She smiled, knowing she had moved the chess game forward.

Steve tapped his fingers on the tabletop, thinking. ‘I like it,’ he said finally, and Grace, while careful to keep her expression composed, felt a flush of exhilaration. ‘From what I read in your emails, this sounds like a challenge. I like the idea of turning a hard-nosed commercial business into something that’s also beautiful, evocative and cutting edge, yet still meets the sales brief.’ He leaned back. ‘And it’s in Bali! I have a soft spot for the place, I admit. Could you fill me in on some more background on the family?’

‘I don’t know much more about them, I’m afraid. When I arrived at the hotel, I thought it was unusual that the land was still with one family and they are only just developing it now. There’s a story there, I suspect, other than that they’re very rich and the land has always been in their family. But I assume I’m only getting the simple version . . . that the project is family controlled, no outside investment. As you probably know, only Balinese can own the land in Bali. The family are Chinese originally, but now they’re Balinese-Chinese and they changed their family name to make it more Indonesian. There must have been a convenient marriage sometime that meant they could say they are partly Balinese, I guess.’

‘Yes. It was a more casual arrangement in the early days, I think. The foreigners – the bule – had to team up with a local, sometimes by marriage or just on trust. They brought in the sales and marketing expertise, and the locals had the land and the labour,’ said Steve.

‘Yes, I see. The Kamasan concept took me by surprise a bit,’ said Grace. ‘I expected to see that same slick cookie-cutter tropical resort you find all though the Pacific and Asia. You know, with a superficial smattering of Balinese culture and design but otherwise no different from any other hotel or resort.’

‘I know what you mean,’ Steve said. ‘A tourist’s view of Bali with all the stereotypes attached to it.’

Grace leaned forward. ‘But there in the middle of the tourism madness is the last piece of untouched beachfront land. Serendipitously, it’s owned by a family with not only the money but the inclination, style and taste to develop it in a way that’s utterly different from everywhere else. I was blown away.’ She stopped, noticing Steve’s expression. ‘I can see you think I’m showing all the signs of someone fresh from their first trip to Bali. But I can honestly say this development is like nothing I’ve seen. It’s outstanding and original,’ she said, smiling.