CHAPTER ONE
Gabriella Hunt drove into the large parking of the Lakeside Hotel and saw that a number of people had already arrived and were standing around smoking or sitting at one of the tables in the wine garden. She’d asked the lawyer who was handling the sale of the hotel to ask the previous staff to meet the potential new owner here today if they were interested in reapplying for their old jobs.
And the about-to-be new owner was Gabriella Hunt, or Ella to her friends. She was the owner of Ella Designs, and a specialist in re-imaging and designing interior spaces for the hospitality industry, specifically, the hotel sector.
This particular hotel had been closed for several months after the untimely death of its last owner, Anton Robson. That, along with him having to close the hotel for financial reasons, had resulted in the loss of jobs for the staff who had worked at the Lakeside Hotel. But Ella was about to change all that.
She’d done really well for herself with her hotel clients over the years, which she credited to her late husband, Marcus Hunt. He was the one who had made her lucrative break into the hotel interior design business possible. Since Marcus had been the majority shareholder in a highly successful chain of hotels that were based across the entire globe, Ella had a lot to thank him for. He was the first one who had seen the potential in Ella Designs, and ensured that it became his go-to interior design company whenever he needed to give one of his hotels a makeover.
Ella had won the original contract on her own merit, fair and square, all those years ago. And because of the impeccable service and standards Ella had set for her business, Marcus decided to exclusively use her company in the future.
From the business Marcus had sent her way, Ella’s company gained experience in the hotel industry, and became a formidable interior design company specializing in hospitality layouts and designs.
Marcus and Ella developed professional respect for one another, but it gradually grew into something more. After two years of working alongside Ella on new design projects for his hotels, Marcus asked Ella if she’d like to attend a Christmas dinner and dance with him.
Ella found Marcus to be hardworking and strong-willed, but also incredibly kind and humble, not to mention being a real gentleman. She was thrilled that he’d asked her and had no problem joining him for the social event. It turned out to be a magical first date for both of them.
The following year, Marcus had asked Ella to marry him. She told him she needed some time to think about it, since she’d never been married, and it was a very big decision for her to make. But Ella was only messing with him and agreed to his proposal by the end of the day.
“What took you so long?” she’d eventually asked him, which made Marcus laugh.
“I wasn’t sure you’d say yes,” he replied.
They were married in Fiji a few months later in a small and intimate ceremony. Even though Marcus Hunt was one of the biggest names in the hotel industry, he also knew when to close the doors on his private life and just be himself, which Ella found endearing in such a high-profile man. They enjoyed a very fulfilling marriage, right up until Marcus’ accident, which is what had led her to this failed business venture called the Lakeside Hotel.
*****
After Ella had parked her rental car, she made sure she opened the front windows enough for fresh air to get into the car, and then walked up to the tired-looking entrance to the hotel, taking in as many details as possible of the building. She was well aware that the staff members who were there wanted to know about possible employment. Ella sensed their somber mood and thought it was quite understandable.
A real estate agent had already shown her around the hotel, restaurant, and bar in her previous meeting with him, and she’d quickly seen the potential, but also the challenges, involved in taking on this damaged business. But her motto had always been, what was life without challenges? Now, as Ella saw the toll that the failed business had taken on the staff as they wondered whether or not they’d have jobs, she was beginning to fully appreciate what was going to lie ahead.
She approached some of the staff who were sitting at the tables in the wine garden and one of them asked, “Are you waiting for somebody to open up the hotel for you?”
“I don’t think we’re going to be that lucky,” a cheery young woman in her late twenties said. “The hotel has been closed for a few months now, and we don’t know if anybody has bought the place.”
A young man spoke up, clearly annoyed about something. “We were told that we might be able to get our old jobs back if we showed up today, but if the new owners are anything like the last ones, I’m not interested. I just want to have a chance to meet them to see if I’d be interested in working for them.”
“Teddy, at least give them a chance,” the young woman said.
“I guess,” the young man called Teddy said. “I’m just angry about how it all ended. Especially with the thing in the cellar. I mean, we were both there, Becky.”
The last remark seemed to get everybody’s attention, including Ella’s, although she played it dumb, to see what else would be said.
“So, were you looking to book a room or something?” Becky asked Ella.
“I just wanted to look around since I need somewhere to stay tonight,” which wasn’t exactly a lie, but Ella felt bad about it. However, she decided that since she was about to spend a very sizable chunk of money on this hotel, she needed to get as much unbiased information as she could. And a disgruntled staff seemed like a good place to start.
“Well, you might need to go into town to find a B & B, because it doesn’t look like anybody is coming to save the Lakeside today,” Teddy said.
And then, as if on cue, a large, dark blue Mercedes-Benz pulled into the parking and stopped near Ella’s car.
I guess the game is up now, she thought.
A man and a woman, both dressed in expensive-looking business suits, got out of the car and strode confidently across the parking lot to where Ella and the others were.
Having already met Ella a few times to finalize this deal, as well as to take her on a tour of the interior of the bar, restaurant and hotel, the real estate agent and Ella already knew each other. He walked over to Ella and shook her hand warmly before introducing his colleague, who was an accountant.
“Everybody, this is Gabriella Hunt, and she’s come to look at the hotel. She’s thinking about reopening it. So, if you could just stay where you are a little longer, we’ll let you know what’s happening.”
“I knew you weren’t a real customer,” Becky said. “A real customer would have complained about the hotel being closed after their long drive here. Anyway, welcome to the Lakeside.”
“Hello, everyone. Just to be clear before I go for another walk through of the hotel and talk figures with the accountant here, I haven’t made a decision yet,” Ella said.
“If you do buy the hotel,” Teddy said. “Would we be able to get our jobs back?”
“I will look at each employee on an individual basis. There is a possibility that not everybody will get their job back, or even hold the same position they held before, but we can discuss that later.”
And with that Ella walked into the Lakeside Hotel, ready to decide whether she should take on the mammoth task of turning around a failed hotel or walk away and look for some other challenge.
An hour later, she came outside and invited the staff into the hotel. “I couldn’t let this place stand here all alone and unloved. I’ve just agreed to buy it, and I need an hour with the realtor and accountant. When I’m finished with them, I want to talk with each of you.”
“That’s wonderful,” Becky said, as she hugged Teddy and dragged him off his seat and through the front entrance of the hotel.
What on earth have I done? Marcus, I hope you know that a lot of this is for you. But I’m gonna’ try and make you proud from up there.
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