Neptune's Ring (27 page)

“I am doing fine thanks, Cat and yourself?”
Levi answered.

“Great, thank you,” she said. “What brings
you to town so early this morning?”

“I am here to set up a local bank account,
for the corporation,” Levi said.

“I know the bank President and could go
introduce you,” Cat suggested. “It may help to speed up the process
some,” she said.

“That would be great,” Levi said as she
accepted Cat’s offer.

“Let’s do it,” Cat said as they walked from
her office across the street to the bank.

An older gentleman stood when he saw Cat
approach. “Good morning, Ms. Martin. How may I help you today?” he
asked.

“Max, this is Levi Johnson, one of the new
owners of Neptune’s Ring and she needs to set up a new corporate
account with you.”

“I am very pleased to meet you, Ms. Johnson,”
Max said. “If you ladies will follow me we will get you taken care
of right away.”

Cat and Levi followed him over to his large
desk and he sat down at his computer. “Did you bring a copy of your
articles of incorporation?” he asked Levi.

She smiled and took a file from the package
she was carrying and handed it to Max.

“Fantastic, this should have all the
information I need to set up the account,” he said.

“There is also a cashier’s check to open the
account,” Levi said.

Max opened the envelope and pulled out the
check for two hundred fifty thousand dollars. “Yes, this will do
nicely,” he said with a smile. “If you ladies will excuse me, I
will get this started. May I offer you some coffee while we wait?”
he asked.

“No, thank you,” Cat and Levi said.

“Very well, give me a few minutes and I will
be back then,” he said and left the office area.

“Nice man,” Levi said.

“Max is a pleasure to work with,” Cat said.
“I hear you also met Codi yesterday on your trip into town,” Cat
said with a grin.

“My, my word travels fast in these parts
doesn’t it?” Levi asked.

“Very little goes unnoticed in such a small
town,” Cat said.

“We had a very nice chat and she offered to
provide all our diving services for us,” Levi said.

“Yes, I know. Codi stopped by my office this
morning and asked me to review her proposal,” Cat said. “She has
come up with a fantastic offer and I hope you will give it some
serious consideration. Codi was very disappointed when she left
though,” Cat said.

“Why was that?” Levi asked.

“Because I broke her heart when I told her
you already had a girl friend,” Cat teased.

Levi blushed profusely. “Good lord, Cat.”
Levi shook her head. “We will take a close look at her proposal. It
makes good sense to me to use a local business versus starting up
our own.”

“Yes, and it will be very good for the
economy here,” Cat added.

“True. Well, when Codi comes out to make her
pitch I will call the others for their opinions and hopefully we
can make a decision quickly,” Levi said. “I think it would be an
excellent move on our part to utilize local goods and services
whenever possible to enable the community share ownership in the
success of the resort.”

“No wonder Liz and Nat think so highly of
you, that is an excellent philosophy to have,” Cat said, causing
Levi to blush again.

“By the way, do you happen to know Carlos’
Uncle’s name?” Levi asked.

“I know everyone in this town,” Liz chuckled.
“It is Julio Chavez,” she said. “Why?”

“I need to have a check cut for him as a
deposit on some mattresses he will be ordering for us,” Levi
said.

“When we get done here, we can go deliver the
check and I will introduce you,” Cat said.

“That sounds wonderful.”

Max returned with paperwork for Levi to sign
and Cat advised him of the check she needed for Julio.

“That is not a problem, give me ten more
minutes and we should be all done,” Max said, as he took the stack
of signed papers and walked behind the teller counter.

“I bet the island is buzzing with excitement
this morning,” Cat said. “Did you have any problems from the storm
last night?” she asked.

“No, I lost power, but it came back on during
the night and the generator worked wonders. I am amazed at the
efficiency and speed of the workers,” Levi added. “It is almost
magical to see the rooms develop before your eyes.”

“Would you mind if I come over tomorrow to
take a look?” Cat asked.

“Not at all, you are welcome anytime you wish
to visit,” Levi said. “You are like part of the family now, Cat, so
you never need to ask.”

Levi made Cat blush this time, but Cat was
warmed by Levi’s comment. It had been since her mother’s death
since she felt truly a part of any family and she welcomed joining
this group.

Max returned and handed Levi the packet of
information.

“I included copies of all the paperwork from
this morning’s transactions, a copy of the deposit from the check
and a check for Julio is also inside,” Max said. “Welcome to our
bank and I hope we have a long and fruitful relationship
together.”

“Thank you, Max, I do believe we will,” Levi
said, as she stood and shook his outstretched hand.

“Have a beautiful day, ladies,” he said as he
walked them to the front door and they stepped out into the morning
sunshine.

“Let’s go see Julio,” Cat said.

Levi and Cat walked around the corner of the
bank and down a narrow alleyway until they reached a small shop.
They opened a door and stepped inside to an empty display room.
Levi followed Cat through a small hallway and a door that led to a
large workshop. The smells of fresh cut wood and stain filled her
nostrils as she stepped into the large room. Six men were working
on various stages of construction, cutting, sanding, staining or
assembling the beautifully crafted sleigh beds.

A man looked up from the template he was
cutting and he turned off his saw. “Good morning ladies,” he said
with a beautiful accent.

“Good morning, Julio,” Cat said. “I wanted to
bring Levi by to introduce you to your newest client.”

“The pleasure is all mine Miss,” Julio said
as he shook her hand gently. “Welcome to my shop,” he said.

“Thank you, this place is amazing,” Levi said
as she watched two men sanding head boards to smooth
perfection.

“I hope we will have the first two beds
finished by this afternoon,” Julio said.

Levi walked a few more steps and stared as a
young man barely in his twenties was busily hand carving ornate
designs into a sanded head board.

The young man looked up and smiled at Levi.
“My son, Roberto,” Julio said.

“Levi Johnson,” she said as she reached out
her hand. “That is beautiful work you are doing.”

“Thanks,” Roberto said. “Carlos and father
said they wanted some really nice work, so I am giving it my
best.”

“It shows,” Levi said. “Thank you for all
your hard work.”

“You are welcome,” he said and turned back to
his project.

“Nat and the others will be very pleased,”
Levi said to Julio.

“We are very proud of our work,” Julio
said.

“I bet once Nat sees how beautiful these beds
are she will be ready to replace some furniture at Venus Rising,”
Levi said.

“We would welcome any business,” Julio
said.

“I almost forgot,” Levi said as she fumbled
through the folder. “Carlos said you needed a down payment to order
the mattresses.”

Julio took the check from Levi. “Thank you so
much for getting this to me so quickly,” he said. “I will order
them now.”

“Thank you, Julio,” Levi said.

“You are welcome and feel free to stop in
anytime,” he offered.

“I will, thanks,” Levi said.

Levi and Cat left the workshop and walked
back toward her office.

“Do you want to go for a late breakfast?” Cat
asked.

“I do think I have worked off my toast,” Levi
said. “My treat though,” she insisted.

“Deal,” Cat said as they walked toward the
diner.

Levi held the door for Cat and they took a
small table by the front window. The same waitress that had served
her the day before walked to their table.

“Hello, Cat and welcome back young lady,” she
said.

“Good morning, Sara. This is Levi,” she
said.

“Pleased to meet you Sara,” Levi said.

“Likewise,” Sara said. “What can I get you
two?”

“Coffee for starters,” Cat said.

“I will be right back with that while you
look over the menu,” Sara said.

“The Spanish omelet is to die for,” Cat
said.

“Sounds like the ticket then,” Levi said,
“with some hash browns and toast.”

When Sara returned with their coffee, Cat
placed their orders. Sara trundled back to the kitchen to place
their orders.

“I still can’t get over how beautiful those
beds are going to be,” Levi said.

“The Chavez family does only top quality
work,” Cat said.

“I wish I had brought my camera into town
with me now,” Levi said.

“Well come back tomorrow when you can see a
sample of the finished product,” Cat said.

“I could do that, couldn’t I,” Levi said.

“Yes and it will be my turn to buy
breakfast,” Cat teased.

Sara walked back to their table carrying
platters of food and placed them in front of them.

“Thanks, Sara,” Levi said as she stared at
the platter. “You certainly cannot argue about the portion sizes
here.”

“We never want anyone to leave hungry,” Sara
said with a wink.

“I am not sure I can eat all of this, but I
sure am going to try my best,” Levi said, as she cut into the
omelet,

“I can finish this meal, so you can’t let me
out do you,” Cat teased, as she reached for the hot sauce.

Levi watched as Cat removed the lid and
covered the omelet with a healthy dose of hot sauce.

“Would you care for some?” Cat asked holding
the bottle out to Levi.

“No thanks, this is spicy enough for me,”
Levi said. “May I have a glass of ice water?” Levi asked Sara, who
chuckled as she walked back behind the counter.

Sara returned with a large glass of ice
water. “Let me know if you ladies need anything else,” she said and
then returned to the kitchen, shouting loudly at the cook for some
reason.

“Don’t let her fool you,” Cat said. “She may
have a rough exterior, but that woman has a heart of gold.”

“I bet she does,” Levi said. “I certainly
wouldn’t want to cross her though,” she whispered with a grin.

“No, I wouldn’t either,” Cat said.

After they finished their meals, Levi paid
the ticket and Cat walked with her to the boat. “I am stuffed,”
Levi said.

“Better work it off today then, because
tomorrow is my turn to buy,” Cat said with a wink. “Have a great
day,” she said and walked back to her office.

Levi released the mooring lines and slowly
backed out of the slip.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Levi enjoyed the short ride over to the
island, the breeze blowing through her hair. She secured the boat
and walked back up to the resort. The men were stretched out among
the trees eating or napping during a lunch break and she stepped
inside to find Carlos. Levi dropped the package of papers onto the
small table and walked down the hallway. She could hear voices far
down the hall and followed the sound.

She poked her head into a couple of the rooms
as she walked and saw that the walls had been textured, bathroom
fixtures had been installed and the crown and base moldings and
been put in place as well. When she poked her head into one room
she found Carlos and one of the plumbers working on the connection
to one of the claw foot tubs.

“Damn, this isn’t going to work. We will have
to rerun the piping for this room,” he said.

“Problems?” Levi asked.

“One of the water fittings is off by a half
inch in this room and will have to be reworked,” Carlos said. “Not
a major problem, but a nuisance just the same,” he said.

“It looks as if the plumbing was run
correctly in the rooms up until this one, so I would say we have
been lucky so far,” Levi said.

“It will be lucky if this is the only one not
plumbed correctly,” Carlos said.

“Has everything else gone well this morning?”
she asked.

“We are making good progress,” Carlos said.
“After lunch and a quick siesta, the men will finish bringing in
the fixtures while the texturing continues and tomorrow we can
begin painting the rooms once the texture has cured and dried.”

“I stopped by to drop off the check to Julio
and saw one of the beds they were working on,” Levi said.

“Were you satisfied?”

“They are going to be so beautiful,” Levi
said with a smile.

“They do really good work and none of
Roberto’s carvings are identical,” he said.

“That young man definitely has a talent. I
plan on going back tomorrow and taking pictures of the finished
product to send to Nat,” Levi said.

“I hope she will be as pleased.”

“I know she will be and I wouldn’t be
surprised if she orders some beds for Venus Rising,” Levi
added.

“Julio would welcome the extra business.
Thank you for getting the check to him so quickly,” Carlos
said.

“Not a problem,” Levi said. “I am going to
wander around a bit so give me a call if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Levi, I will catch up with you
later,” Carlos said.

Levi walked back through several of the rooms
and smiled at the progress being made. She went back to the lobby
area and retrieved her camera to take pictures of several of the
rooms. Lighting fixtures had been hung and these would be one of
the first rooms to be painted and floors lain, hopefully by
tomorrow, so she would have comparison pictures to show to Nat by
the end of the next day. She walked to the area where the wood
strips were laid out and admired the deep grains of the wood and
let her imagination picture what they would look like
installed.