Between an Inn and a Palace Lies a Single Deed
1.1k Views · Ongoing · Piper Hayes
The club is planning a team retreat, and sophomore Ashley suddenly raises her hand at the meeting.
"Doesn't Clara's family own a hotel? Cresthaven, right?"
"Since it's your family's place, we could each just chip in fifty bucks for the venue, like you're supporting your own business or something."
Cresthaven is the hotel my grandfather gave me on my eighteenth birthday.
Because it never advertises, outsiders assume it's just some bed and breakfast out in the countryside. In reality, the basic suites run eighty-eight hundred dollars a night, private dining rooms have a hundred-thousand-dollar minimum, and the ingredients get flown in fresh from around the world every single day.
She wants to hand me fifty dollars and get a free two-day retreat for fifty people.
I turn her down on the spot. Next week is already fully booked.
But that night at ten, Ashley posts in the group chat anyway:
[Good news! Thanks to Clara's generous support, the whole club is heading to Cresthaven next week for a two-day retreat, completely free!]
The replies underneath are wall-to-wall flattery.
She wants to use my hotel to buy herself goodwill and build her own reputation.
But that's up to me, not her.
"Doesn't Clara's family own a hotel? Cresthaven, right?"
"Since it's your family's place, we could each just chip in fifty bucks for the venue, like you're supporting your own business or something."
Cresthaven is the hotel my grandfather gave me on my eighteenth birthday.
Because it never advertises, outsiders assume it's just some bed and breakfast out in the countryside. In reality, the basic suites run eighty-eight hundred dollars a night, private dining rooms have a hundred-thousand-dollar minimum, and the ingredients get flown in fresh from around the world every single day.
She wants to hand me fifty dollars and get a free two-day retreat for fifty people.
I turn her down on the spot. Next week is already fully booked.
But that night at ten, Ashley posts in the group chat anyway:
[Good news! Thanks to Clara's generous support, the whole club is heading to Cresthaven next week for a two-day retreat, completely free!]
The replies underneath are wall-to-wall flattery.
She wants to use my hotel to buy herself goodwill and build her own reputation.
But that's up to me, not her.
















































