Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 158829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
I don’t want the wheels turning in her head, making everything awkward again.
This silence isn’t helping.
“I’m glad you gave me a chance to make up for that disaster your first night,” I tell her.
“I believe in second chances. But why are you so worried about my review, really? I’m a pretty middle rung reviewer.”
I don’t answer right away. Maybe this conversation was a mistake.
“Truthfully, we’ve been hit with a lot of negative feedback lately. We don’t need another big mishap on our hands—especially not my little intrusion.” I start down the sandy path, and Piper follows me.
“You just need to change your mindset,” she throws back.
“What mindset?”
“You attract what you think about. You’re obsessing over the bad reviews. That could be why your people made a huge mistake when they were just trying to do a good job for you—”
Oh, fuck.
We’re really doing this law of attraction shit?
It’s come up at sales conferences a few times. Always from people who dress in eye-bleed bright colors and who do a better job running their mouths rather than selling anything.
I can’t buy it.
Still, it wouldn’t be wise to blow her off.
“Why don’t you enlighten me?” I bite off, staring at the road and clenching the wheel.
“You just need to look at your reviews objectively. Don’t take them as a personal insult. How can they help your place improve? You should be happy someone takes the time to tell you what’s bothering them. That’s a chance to improve.”
Sure.
I’ll get right on that when someone complains about the feeling of custom lava rock floors on their feet that took five million dollars to install.
I try not to roll my eyes at how obvious and overly optimistic her outlook is.
“You don’t like my advice,” she says, staring.
“I find it amusing. Only you could turn a bad review into a gift from God, Miss Renee.”
She smiles. “Because my mind is in the right place. If you’d try getting yours there, you might have a lot less to worry about.”
Hell, I’d jump at the chance to transport my mind.
Preferably to a place where I’m not thinking about stripping her naked under the high tropical sun.
“Piper, this situation is more serious than you think. It’s been an entire slate of bad press. This resort only opened roughly a year ago. If its reputation gets shredded out of the gates—if we lose business—I could be staring at layoffs or transfers. My staff came in with a lifelong dream of landing a Hawaiian position, or they grew up locally and won’t leave this island for anything.”
“Hmm. I’m sorry,” she says thoughtfully, biting her lip. “But I don’t think it’ll come to that...”
Is she serious?
How does some vlogger fresh out of college even have a clue?
She laughs bitterly and shakes her head. “If you want me to shut up now, I will. I can tell you think I’m stupid—”
But I don’t. She’s just out of her element.
My eyes snap to hers and I slow the Jeep down as we take a winding curve that hugs the cliffs hanging over the ocean.
“Wrong. I know you’re not finished, so let me have the rest,” I urge.
“Well...what if you played with the pricing? You charge more than the Four Seasons. I know you’re supposed to be bigger and better and fancier, but if the guests don’t agree...maybe it’s time to adjust? If anything, a few negative reviews might knock you down to a lower price. You’ll make less money per stay, but you might get more customers willing to take a chance on something with a four out of five rating. And don’t tell me it’ll bankrupt you. You’re Winthrope. The owner, he’s like a bazillionaire, right? And you must make a bundle.”
I clench my jaw.
I’m sure she means my grandfather since she doesn’t seem to know who the hell I am.
“There’s been a change in leadership. Ross Winthrope stepped into the background a couple years ago. Even so, he was a cautious man, and his money strategies are still gospel. It got our brand this far.”
She must see the feral look in my eyes and holds up her hands. “Oh, right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply—”
“That I’m just another spoiled rich fuck in a big machine that churns through real dollars like Monopoly money? Always above getting my hands dirty and doing the heavy lifting? Imply away, Miss Renee, you’re hardly the first,” I rumble.
That wins me an awkward laugh.
“And what happens if I get knocked down to a cheaper pricing tier and keep getting negative reviews?” I press her, loving how she chews her bottom lip when she’s thinking.
“If you see them as opportunities, I doubt that’ll happen. But I also don’t know why people freak out so much over nasty reviews. I’ve bought books because of crappy reviews before!”
I raise a brow. “What kind of books?”