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“Good for her. I’m taking mine to the bakery.”

“And all the money stays on the boulevard. That’s clever.”

“Maybe having Voss next door won’t be so bad.”

“If this is how he treats his neighbors, imagine working for him.”

“I bet the Christmas parties are incredible.”

I stay where I am, just outside the doorway.

They aren’t being disloyal. They’re excited, and of course they are. In three days, Eric has sent them wine, breakfast, and a hundred dollars each. More than a hundred people work at the Hartwell, which means the vouchers alone cost him over ten thousand dollars.

He probably approved the payment without giving the total a second thought.

I don’t have that luxury. The Hartwell is doing well, but every dollar has a purpose. I can’t buy cases of expensive wine or spend ten thousand dollars on a gift just to make people like me. Eric has spent more on my staff this week than our gift budget allows for an entire year.

The comment about working for Voss also brings a new fear. His hotel will need hundreds of employees—housekeepers, porters, reception staff, servers, and managers. My staff are already trained, experienced, and right next door.

Maybe that’s the real message behind the gifts. Once the Voss hotel starts hiring, Eric could tempt my staff away without even trying. He may not have planned it that way, but he’s shown me how easily he could do it.

I step back before anyone sees me. The staff haven’t done anything wrong, and asking them to return the vouchers would only make working for Eric look even more tempting. I leave without saying a word.

I can fight Eric over the service lane. I can oppose his hotel before the city council. But I can’t outspend a billionaire who can drop ten thousand dollars before breakfast and barely notice.

Back in my office, I close the door and call Chloe.

“I need Grandma.”

“No, you don’t.”

“You don’t even know what happened.”

“I know she’s enjoying herself for the first time in months. Tell me first. If it’s a real disaster, I’ll help you panic.”

I tell her about the wine, the breakfast, and the vouchers. By the time I finish, I’m pacing between my desk and the window.

“My staff think he’s wonderful. He doesn’t even have a hotel yet, and they’re already talking about how good Voss will be for the street. I heard them wondering what he’d be like to work for.”

“He’s clever,” Chloe says.

“You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am. That doesn’t mean I have to pretend he isn’t good at this.”

I stop beside the window and look down at Hartwell Boulevard. “Voss will need hundreds of employees when the hotel opens. What if this isn’t only about the lane? Eric could be making my staff like him now so they’ll want to work for him later.”

“Do you really think he’s trying to steal them?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he just wants me to know that he could.”

“That’s a strange way to get a service lane,” Chloe says.

“He planned a four-hundred-million-dollar hotel without securing service access. I’m not sure strange would stop him.” I return to my chair. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t compete with this.”

“You play his game.”

“What does that mean?”