Sadie sank to sit on her bed, her hands clutching at the fabric of the dress. Business. She had to focus on that. This was her last and only chance—she couldn’t afford to think of Dylan as Adem’s twenty-two-year-old university buddy, or the best man who’d brought Adem home from his stag night with an almighty hangover, a blow-up sheep and no recollection of where they’d spent the last two days. Dylan wasn’t that person any more.
She swallowed, blinking away sudden tears of guilt and loss at the memory of her husband. Because that was the problem. She wasn’t thinking of that Dylan at all. Instead, she couldn’t help remembering another one, sitting up too late in a bar after someone else’s wedding, talking too much and too deeply.
Despite herself, she couldn’t help remembering the man who had once asked her if she’d ever imagined what might have happened if he’d met her first, instead of Adem.
Rushing to her feet, too fast, Sadie shook off the memory with the resulting light-headedness. She loved her husband—now, then and always. And she planned to preserve his memory for their son by saving the hotel. Business, that’s all any of it was for her now. And she was sure that was all it was for Dylan too.
She knew business now, and she needed to show Dylan that—needed him to see that she wasn’t the same girl she had been then either. She’d grown up, learned and changed. She could save the Azure all by herself—she just needed his money.
Nodding to herself, Sadie pulled on her black dress and added her work jacket and heels. A business-casual compromise, she decided. It was perfect.
* * *
Heading down to the bar, Sadie was pleased to realise she’d beaten Dylan there, despite her clothing dilemma delay. After a moment’s thought she ordered them both a glass of a local white wine—showcasing the specialties of the region had to be a good way to convince Dylan that Kuşadasi was worth his time and interest. Following her theme, she also asked the bartender to check in with the chef on the menu. He returned in short order, carrying both wine and a daily menu. Sadie scanned it quickly and told him to instruct the chef to serve them both the best local food on offer, once they made it through to the restaurant.
She settled back onto her bar stool and took a sip of her wine, feeling in control for the first time that day. Dylan may have caught her off balance when he’d arrived, but it took more than that to rattle Sadie Sullivan. She had everything in hand now—and it was the upper one.
Then he appeared in the doorway, looking far too good in his navy suit and open-collared shirt, and she struggled to swallow her wine without spluttering. Dylan, Sadie was sure, hadn’t bothered agonising over what to wear at all. He’d just thrown on what he liked and looked...perfect in it.
It was strange; she didn’t remember him being quite so attractive. Oh, he’d always been good looking, but it had been in a single-guy-about-town, flirt-with-the-girls-and-take-them-home way. Whereas Adem had always been more steady, less striking—but so gorgeous when he’d smiled at her. It had felt like he’d saved all his best looks just for her, and she’d loved that.
But now Dylan looked more grown up, more reliable, like he’d grown into his looks and out of his bad habits. Sadie shook her head lightly—it was an illusion. She knew from Neal’s more recent stories that Dylan was just as much of a playboy as ever.
‘You look beautiful.’ Reaching her stool, Dylan bent to kiss her cheek, and Sadie ignored the thrill it sent down her spine.
‘And you’re just as much of a flirt as ever,’ she chastised him, earning the reward of a positively rakish grin that made it hard not to laugh. ‘Have a seat,’ she said, waving at the stool next to her. ‘Drink wine.’
He did as he was told for once, fishing his smartphone from his pocket and placing it on the bar before he reached for his glass.
‘This is good,’ Dylan said, after the first mouthful. ‘Local?’
She nodded. ‘Everything you’re going to taste tonight is from the area. Just another host of reasons why you want to be investing in Kuşadasi and the Azure.’
‘Down to business so soon?’ His smile was a little lopsided this time, like he knew something she didn’t, but since he was already swiping a finger across his phone screen to check his emails Sadie didn’t think he should complain about talking business in a bar.
‘Isn’t that what you’re here for?’ Best to be blunt, she decided. History aside, this was a business dinner—for both of them.
‘Of course.’ Dylan leant against the wooden back of the bar stool, his arms folded behind his head. ‘Go on, then. I’m ready to be convinced.’
‘About the food?’ Sadie asked, suddenly thrown off balance. Surely he didn’t expect her to convince him to invest a ridiculous amount of money based purely on one sip of wine and the promise of dinner?
‘About this hotel. You’re right, this is a business trip. As much as I’d personally be happy to hand over whatever money you need, I have shareholders and board members who might not be so keen. So I need you to convince me that the Azure is a sound investment before I can agree to come on board.’ His tone was perfectly matter-of-fact, even as he admitted he’d give her a pity save if he could. A very small part of Sadie wished it was that easy.
But no. This was exactly what she’d wanted—no pity save, no charity for the poor widow. Business.
She just hadn’t expected him to agree so fast—or for it to be a requirement for him too.
But she could do this. She could show him. She had a plan—Adem’s plan for the Azure—and she intended to follow it to the letter. All she needed to do was convince Dylan it was a good plan.
‘Right, then,’ she said, briskly. ‘Where do you want to start?’
CHAPTER THREE
THE MOMENT THEY were settled at their table—obviously the best seat in the house—Sadie launched into what had to be a rehearsed sales pitch. Dylan tried to pay attention as she listed the details of room numbers and styles, amenities and so on, but in truth very little of it went in. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her—and apparently he’d lost the ability to stare and listen at the same time.
Sadie was beautiful as ever, he’d known that since he arrived at the Azure. Before, even. Sadie was Sadie, and her beauty was an intrinsic part of her—and had very little to do with what she actually looked like at all. But now, soaking her in over the candlelit table, he had a chance to catalogue the changes. She was more fragile now, he decided, more closed off. Somehow more off limits than she’d ever been, even after she’d married Adem. Now she was The Widow, and he couldn’t seem to help but let those two words—and the tragedy they encompassed—define her in his mind.
Her spark seemed dimmed, and it hurt him to see it. Maybe this week could be useful in more than one way. He’d help her with her hotel, of course. But how could he not try to bring that spark back too? To make sure she was really okay here, alone with a crumbling hotel, a small boy and her memories.
Just as a friend. Obviously. Because there was no way she’d let him close enough for anything else now, if she never had before. Besides, given the position she was in, he wouldn’t risk it. Not if it would just make things worse for her. All he had to offer was the money she needed and business support maybe. Then he would be on his way. He wasn’t Adem and he never had been.
Dylan knew himself too well—at least as well as Neal, Adem and Sadie always had. He was too like his father to ever settle to one life, one set of possibilities—not when the next big thing could be just past the horizon. So this was temporary, and that was fine with him.
It just meant he only had one week to find the promise in the Azure Hotel and come up with a plan to make it good. He needed to get started on that, pronto. Priorities, Dylan.
Their starters arrived without him ever seeing a menu, but as he examined the seafood platter he decided he didn’t mind at all. If all else failed, at le
ast he could honestly say the food and drink at the Azure were good. It was a start.
‘Did Adem make you memorise all that?’ he asked, as Sadie reached the end of her spiel and reached for a calamari ring.
‘No,’ she said. ‘Well, just some of it.’
‘But it’s all his plan, right?’ He’d known Adem since they’d been eighteen. He’d recognised his friend’s touch before Sadie had reached the second bullet point.
‘How can you possibly...? We worked on it together. Of course.’
‘Of course. But this was his dream.’ He followed her lead with the calamari, hoping it tasted as good as it looked. One piece of rubbery calamari could ruin a whole meal. But, no, it had the perfect mixture of crunch in the batter and melting seafood. He reached for another.
‘His heritage.’ She shrugged, her shoulders slim and delicate now she’d taken her jacket off, and more tanned than he remembered. ‘He wanted a future here for our family.’
Family. Stop thinking about her shoulders, Jacobs, and focus on what really matters to her. ‘Where is Finn, anyway?’
A shadow crossed her face, and he almost regretted asking. ‘He’s staying with my parents for the week. I’m flying over to England to collect him after you leave.’
‘Because I was going to be here?’ That stung. He may not have seen much of the boy since he’d been born, but that didn’t make him any less of an honorary uncle.
Sadie gave him a look—the sort she used to give him in the pub when they’d been twenty-two and he’d been acting like an idiot. ‘To be honest, I didn’t know you were the one coming, which I think you must have guessed. Besides, that wasn’t it. He’s due to start school next year, and my parents wanted to spend some time with him outside the holidays before then.’
There was something else, hiding behind the lightness of her tone, but he couldn’t put his finger on it, and it was still too early to press too hard for information—frustrating as that was. He had to have patience. Eventually she’d open up to him again.
A waiter cleared their starter platters, even as another brought their main course—some sort of delicious, spicy, lamb stew thing that Dylan vowed to find out the name of before he left. But right then he had bigger priorities than his stomach.
‘Okay, so, I’ve heard all the grand plans,’ he said between mouthfuls. ‘How far have you actually got with them?’
Sadie put down her fork and ticked the items off on her fingers as she spoke. ‘The lobby, restaurant and bar are finished, as you’ve seen. So is the spa. Of the bedrooms, the top floor with the penthouse suite—your suite—and the other family suites is done, and the first floor of luxury doubles.’
‘So that leaves you, what?’ He tried to recall the floor numbers from the lift. ‘Another four floors to go? Plus any other reception and function rooms?’
She nodded. ‘We had a timescale planned but...’
‘The money ran out.’ Not a surprise. He’d seen it often enough, even in projects less plagued by tragedy and uncertainty.
‘Yes. So we opened anyway, to try and get enough funds to keep going. But at least one of the floors is uninhabitable as it stands, so occupancy is never very high.’
‘What about the outside space?’ That had to be a selling point in a climate like this.
‘The outside pool needs retiling and the path down to the beach needs some work. Fortunately the inside pool is attached to the spa, so got done in the first wave, before...’ She trailed off, and he knew exactly what she wasn’t saying. Some days, he thought that if he didn’t say it, it might not be true, too.
‘There’s a lot left to do,’ he finished for her, cutting short the moment.
‘That’s why we need your money.’
His fork hit china and he looked down to see he’d eaten the whole bowl without tasting anything beyond that first delicious mouthful. What a waste. He put his cutlery down. ‘Dinner would be worth investing in alone. That was truly delicious.’
She blushed, just a little. ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it. Somehow I suspect one meal isn’t quite enough to win over your shareholders, though.’
‘Maybe not. Okay, listen. I’m going to tell you a bit about my company, and you can decide if you want us involved. If you do...then we can discuss what else I need to see and do, what questions I need answered, before I can take a proposal to the board.’ She’d been straight with him, as far as he could tell. Time for him to do the same.
‘Okay.’ Eyes wide, her nerves were back, he realised, pleased to still be able to read her so well.
‘My company isn’t generally interested in long-term investment. Mostly what we do is take on a failing business, tear it down or build it up until it’s successful, then sell it on.’
‘In that case, I’d think the Azure would be perfect. We have “failing business” written all over us.’ She reached for her wine—a local red, he assumed—and took a gulp.
‘The key is, the business has to have the potential to be a huge success,’ he clarified. ‘In the right hands.’
‘Yours, you mean.’ She sounded more sceptical than Dylan felt was truly necessary.
‘Or whoever we put in charge. In this case...we’d need to be sure that you could turn this place around on your own, with just money and guidance from us.’ Make it clear upfront that he wouldn’t be staying around—not that he imagined she wanted him to.
‘I see.’ This time her tone gave nothing away at all, and he found himself talking just to fill the silence that followed.
‘Unless, of course, you’re in favour of taking a bulldozer to the place, putting someone else in charge of the rebuild and taking a back seat until the money starts rolling in?’ He knew she wouldn’t say yes, but part of him couldn’t help but hope she would. It would be the easy way out—but since when had Sadie ever taken that?
She shook her head. ‘Sorry. This is personal for me. I made a commitment to make this hotel a success. For Adem.’
‘I guessed you’d say that. Don’t suppose you’d consider changing the name either?’
‘No,’ she said, giving him a curious look. ‘Why? What’s wrong with the name it has?’
‘No reason.’ She stared and waited. He sighed. He should have known that wasn’t a good enough answer for her. ‘I had a bad experience at an Azure Hotel once.’
Her wide grin made the admission worthwhile. ‘Let me guess. Some woman’s poor husband showed up at the wrong moment?’
Of course that’s what she would think. And, really, who could blame her? ‘You know me.’ But not all his secrets—which was probably for the best. For both of them.
‘Okay, so if we’re not going to knock this place down, what do I need to show you to convince you we’re worth your time, money and effort?’
Honestly, he could probably make the decision based purely on the numbers. But that would have him flying back to Sydney tomorrow, instead of spending time with Sadie. He had to give her a real chance to convince him.
‘Here’s my proposal. I want a proper tour of the hotel. Then I need to see the local area—get a feel for the economy and tourist potential. Numbers are all well and good, but you need to visit a place to get a real feeling for it.’ All true, up to a point. ‘Then we’ll sit down together and see if I can help you save this place.’
She nodded. ‘Okay. Do you want me to set you up with the local tour company we use?’
Where would be the fun in that? ‘No. I think this will work much better if you show me yourself.’ Not to mention give him a clearer idea of how Sadie was really coping after her husband’s death. Multitasking was the key to any successful business, after all.
Sadie nodded her agreement, and Dylan sat back to anticipate dessert, hoping his smile wasn’t too smug. Everything was going to plan.
* * *
After a restless night, full of dreams that were half memory, half fantasy, Sadie met Dylan in the lobby the next morning, dressed in her best black suit and determined to impress with her business skills. His proposal had been more than fair. Neal must have told him what dire straits they were in at the Azure, but still Dylan had agreed to spend time on the ground, studying and evaluating everything himself, before he made his decision.
Sadie suspected that had more to do with friendship than good business sense. Still, he’d made it very clear over dinner what he needed from her—professionalism—and she intended to give it to him in spades.
Except Dylan, when he arrived, was dressed in light trousers and a pale blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, sunglasses tucked in his pocket, making her feel instantly overdressed—even though she was the one who was appropriately attired. How does he always manage that?
‘Right, let’s get going,’ he said, as he approached. ‘Lots to see today!’
‘Before we start our tour,’ she said, stalling him, ‘I realised there was something I forgot to show you yesterday, and I’d hate you to miss it.’
Striding across the lobby, she led him to the windows at the far side of the elevators. Dylan wasn’t the sort to stop and sniff the roses, unless someone reminded him to, and she couldn’t have him missing the most magnificent thing about the Azure, just because he forgot to look.
‘Oh, really? What’s that?’ Dylan asked, following, his eyes on the screen of his smartphone.
‘Our view.’ Sadie stared out across the bright blue waters, the sea almost the same colour as the sky, white foam echoing the wispy clouds overhead. They were high enough to see for miles, out along the coast and out to sea. Her heart tightened the way it always did when she looked out over the water and coast beyond the Azure. Whatever had happened here, she was lucky to have had the chance to live in such a beautiful country. She had to remember that.
A Proposal Worth Millions Page 3