Gabe and Jack had been friends for years, and he was one of the few people Gabe talked to when he was in the kind of mood he was in tonight. They’d talked a lot lately, trying to figure out the next direction Gabe should take with his Grand Hotels line.
He’d built his luxury line of hotels eighteen years ago, with a large chunk of the start-up money coming from Sutton Capital, Jack’s company.
Grand Towers was his most elite line of five-star hotels with locations across the country and around the globe. Each hotel had dual towers with luxury penthouse suites in the ten-thousand-dollar per night range. He stood in one now and watched the New York skyline through his window.
After he’d made his name with the Towers, he'd ventured into executive suites for long-term stays, creating Grand Garden Suites. This was followed shortly after with Family Grand Hotels—a chain targeting families with budget-friendly pricing and family-focused destinations.
And now, he was bored. Bored and—though he hated to admit it—done. He’d set out to do what he planned with his hotel chains: bury himself in work to forget that his family was falling apart and to create the largest chain of hotels across the country. But what now?
Where did you go when you realized your entire life had been focused on work and business? What did he do now that it just wasn’t enough? He’d even asked his friend.
Jack hadn’t had any answers for him, other than to tell him he’d help find buyers if Gabe wanted out. Well, that and to encourage Gabe to find the right girl, settle down and have kids like Jack—but Gabe had a feeling that wasn’t exactly in the cards for him.
Then again, a few years ago, who would have thought it would be for Jack?
“Hey, Jack,” he said into the phone.
“You sound like shit, Gabe.”
This brought a bark of laughter from Gabe. “Thanks, man. So nice of you not only to notice, but to point it out.”
“More of the same?” Jack asked.
“Yeah.” Gabe paused. “I think I’m done, Jack. I want out.”
The line was quiet for a minute, and he could picture his friend leaning back in his chair, his expression inscrutable.
“Good. I think that’s good,” Jack said, surprising the hell out of Gabe.
“I thought you’d tell me to wait, not to sell. That my hotels are everything to me.”
“Are they?” Jack asked.
Now it was Gabe’s turn to be quiet.
“No. Not anymore,” he finally said. “I thought for a while there I might start a new chain or something, but….”
He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to. He knew Jack understood.
“But you’re finished,” Jack said, reading Gabe’s mind.
“Yeah. I am.”
“All right. I’ve got a few groups that would be interested in buying you out. I don’t think there’s any single investor ready to take over your majority share, but I’ve got some ideas. Let me make some calls and I’ll get back to you in a few days.”
“Thanks, Jack. I appreciate it,” Gabe said, refusing to question whether he was doing the right thing. He still had no idea what he’d do once the deal was done. He didn’t actuallyneedto work, but the idea of retiring and sitting on his ass at the age of thirty-nine didn’t appeal either.
“And I have an idea for a new project for you,” Jack said, his tone cryptic.
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
Jack Sutton was known for having the Midas touch, and he was also always trying something new and interesting—which was exactly what Gabe needed. Passing up anything Jack offered would be a mistake.
“I’ll tell you about it the next time I see you. You coming home for Maddie’s birthday party?” Jack asked.
“Of course,” he said and a grin found its way to his face before he realized it. No matter what was going on in his life, the mention of Jack and Kelly’s two-year-old daughter always brought a smile to his face. “I’ll be in town sometime tomorrow morning. I’ll see you guys Saturday.”
“Great. I think she’s expecting you to buy her a pony,” Jack joked.