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CATHERINE
I’m a fool.
Once again, I fell for a man whose actions don’t reflect who they are. Palmer hiding his true self, wants, and desires behind a series of over-the-top gestures to try to keep me. And now Hunter, pretty much doing the same. Playing a role that he thought I needed in order to what? I have no idea.
Thank God I did listen to my instinct and reached out to Mr. Franklin. I have to let him know about Hunter. About his plans. But it won’t matter unless I step up.
Thankfully it’s not too late in the evening. It’s Saturday night and I know my friend Candice will still be up. Candice runs a financial services business in Destiny Falls, Indiana. She is not only a good friend, but she’s also my financial advisor. I met her and her now husband, Ryan, when they visited the Crystal Palace. My fingers pause on my phone as I remember that first meeting.
The two of them were there for a walkthrough, they weren’t dating at the time, yet they came in under the guise of an engaged couple. A fake romance. Unlike Hunter, the two of them were both on the same page and their guise only lasted the hour of the walkthrough. Candice sharing with me the truth by the end of the tour.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you,” I start, happy to be back at my parents’ house in my old childhood room which has been converted to a guest room.
Candice’s bright cheery voice leaps across the room. “Not at all, you’ve saved me from the Parker brothers cheating.” She screams out the last word away from the phone. When I hear the rumble of laughter on the other end, I know her comment is directed at Ryan and his older brother Aaron. “We’re playing a game of charades, guys versus girls but we could use a break and regroup.”
I hear the voices in the background. “Is that Mia with you?” Mia is another good friend of mine, engaged to Aaron and a real estate superstar in Indiana.
“You betcha,” I hear Candice sing song. I picture the four of them at the Lake Hope home that serves as their local escape. A beautiful deck sitting right on the calm lake.
“I can call back later. It’s not that serious.”
“I can tell by your tone that it is.” Once again there is a pause and I hear her direct her a comment to the group, “Time out - Mia you are with me.” The line goes quiet for a moment, and I hear what must be the sliding glass door to their deck. “Okay, I’m back. I’m putting you on speaker. It’s just me and Mia, we’ve kicked the boys out onto the deck. It’s Catherine.” The last line must be directed to Mia as I hear the background noise when she flips me to the speaker.
“Hey girl. How was North Carolina?” Mia asks, aware of my trip and the book club.
“It was great. I can’t wait to give you the update on how the gang is doing, but that’s not why I’m calling. I need your help Candice, and actually Mia, I’m glad you’re there too. I could use your expertise as well.”
“I charge extra for weekend work,” Mia jokes and I imagine her flipping back her long blonde hair.
“I’ll pay you back in open bars at the Palace,” I return. Prior to Mia connecting with Aaron, she would crash at the Crystal Palace with me, room hopping in search of Saturday night entertainment. I didn’t complain and loved the company, and we became fast friends.
“Deal. Done.”
“I’m back in Mesa and you remember a place called the Legendary?”
Candice chimes in, “Oh yeah. You worked there. Loved it from what I remember. Wanted to run it but the owner gave the reins to his son, right?”
“You have a good memory, Candice.” I chime in.
“Once a nerd, always a nerd,” Mia pokes at a long-standing joke amongst our gang.
“Well, the son has run it into the ground, and it looks like it may be up for sale.” My heart quickens as my plan develops right in front of me.
“That sucks. I know how much that place means to you,” Candice returns.
“Which is why I’m calling.”
“You’re not…” Candice is already ahead of me. I’m a customer of her services and she is aware of my financial position. For the last three years I’ve been saving every spare cent I make. Long term I’ve always known I want to be more than a general manager of an event space. That one day I wanted to own one.
“I am. But I don’t have nearly enough to place an offer.” Even with three years of savings and cashing in other assets my windfall will fall short of a hundred thousand dollars.
“I can look at lines of credit. What are we looking at?” Candice has switched to full on business mode and I appreciate it. I will need every ounce of her creativity.
“I have no idea. There’s another bidder. They’ve already placed an offer on the table and my meeting is tomorrow.” Just speaking the words brings me down from my high. This really is impossible. “This is where you come in Mia. The other bidder is named Hunter Farro.” I pause at his name. A wave of regret and mixed emotions swirl in my chest. “He’s from Atlanta. I need you to give me a fair market value for The Legendary property and also find out what you can about Hunter’s real estate holdings, pricing strategies, properties, etc. I’m really not sure what I’m looking for, but right now I’m flailing away in the dark. I should have never kissed him.” My loose lips sink the conversation.
“Whoa, whoa. Kissed him. Way to bury the lead,” Mia chimes in. “Candice switch over to FaceTime, I got to see her face.”
Before I can object, my phone pings. It’s pointless to resist and I tap.
