Page 481 of Seasons of Love
We enjoyed Frank’s home-cooked butter chicken and vegetables with the bottle of wine we’d brought with us.
Frank’s good disposition had returned when Jake reassured him he wasn’t moving out just yet. After dinner, we sat around the fire pit outside, enjoying the dessert Griff had prepared.
“Okay, family, we have a problem we need to resolve,” Frank said.
“Can I be the one to fire Brian?” Gabe said, raising his wine glass.
We all laughed.
“Any other time, son, I’d see it as a good experience, but I want to make sure the message is loud and clear and reconvened to my former friend.”
“Oh, but, Dad, I’ve been practicing.” And then he stood up and pointed at no one. “You’re fired, you weak, sleazy, backstabbing shithead. Leave.”
He sat back down. “What do you think?”
I couldn’t help laughing at his proud face. He was clearly joking, but Brian totally deserved that kind of delivery when he lost his job.
“We have a bigger problem than Brian, Frank. We still don’t have a contractor. We’ll be one manager down. Two if we include Jake, who got himself fired—ugh.” I coughed when Jake hit me in the ribs.
“All we can do is keep looking, Mal. There will be someone out there ready to do the work. I’m not going to compromise on safety, and I’d rather have the resort closed than have the building collapse and hurt someone.”
We all agreed, but the financial hit could be too much.
“Can we afford it though? You’ll have the same overhead costs with one resort down. As it is, we’re already missing the summer peak trade.”
“If you’re asking if we can afford it financially, I’ll need to check with my accountant,” Frank said. “The question is, can we afford to do nothing?”
The surrounding mood became heavier. I couldn’t believe we’d overcome so many hurdles, and it came down to this.
I always thought the challenge would be to organize resources. What to do with people who needed a steady paycheck, how to retain staff during such a long period.
Those had been my worries. Getting the actual job done was never a concern.
“I may have an idea.”
Everyone looked at Griff. He seemed a bit unsure after speaking up, but I put my hand on his knee to support him.
“I hope I’m not speaking out of turn, and I apologize for putting anyone on the spot, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot,” he said.
“Go on, son, sometimes we need a fresh perspective to help us find the solution,” Frank said.
Griff nodded. “I’ve seen how hard Jake has been working to relocate people to other resorts and make sure everyone has what they need. It’s because the resort is important to this island. And if the resort looks after the people of the island, why can’t the island take care of the resort?”
“How?” Jake asked.
“You need a structural engineer with a license who can also manage the project, right?”
“That’s right,” I said.
Griff looked at Zak, who’d been staring at the fire but suddenly looked up. “I can do it. I have the right licenses to work in California. I just don’t have the workmen.”
“That’s where the island comes in. If we spread the word, I’m sure there’s a bunch of builders, electricians, and anyone else you need, right here, on the island. Think of it as a GoFundMe, but with skilled people.”
There was a moment of silence until Frank laughed.
There were a few puzzled looks until he spoke. “I like it. Of course we’ll have to make sure everything is compliant, but if Zak wants to take on the job, then we can find the people. And this right here, gentleman, is the reason why people like John and Brian will never have what we have. Because they’re so busy tripping each other up that they miss the opportunities to achieve something great.”
I wondered if Frank was referring to John’s missed opportunity when he was invited to rejoin the business and decided against it. But that was all in the past and irrelevant.
