Page 27 of The Last Goodbye
Working on it.
Denton
All right. Keep me posted. Talk soon.
Denton was a big reason that I’d agreed to come on board at Winchester Investments. He’d been the most welcoming one in the family, even with his mother not hiding her annoyance about my existence.
I appreciated the support.
I took a call with Steven Hansen, who then emailed me over the most recent proposed plans.
Things were happening.
Everything I’d envisioned for this project was coming to fruition, as long as I could convince Bass to take the deal.
Our meeting today was going to be crucial. And now that I had a big bargaining chip in my back pocket, I felt confident that I could make it happen.
I sat back in my chair, thinking about my mother.
She’d be proud of me for pushing so hard, and for trying to do the right thing for everyone involved.
She’d worked so hard her entire life, and all she wanted was for me to chase my dreams and live a good life.
Which was exactly what I was doing.
I glanced around my cute rental house. It was cozy and homey, and everything my place in New York wasn’t. From the floral Roman shades on the windows to the pink-and-white-checkered knobs on the white kitchen cabinets—someone had paid a lot of attention to detail in this home. A crystal chandelier hanging over the couch gave the place a cottage vibe that I’d been drawn to when I looked at the photos online.
But my favorite part of this home was the view of Blue Sky Lake behind it. You could see the water from almost every window on the back side of the house. I loved waking up to that view and going for my morning runs along the shore.
I grabbed my purse and made my way to what I hoped would be the new Bennett’s on the Bay steakhouse.
I walked the short distance to downtown, grateful that my rental home allowed me to walk almost anywhere I wanted to go in town. The sun beamed down on the lake in the distance, and it was a gorgeous day. I arrived a little early because I wanted to turn the lights on and give this place its best first impression I possibly could. The exterior needed some TLC for sure; the lot would need to be cleared of all the weeds and overgrown trees. The building itself was in decent shape, but it needed a fresh coat of paint, and new doors and windows.
It had tons of potential.
I bent down to get the key out of the lockbox, then walked around to the back door. I slipped the key in the lock and started to turn it just as the door pulled open, startling me.
“Didn’t mean to scare you.” Bass Bennett stood in the doorway with a wicked grin on his face. The man was unfairly put together, completely unruffled and effortlessly cool. He had a way of throwing me slightly off-balance every time I saw him, but I forced myself to appear unaffected. He added, “But I’m keeping some distance there, just in case you decide to punch me in the face again.”
“Stop being such a baby.” I pushed past him and stepped inside. “How are you inside already?”
“It’s not my first rodeo, Magpie. I know the owners. I told you that I looked at the space before.”
“So you have a key because you looked at it before?” I narrowed my gaze, taking in the way his white tee stretched across his muscled chest.
“No. But the owners told me I could come in anytime.” He chuckled. “They keep a hide-a-key under the rock out front.”
I rolled my eyes because small-town life was just different, and this man always seemed to be one step ahead of me. “You shouldn’t be talking to the owners if I’m going to be negotiating this deal for you.”
“I like your confidence.” He leaned against the wall, folding his arms over his chest. “But first, you have to get me to agree to this deal.”
“I told you that I’d figure out a way to make it work. Let’s walk the space.” I motioned for him to follow me. I’d come in this place twice before, knowing I’d need a good plan in order to sell him on it.
“All right, Briar Sinclair.” He smirked as he pushed off the wall. “This is your moment. Tell me how you think you’re going to make this work for me.”
“Not a problem.”
It was game time.
