to be bigger eventually and we’d welcome the chance to grow with you but we don’t want to be locked in if...things don’t work out. We need to start somewhere and we think that your resort would be a good fit for us for a couple of years. Ideally we would both grow together.’
Disappointment welled up. Their concept could be huge with the right partnership. But I wasn’t done fighting for the right to be their long-term partner even if all they were offering right now was two years. ‘I’ll offer half a million for the twenty-five per cent stake for a five-year exclusive contract with Nevirna,’ I stated boldly.
‘This hasn’t been tested on a large scale, has it? It could be a success story or it could be a huge money pit. Convince me it’s not the latter,’ Damian challenged.
‘It’s new and largely untested, yes, but we believe in the concept and in our ability to make it worthwhile to your clients. We’ve also had strong interest from the Stardust group of hotels. But we think a partnership with the Raiders will better fit us.’
With a compulsion I couldn’t stem, I turned my head. Surely enough, Damian was staring at me, a hard, shrewd smile twitching his lips.
He knew I wanted this deal. Knew it and relished taking me on.
Tyler cleared his throat. ‘If we may be so bold, our ideal objective would be to secure a semi-exclusive partnership with Nevirna and The Mortimer Group.’
Hell, no. ‘That doesn’t work for me at all.’
Damian’s gaze veered from mine to lock with Sam’s. My heart dropped to my toes. He was about to chop me off at the knees.
But I wasn’t down and out yet. ‘I’ll offer you six hundred thousand for a thirty per cent stake and a three-year exclusivity agreement,’ I countered. ‘But more than that I’ll offer you a true partnership, not one where you’re just another gimmick that’ll easily get overlooked in a big conglomerate’s fanfare. The Mortimer Group is impressive, sure, but do you want to get lost in all their noise before you have a chance to make your mark?’ I challenged.
Damian stiffened and his wisp of a smile evaporated.
‘Can you give us a moment, please?’ Tyler requested, his voice buzzing with suppressed excitement.
They retreated to confer with muted voices. The camera followed them, leaving us alone for a minute.
‘It makes good business sense to partner up,’ Damian murmured from beside me.
I turned the full force of my glower on him. ‘Not to me, it doesn’t.’
‘Why not? Your obvious animosity aside, are you seriously suggesting you don’t think that this could work out for both of us?’
I shrugged. ‘It probably would if I trusted you as far as I could throw you. But I don’t.’
His expression bordered on furious. ‘I guess I was wrong about your ability not to let past encounters get in the way of a sound deal. I’m...disappointed.’
To my infernal annoyance, my heart dipped. As if his opinion mattered. As if the echoes of my mother’s voice in his words were real.
I wanted to slap the look off his face. But despite myself I was fascinated by Damian’s effect on me when no one else so far, besides my mother, had ever made me doubt myself. Wasn’t that why I’d acted so out of character that night in Boston?
Despite having reached into my burgeoning business and yanked the heart out of it, he still both terrified and thrilled me.
Every time he looked at me, whenever I smelled that intoxicating aftershave, I got that stupid urge to trace my fingers over his square jaw, intimately acquaint my skin with his stubble.
It was insane.
I really needed to get it together.
‘Even if I trusted you, which I don’t, five years is a long time in business. I don’t want to be stuck with an absentee partner. You evaded my query earlier so here’s your chance to quash the rumours that you’re relocating back to England shortly.’ His reputation as a genius with the Midas touch was unquestionable, but still...
His shrug was laid-back but the tension vibrating from him told a different story. ‘I’m part of a family that runs a multibillion-pound conglomerate. Even if I were permanently based here in New York, I’d still have
