“I apologize for the late call, Miss Thompson. Your mother is in the lobby requesting to speak with you.”
“Tell her I’m not available tonight,” I said. “But she can leave a message, and I’ll consider meeting with her tomorrow.”
“Of course. Also, I wanted to mention several of your family members have been asking staff questions about you—whether you really own the property, what your role is, how long you’ve been the owner.”
“And what are you telling them?”
“The truth,” Richard said simply. “That you purchased Clear Water Bay 3 years ago, that you’ve personally overseen every aspect of its renovation and growth, and that you’re one of the most hands-on owners I’ve worked with in 30 years of hospitality management.”
“Thank you, Richard.”
“It’s simply the truth,” he repeated. “Good night, Miss Thompson.”
I hung up and returned to the balcony, my chocolate tor half-finished.
They’d know everything by morning.
The questions they’d asked staff would spread through the resort, and by breakfast, every employee would know that the family who’d been so dismissive of me at dinner had no idea who I actually was.
Part of me felt vindicated, but mostly I just felt tired.
I’d spent years building something meaningful, creating jobs, providing experiences, investing in a property I believed in.
And the whole time, the people who were supposed to know me best had assumed I was failing.
Maybe that said more about them than it did about me.
My phone buzzed again.
Another message, this time from Uncle Harold.
“We need to talk about investment opportunities. I’d like to discuss partnering on your next property acquisition.”
I deleted it without responding.
They still didn’t get it.
They thought now that they knew about my success, they could capitalize on it, benefit from it, be part of it.
But they’d had years to be part of my life, and they’d chosen judgment instead.
The ocean stretched out before me, dark and endless.
Somewhere out there beyond the horizon were other properties, other opportunities, other dreams to build.
I’d build them alone if I had to.
I’d been doing it that way all along.
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Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction created for entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, events, or places is coincidental.