Page 375 of Seasons of Love
My little furry friend, however, seemed to distrust people. He never got too close, but that was okay.
“You must be special. Jake doesn’t go near anyone, especially when his friends are nearby.”
I turned to see my boss standing a few feet behind me. When I looked back at the rabbit, he was scurrying away, followed by two other rabbits I hadn’t seen before.
“Jake?”
“My son named him a couple of years ago because of his light-blue eyes and cautious nature.”
I got up and shook his hand.
“Hi, Frank, I didn’t know you were on the island this week. Everything okay with Jessie?”
“Yeah, the old girl had a vet appointment, and she won’t cooperate for anyone but the island doctor.” He laughed. “Trust me to have all the money I need, and yet I live at the whim of a fourteen-year-old dog.”
“You wouldn’t have it any other way, would you?”
He shook his head with a fond smile.
“How are you settling in?”
For someone who owned multiple successful holiday resorts, Frank was one of the most down-to-earth people I’d ever met.
“All good. Silver Sands has the same issues all the other resorts have. I’m sure there’s a resort management manual somewhere that lists it all. You can predict it down to the missing stationery.” I laughed.
“Let me guess, the chefs want a pay rise, the managers can’t agree on anything and blame each other for mistakes made, and the longtime staff thinks you’re coming here to steal the jobs of good Catarinian people.”
I chuckled as we started walking alongside the beach, still on the garden path.
“I’ve been in this business forty years, Mal. It’s always the same. We can’t please them all, or we’d have nothing to show for it. The youngsters want everything yesterday. No one wants to climb up the ranks. They want to go straight to the top.”
“Nothing wrong with ambition, Frank.”
“I agree, but the sign of a good leader is the will to put the work in, show you they’re resilient, and appreciate a good day’s work.” He stopped and looked out toward the ocean, letting out a sigh. “And sometimes the lack of ambition is also problematic.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re talking about someone in particular?”
He smiled. “You’re a perceptive man, Mallory Prescott.”
“Don’t let my dashing good looks fool you, Frank. I’ve been around the block once or twice.”
“Speaking of dashing good looks, how’s that lovely husband of yours?”
In my whole fifteen-year career as a resort manager, none of my bosses had ever asked about my personal life.
Frank was different. Family was important to him. That much I could tell by how he handled his business.
“He’s good. Thank you for asking. You’d think he’s lived here all his life with how many people ask about him every day.”
“It was the same with my Annie. Born and raised in LA, the moment she arrived on the island, she was home. Not a single day goes by that I don’t miss her smile.”
I put my hand on Frank’s shoulder and squeezed tight. He’d lost his wife to cancer a few years ago, and her memory was still very much alive both in the resort and the small town around it.
“Tomorrow is your day off, right?” Frank asked.
“Yes, did you need me to come in? I was considering coming by first thing to talk to Hailey and Pete. They’re locking heads over an issue, and I don’t want it to escalate.”
Frank let out a belly laugh.
