Bette raised her eyebrows, “Then what…how…?”

“Is there someone you know…or a team of people you have worked closely with…that would understand what you just told me right now? Who would know how to execute this vision?,”  he asked, clearly very serious.

Bette was thinking about Xavier Cortez.  And James.  The two of them would make a great team out here.

“Maybe…,” she started slowly.

Bernd picked up on her tentative response, “then all you’ll have to do is check-in with them from time-to-time.  I really don’t expect for you to be over here on any kind of regular basis.  Just give them guidance.  I can be the one coming out here more regularly. I do own a construction company, and that’s where I started.  Construction, that is.”

Tina’s eyebrows were raised.  This can’t be happening.  She turned to Bette, who had a thoughtful look. Oh no, she’s thinking about it.

Tina stood up suddenly, “Look Bernd, can you give us time to talk about this?”

Bernd sensed that Bette could lose whatever tentative interest she had in the idea, so decided to explain further,“Look, Bette, Tina….I’m a simple guy, who’s built a fortune with decisions that have sometimes been based on gut instincts. My instincts tell me Bette is on to something… and it’s a something nobody has ever presented or told me about before.  Amazingly enough.  So, really…I am willing to work under whatever conditions you have for this. And…um…shares in the chain as well as a percentage of profits out of this resort.”

It was Bette’s turn to raise her eyebrows.  She looked at Tina, who was also surprised.

“And what do you expect from me for that?,” Bette asked, turning back to Bernd. He reminds me of George a little, she told herself.  Her friend had the same earnest look when he’d tried to convince her to come in as an adviser prior to their move to New York.

“Your guidance, inputs, no design decisions without your say-so.  I’ll take care of the construction part.  You think about the design part,” he answered.

“Why don’t you hire a firm?,” Bette asked, adding, “It could be cheaper that way.”

“You can hire the firm for this, if you think that’s how it should be done,” he answered.  “I already went the firm route, in building the resort.  Turns out you clearly have ideas superior to the ones they came up with, and built here.  They’d been highly recommended, by the way…”