“You mean, your little secret project to buy half of a small town and turn it into a model redevelopment site to prove Braithway’s affordable housing theory?” Meredith said.
I looked up. “What do you know about that?”
“Give me some credit, William. I have been at this as long as you have—and believe it or not, I’ve helped you get to where you are now.” She let out a long, annoyed sigh. “I know my name isn’t even being considered for CEO, so I have to do the next best thing: make sure you, not Charles, the greatest asshole known to man, gets the job.”
“Look, just trust me, Meredith. I’m halfway through phase one of this project. When I get to phase two, Braithway is going to make the announcement. Just give me a few more months.” I tried to relax. At least, Meredith didn’t know I was in Creekstone.
“A few more months?” Meredith scoffed. “In a few more months, Charles will be pregnant with Braithway’s child. He’s such an insidious kiss-ass.”
“That was so unnecessarily graphic,” I muttered. “Yeah, maybe two months, tops.”
“I want to see your progress,” Meredith said after a long pause.
“My progress?” I shook my head as I chuckled.
“Put your pride in your pocket,” Meredith said. “You and I both know we’ve pushed each other over the finish line in multiple million and sometimes billion-dollar developments.Let me take a look. I can see what you’re missing, so we can get this over with.”
“I agree that you’re a valuable director on my team. I couldn’t do this job without you.” I tried to sound confident. “But this kind of development takes time. There aren’t any tricks that can be played to get us over the finish line faster. Trust me. I’m working all the angles.”
“Show me now,” Meredith said flatly.
“Show you now?” I asked.
“I’m outside,” she said and hung up the phone.
I hurried over to the window and looked out. Meredith was holding her phone in her hand, looking up at my window, as she leaned against a Mercedes G-Wagon that was parked by the curb in front of the house.
I sighed. On the one hand, this was annoying. Meredith should be in Philadelphia preparing for a huge deal’s closing, not micromanaging me. On the other hand, it was nice to see a friend, and Meredith was the best at closing out projects. Possibly because everyone was terrified of her. If anyone could help me get phase one of this project over the finish line, itwasMeredith.
I texted her.I’ll be down in five minutes.
I brushed my teeth and splashed my face with water. I slipped on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a fleece, then headed downstairs.
When I walked outside, Meredith was still leaning against the vehicle with her arms crossed. Her straight leg jeans and black ribbed turtleneck accentuated her tall, thin frame, and she lifted her expensive, oversized sunglasses to get a better look at me as I walked closer.
“You look…” Meredith paused, as if trying to select the right next words. “Better than usual.”
“Must be the mountain water,” I said. I crossed my arms in front of me. “How did you find me?”
“I asked Marla a million questions last night. Then I went back to my hotel room and looked at every property our company has recently purchased until I figured out which one could be your project.”
“We purchase dozens of properties every month,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
“I guess I’m just good,” Meredith said pushing herself forward, so she was standing up straight and not leaning on the car. “Let’s go.”
I held out my hand so Meredith could drop the keys in them. She did. Then she gave me a hug. “I’veactuallyfucking missed you. Let’s get this deal done.”
“Missed you too, Mer.”
We got straight to work. I drove Meredith from site to site. I airdropped her the folder of plans and permits I’d been working from, so she could see all the work I’d done with Nick and the city and county permitting departments to secure the infrastructure improvement approvals we needed. I then showed her the properties we had already acquired, which included several empty lots and dilapidated buildings in the downtown area. I told her that the wheels were already in motion to revitalize those buildings.
The last place I took Meredith was the river. I explained that two landowners owned almost all the riverfront, and once we were able to purchase the it, we could build a riverfront mixed-use development that would serve as a new social center for the town. The property would have new spaces for restaurants, shops, and even some housing affordable enough for nurses, teachers, and first responders.
“This is the only building on the riverfront,” I said, pulling into the parking lot of an old flour mill. “We just purchased thisproperty. I’m thinking we’ll restore this building and file for a historical preservation designation. Maybe use the building as an event space or something like that. It would be a great asset for the community and bring new families to the riverfront.” I put the car into park, and Meredith got out.
I followed her to the corner of the lot, overlooking the river. I pointed toward the undeveloped lot next to us. “The riverbank lots for the next two miles are owned by one family.”
Meredith nodded. “They going to sell?”
