Ice and Fire

Chapter 2 ~ Lachlan

Throughout the years I have been called numerous things, but whether good or bad they always made me smile.

Hot Muffin

Irish Cream (I'm Scottish born and bread and like most Scotts very proud of my heritage.)

Sean Connery Jr. (One hell of a compliment, for God's sakes the man played the best James Bond ever.)

Hot Tamale (What in God's name is a Tamale? And why is it hot?)

Of course these complements have come to my ears by a third party. It seems that because of my physique people are... let us say a bit intimidated. I'm over 6 feet 3 inches tall and weigh almost 15 stones, 95 kilos to be exact. The thing is that underneath that tough exterior I'm a softy, but I donnae like to show it too often.

Ok maybe when it comes the business, the family business, I am ruthless and don't back down until I get exactly what I want. As CEO of Dougcorp I have the best interest of my family and thousands of employees all over the world. So before I buy a club, a hotel, a restaurant or any other type of business I think of how that particular business venture will affect Dougcorp and the people behind it. I go over every detail over and over before I actually think of making an offer.

At this moment I am in the middle of our board room listening to my brother Ben, head of our legal department, giving the rest of the board members the conditions given by the legal team of the Hotel we just bought. Our offer was accepted three weeks ago and now we are just discussing how to proceed with the transition. You think that after having your offer accepted and the deed signed that there's nothing else to settle, but that's just the beginning. We must decide what the best course of action is needed to have a successful transition. This usually takes 2 to 3 weeks and sometimes up to a month. And when the transition is not accepted by the employees it can actually be endless.

During this period of time I visit the acquisition in question as much as possible. In tis case I am staying at the hotel and watch as much as possible. I watch the clients and the staff. It might unconventional, but I find it is the best way to see how things work and where we need to make changes. We believe that the less changes you make the better the transition is for the staff and not a waste of time.

« Danny what do ye think? » My father asked.

It might seem I am not paying attention, but unlike what most women think some men can do more than one thing at a time. « I agree there is not much to change to be made within. From what I have seen the staff is very competent and the clients seem happy about the place. I do suggest that we make some changes with the decoration. It is a little out of date. »

Rebecca, the princess in the family and the head of the marketing department said. « The question is do we use our usual team or... »

Our mother laid a soft hand on Becca's arm before interrupting, « Might as well use those that we know and know how to work with us and what we want. If we take a new team they will probably won't be up to the task and we will end up starting over wasting time and money in the process. »

A hand pops up and our head of HR raises his hand a he looks through his notes. « I think the hotel has a decorator on file, someone that they have used before. Maybe we should bring them in as well. They know the layout of the building and can help out. » Aaron stopped to look around the table before continuing, « It never hurts to have an extra pair of eyes. Besides they know what contractors to use. »

Before we could go on there was a knock on the door and my executive assistant, Walter, yes I have a male executive assistant, comes in.

« Ladies, Gentlemen, please excuse us for the interruption, I have taken the liberty of ordering you some lunch. It is one in the afternoon and besides the mid morning coffee break, you still haven't eaten anything yet. » He showed in the caterers and made sure that the right tray was set before the right person.