A Kiss to Build a Dream on (A White Pine Novel)

Author:Kim Amos [Amos, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Women's Fiction, Contemporary Women, Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Fiction
Amazon: B00LLIIZAC
Publisher: Forever
Published: 2015-03-29T18:30:00+00:00

The bank had the same smell Willa could remember as a child: a mix of leather, paper, and polished wood. It was a scent that would cling to her dad’s clothing when he came home at night. Willa’s heart ached with missing him as she sat in one of the wing-backed chairs near the entrance, waiting to see a loan officer.

Beyond the velvet ropes, a woman with long coppery hair talked with the teller on duty. A few employees walked here and there, their heels muted on the plush carpets covering the hardwood floors. The sleepy space was a far cry from the marble and high ceilings of Willa’s New York bank, which always seemed to be crowded with people. Their voices, cell phone ringtones, and loud transactions were forever echoing off the cold, stony floor, reverberating in sharp notes. Her bank had been one of the few things about New York that Willa had disliked. She much preferred the homey, comfortable feeling of the White Pine Bank and Trust.

“Willa Masterson?” a woman with stylish horn-rimmed glasses and bright red lips asked her. Willa nodded and stood.

“Right this way,” the woman said, leading her down a short hallway to an office with a huge oak desk and a south-facing window. She gestured for Willa to have a seat, then placed herself at the computer behind her steamship of a desk.

“My dad’s office was at the far end of this hallway,” Willa said, straightening the pearls around her neck. “Harold Masterson? He was president here for a long time.”

The woman smiled. “Of course. There’s a lovely oil painting of him in the conference room.” She pulled out a business card and passed it to Willa.

“I’m Chelsea Aldermann. I was hired long after your dad’s tenure here ended, but I have been in this business for over fifteen years. I’ll be glad to help you if I can.”

“Thank you,” Willa said, accepting the card. She wondered if she should ask after some of the employees she once knew here—Lois Maylock, who used to give her peppermints, or Cal Hoopstra, who was the security guard for a time. Then again, Willa didn’t want to seem like she was desperate for Chelsea to realize exactly who she was. How important her dad had been.

“So what can I help you with?” Chelsea asked, peering over the tops of her glasses.

“I need a small loan for a bed-and-breakfast I’m starting on Oak Street. It used to be my family home, but it’s just me in it now. I’ve got the renovations under way, but I need twenty thousand more to finish a few projects up, do some advertising, and to make one hire. A cleaning person.”

Chelsea nodded. “I see. And when do you anticipate you’ll be open?”

“As soon as possible. Midwinter at the latest.”

“Good. And do you have a proposal for the space?”

“A proposal?”

“A document with, say, your room rates and your P and L?”

Willa blinked. “P and L?”

“Profit and loss. A statement that outlines all

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