Love In The Wild West

Chapter 9

Lila and Kurt straightened up and cleared their throats in an attempt to get over the lustful mood that had overtaken them only moments ago. Kurt looked at the phone and then looked at Lila. He looked as if he was about to say something but then he answered the call. Lila was grateful. This was a rather awkward situation to be in, and not discussing it might end up being the best course of action for both of them.

“Hello?” said Kurt after putting his phone to his ear. “Yes. I am in the car. Yes, that car. Okay, thank you.”

Kurt cut the call and then looked at Lila. “I… I am sorry.”

“It’s okay,” said Lila with an embarrassed laugh. “I didn’t really think that… I mean…”

The alcohol had worn off completely now. The exhilaration of what she had just experienced with Kurt was flooding through her body, making her feel as if she was alive at last.

“It’s okay,” said Kurt. “Maybe we should talk about it later. What do you say?”

“Yeah,” said Lila. “I think that would be a good idea.”

Kurt came a little bit closer to her. Lila looked up at him and then moved up closer as well. They both inched closer to each other until they were snuggled up against one another.

There was a knock on the window. Kurt rolled the window down from a button in the backseat and said, “Yes, Lionel, come on in.”

“Evening, sir,” said Lionel, entering the car as he spoke. He started the car immediately and without a word began to drive them back home.

“So,” said Lila, trying to change the topic of the conversation to something that would be a little less sexy and intense. “This restaurant is really great. Why do not you talk to the chef and have him open up a branch at the hotel? I am sure that everyone that stays there is really going to enjoy it. It has an authentic feel while simultaneously managing to appear high end. This is not the sort of thing that you would expect because finding a restaurant that manages to maintain a balance is not an easy thing to do.”

“I have thought about it,” said Kurt. “I have a pretty good feeling that the chef who owns this place would be very happy to set up a restaurant at one of my hotels. The only problem is… one of my investors owns the restaurant chain that currently caters my hotels. That was part of the bargain. He would invest a great deal of money and set up a restaurant in my hotels as well. As much as I want to change this deal, it is simply not possible. Donovan is one of my biggest investors.”

“He is just one investor at the end of the day,” said Lila. “How much influence could he possible have?”

“Oh you have no idea,” said Kurt. “Everyone else is scared of him. If I do something to cross him he is going to end up taking half of my investors away from me. I know that I am the owner of the hotel at the end of the day, but Donovan sometimes seems more powerful than even me. If I lose so many investors at once it will become completely impossible for me to run my hotel with any sort of efficiency. As much as I want to, I am going to have to keep his restaurant there because this would honestly be the only way to ensure that Donovan stays happy with the way the business is going.”

“That really su*ks,” said Lila. “This Donovan guy sounds like a real asshole.”

“He is an asshole,” said Kurt. “He is just an asshole with money. I wish that I had enough money to run the business all on my own. I didn’t just want a hotel, I wanted an entire chain of hotels. That is why I got into bed with all of these investors. I wanted their money so that I could start a large scale operation, something that would make people know my name. I regret it now, but there is nothing that I can really do about that regret.”

“You can be more assertive,” said Lila. “I do not know if you realize this, but you really are the man in charge here. Whatever these guys want to do, at the end of the day they are going to require you to do it. And if you do not like the way something is working, they are going to have to deal with it. Because you are not the only one benefiting from their investments. They are earning a great deal of money from this venture as well, a lot more money than they would have been able to earn on their own. People like that invest in ventures like these because they have no vision of their own. They invest in ventures like these because they have a lot of money but they do not have the brains to help them use that money efficiently. I think that you underestimate yourself. You see, you are a visionary. You are someone that can take a million dollars and turn it into ten millions dollars, and then turn that into a hundred million. These guys would never even dream of going against what you want because they want to be around you, they want you to take them to the top with you. If you start acting a little assertive around them, I am pretty sure that you would be able to get them to do as you say.”

“You do have a point,” said Kurt. “I am assertive, it’s just that this chain of hotels that I own means everything to me. I feel like I could lose it at any time, and this thought scares me more than you can imagine. I just want to make sure that my life’s work does not end up going to waste simply because of my pride. Still, you have a point. I have a vision and I know how this place is going to work. I know that there are certain things that I can do, certain things that will turn these hotels into even bigger money makers than they are now. And if I do these things properly, I will be able to turn my fortune into a vastly larger fortune. I can talk to these guys, my investors, and show them reason.”

Lila smiled and said, “That sounds like a great idea. I really hope that you are able to do this and that your investors see reason.”

Kurt smiled back at Lila and said, “You know, I am really glad that you talk to me so bluntly about all of this stuff. I feel like I am in the midst of all of it, so I end up becoming myopic no matter what. And when I end up becoming myopic, I stop realizing that I have a lot more power than I give myself credit for. You, on the other hand, are a firmly no nonsense person that is on the outside of the story. You can look in and have an opinion, but what is really special about you is that you give this opinion no matter what. I am really grateful that you are this kind of person. It makes me feel… secure, I suppose I could say. It makes me feel like I would be able to depend on you if I need proper advice.”