‘Ahh, that’s nice to hear. How great is it to love where you live?’
‘It is. You’ll have to come down and visit. It’s a very good part of the world down our way. It's not that different from this, by the looks of it, and not too far away.’
Nina nodded. ‘Yes, I’ll put it on the list for when we have a day out. So, you’re investors, are you?’
‘We are, yes, for our sins. Joking, we love it.’ Holly laughed.
Nina frowned. ‘What, you have properties and you rent them out, or how does it work with you?’
Holly smiled. ‘We have all kinds of fingers in many pies, as it were. We started off with bakeries when we came here from Vietnam, and yes, now we do Airbnb, and we rent out properties and all sorts. Along with the share trading my mum does, of course. All of it keeps me in my diamonds.’ Holly cackled, flicked her hand, and the huge diamond on her right hand caught the light.
‘I think I need to get myself into the same game,’ Nina laughed as she took in how everything about Holly sparkled and twinkled. Of all the people she had expected to turn up to view The Summer Hotel, with its massive price tag and many investment intricacies, she hadn’t expected to see a tiny woman in a bright pink jumper and gold headphones and a woman who looked like she’d just stepped off a movie set, head to toe indiamonds. She rolled with it anyway and started to explain what had happened when she’d first arrived at the hotel.
The woman named Xian, who continued through most of the conversation chatting in Vietnamese, held her iPad up with her left hand and videoed everything. Holly asked many questions as they walked around and noted things on her phone. After about an hour or so, which had consisted of Nina divulging more than she’d realised she’d known about the hotel and a tour of the garden and beach, they made their way to the kitchen.
Nina made a cup of tea, and the three of them were sitting at the kitchen table chatting.
Holly jumped up from the table. ‘Hang on a minute. I’ve got something in the car you might quite like.’ A few minutes later, she returned with a white paper bag, plonked it in the middle of the table, and pushed it over towards Nina.
‘What’s this?’
‘Have a look inside,’ Holly said with a chuckle. ‘You might like.’
Nina pulled the white bag towards her and delved inside to find another smaller white paper bag. She pulled open the top and peered in as an amazing smell hit her nostrils. Some kind of delicious-looking bun looked back at her, and she realised she could smell cinnamon. ‘What are these? I don’t know what they are, but I think I’m going to like them.’
‘These are our famous cinnamon buns from Pretty Beach. They are highly sought after. I had some leftovers from a delivery we made on our way here. I think you’ll approve.’ Holly said with a smile.
‘I think so! They smell and look amazing,’ Nina said as she got up and took three plates out from a cupboard. ‘I put the milk and teabags in at the last minute, wondering if I might stay here this afternoon to do some work and now we’re having a nice cupof tea together. I didn’t expect you to bring treats with you. I shouldn’t really, but I will…’
Xian laughed and finished what she was doing on her iPad. She pulled her earphones to rest around her neck, took one of the buns, and put it on her plate. ‘Oh, yes, just what I need. That wasintense.’
Nina watched and attempted to keep her chin from dropping to the floor as Xian then whipped a silver flask out of her tracksuit's pocket and started to deftly pour an amber-coloured liquid into her cup of tea. Nina didn’t know where to look first. Xian then popped the flask back into her pocket and continued the conversation as if it was completely normal to lug alcohol into one’s afternoon tea.
‘What are your bottom-line views on the hotel?’ Xian asked bluntly as if she had been in on the conversation right from the start and had not conversed in Vietnamese pretty much all the way around the building.
Nina contemplated for a second. ‘It’s a lovely old place, and I think if the right person buys it, they will be able to turn it around...’
Holly interjected, ‘It sounds as if there might be a but there.’
Nina shook her head. ‘No, no, not really. It’s just that Lovely Bay is the sort of place where, well, you know, you have to be a certain type of person to get on here.’ She gestured with her hand. ‘I suppose that wouldn’t be a problem when you’re running it as a business. You need to, well, to fit in.’
‘Yeah, I don’t think that would be a problem, ' Holly said, shaking her head. ‘We fit in anywhere.’
‘No, I don’t think it would be a problem, either. That would be fine.’ Xian cut to the chase. ‘I’ll be frank, it’s the price that’s the problem. As far as I can see, it’s too highly priced considering everything that might go wrong. I reckon that’s why it’s not sold. It’s not rocket science. Quite a big gamble.’
Nina was surprised that this woman had more or less nailed it in one sentence. Unsure what to say and feeling some loyalty to Jill, she just made a noncommittal sound.
‘There are quite a lot of things to consider with this place, that’s for sure.’ Holly mused.
Xian shook her head, whisked out the flask again and glugged some more of the amber liquid into her mug. ‘The price is too high for the gamble. See? You have to take on whether or not it will rent out, and the fact that you will never be able to do much with it because it’s a listed building. Add in maintenance and management. Unless they’re willing to take an offer, it’s probably not going to be for us.’
Holly sighed. ‘That’s about the nuts and bolts of it. It was worth a look, though. It is absolutely beautiful and it has so much potential for the right person…’
‘Yes, indeed. I’ve had that same conversation with my partner many times.’ Nina agreed.
‘You didn’t think about buying it?’ Xian asked. ‘You seem to love the place.’
Nina flicked her hand dismissively. ‘No, no, it was never going to be an option for me, and it’s a bit of a long story. I bought a property over on the harbour side and now I’ve ended up marrying somebody local here, so yeah, it’s a bit complicated. Anyway, the property's not for me.’
