Free More to Give by Terri Osburn

explanation. Sam considered her words for several seconds before the truth set in.
    “I see.”
    “I know you’re not available until nine. It’s no problem,” she said, lifting the papers from her lap. “I’m fine out here.”
    “Is that the proposal?” he asked.
    “It is.”
    “Is it ready?”
    Her brows lowered. “Of course it is.”
    “Then follow me.”
    Sam led Callie through the lobby with the goal of making this a quick meeting and sending her on her way.
    “Did you include financial specs?” Sam asked, pushing his office door open and motioning for Callie to enter first.
    “I’ve created a full budget, but I’m sure the numbers will change, as I’ve no idea what resources are readily available here on the island and what we’ll need to source out.”
    Sam took his place behind the desk as Callie stopped in front of it. He remained standing until she took the hint and lowered into her chair.
    “As we’re doing this during a slower time of the year, finding manual labor on the island shouldn’t be a problem.” Sam pressed the ON button of his laptop as he took a seat. “Regarding the furniture you suggested we keep, there are craftsmen on the island who can likely handle refurbishment.”
    Callie removed a pen from behind her ear, opened her folder, and made a note. The movement drew his attention to the way her gold-streaked hair shimmered in the morning sun. “Excellent,” she said, snapping him back to the moment. “I was hoping that would be the case. The more we can handle on-island, the better. For both cost and scheduling.”
    “Agreed,” he said, not completely sure of what she’d said.
    “Here’s your copy for review.” Callie slid the stapled sheets of paper his way. “If you’d rather read it all the way through before discussing, I can come back later today.”
    Sam flipped through the paperwork, noting she’d included everything from color samples to flooring choices. The proposal looked thorough and well researched. As he’d known it would.
    “This is fine,” he said, determined once again to get this meeting over with. “Let’s flip to the budget.”
    Callie did as he asked. “The cost analysis is the final four pages. As I said, there may be options on the island I don’t know about, but for the most part these figures should be close, if not completely accurate.”
    Turning to the last page first, Sam glanced at the bottom line. Not exactly cheap, but in the ballpark of what he’d been looking to spend. The shortened time frame would mean an increase in cost, but the number Callie had come up with was acceptable.
    “You believe this number is realistic?” he asked, digging to make sure she hadn’t provided a number for his approval with the intention of stretching the amount higher during the process.
    Golden brows shot up. “Very realistic,” she said. “For the amount of time we have and the condition the hotel is in, that’s a solid number. I fully intend to get the best deal possible on everything I can, but there are some corners that simply can’t be cut.”
    “I agree,” he said. “Where is the color scheme?”
    Surprise danced across Callie’s face before she flipped through her own packet to answer his question. She must have expected him to drill harder on the numbers, but he didn’t see any reason to waste time when he agreed with her estimations. They discussed the proposal for another twenty minutes and encountered only one speed bump, as they debated the shade of green to use for one of the room blocks. But all in all, the proposal was exactly what he’d been thinking, with touches he hadn’t even considered. Which is why he’d brought Callie in to begin with—to capture the boutique aesthetic.
    “We’re ready to proceed,” he said, once they’d agreed on the outside color, which would be a blue gray close to the current shade, and the addition of a gazebo near the water. Sam hadn’t thought much beyond the initial building