“It’s not your fault that it didn’t work out with Andrea. Your grandfather did the right thing in moving her to a role that better suits her.”

“I know. It’s just a big change, and sudden.” She didn’t add that she wasn’t totally sure she was ready for it.

David looked at her closely. “It is a big change. Very different from what you were doing. You could hide in your office, do your thing with numbers. This is a very visible job. Are you sure that you’re up for it?”

Was she? It was one thing for her to have doubts, but it irritated her to hear him voice them.

“My grandfather thinks that I am,” she said stiffly.

He laughed and she saw the warmth in his eyes. “Yes, I know. He thinks very highly of you. So, let’s do this. You have me for two months. Let’s work together to get you up to speed and comfortable in the new role and see what we can do to get that ten percent back.”

“Sounds good. So, let’s head to the kitchen next. You can meet Roland the head chef and my brother, Nick, is his right hand.”

They spent the rest of the morning making the rounds and talking to everyone in every department. Paula was relieved that everyone seemed supportive of the changes. They had lunch with her grandfather in the dining room and David seemed impressed with the menu and the food.

“I noticed that you do a fair number of weddings, but not very many corporate functions,” he said.

“You mean like conferences and meetings?” Paula asked.

“Yes. That could be a huge growth area for you. This is the kind of place that companies would love for corporate outings or conferences. There are a lot of companies with deep pockets—hedge funds, investment firms, and we could tap into more of that market. The profits are as big, if not bigger, than a wedding—without the headaches.”

Paula laughed. “No diva brides. We certainly get our share of those.”

“It can be recurring income, too. A lot of these corporate events happen every year.”

“That’s a great suggestion,” her grandfather said. “You can work with Paula to develop that?”

“We can. Oh, and another thing. You get a lot of celebrities that come here, but you could increase that too and overall awareness by using influencers on social media. We could choose a couple of highly connected Instagrammers and invite them for a complimentary weekend, with the understanding that they say nice things and post pictures. That can create some buzz fast.”

Her grandfather laughed. “That’s all Greek to me. Maybe Paula knows what you are talking about. The two of you can go after those influencers or whatever you called them. You have free rein to do whatever you think best.”