Page 1 of Love Walks In


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Prologue

“Bliss Cove.” Hunter Armstrong twisted his mouth around the town’s name, which brought up sticky-sweet images of flower boxes, beach parties, and ice-cream cones. Things that had nothing to do with his life of glass office towers and retail complexes. “Never heard of it.”

“Good.” His boss gave a dry, humorless laugh.

Hunter folded his arms as he stood at the thirty-first-story window of the Imperial Properties conference room. An expansive view of the Manhattan cityscape, pierced by high-rises and skyscrapers, spread out toward the Hudson River.

“We intend to keep Bliss Cove a secret.” Bruce Sinclair, founder and CEO of Imperial Properties, thrust his thick finger at the presentation screen displaying a picturesque photo of a downtown street. “It’s useless little town right in the middle of a perfect stretch of California coastline waiting to be exploited—”

“Explored, Dad.” Juliette Sinclair, president of Imperial’s East Coast operations, arched a plucked eyebrow and met Hunter’s gaze with a“he’ll never learn”look of amusement. “Bliss Cove is a small town in a pristine location that’s accessible to both southern and northern California residents.”

She tapped a button on the computer. The photo on the screen changed to a map of the Pacific coastline. “It’s a stroke of luck that no other developers have found it yet. That makes it an excellent place to start expanding Imperial’s West Coast properties.”

Hunter studied the map. Bliss Cove sat alongside the ocean midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, with acres of redwood forests to the north and farmland farther east.

“What’s the project?” he asked.

Juliette advanced the slide to a photo of a narrow cobblestone street lined with rundown buildings.

“This is Mariposa Street.” Bruce gave a derisive huff. “It’s the main street of a shithole district the town doesn’t care about, but it’s in a phenomenal location right near the beach. We’re going to build the Oceanview Plaza here, an upscale multi-use complex of shopping, entertainment, restaurants, and commercial buildings intended to pump life into the whole town.”

Juliette clicked forward to slides of modern steel-and-glass buildings—retail, condos, a megaplex movie theater. Despite the artistic renderings, it was still much smaller than Imperial’s usual projects. Hell, it was minuscule compared to the ten-acre, five-billion-dollar complex of office space, hotels, retail, and apartments that Hunter had just completed in the Hudson Yards district.

He’d worked at Imperial Properties for twelve years, having started shortly after graduating from Harvard. One of the largest property development companies in the nation, Imperial had offices in seventeen cities and managed over three-hundred-million square feet of commercial space. A retail complex in a “useless little town” was hardly an impressive addition to the company’s portfolio.

“What’s the status of the project?” he asked.

“The former director fucked up the negotiations.” Bruce shook his head in disgust. “He couldn’t get the building owners to sell, and then he leaked the plans to the residents. I fired him, but by then, the damage was done.”

“But the damage is not irreparable.” Juliette crossed her arms over the front of her Gucci jacket. “The Mariposa Street buildings are owned by the shop owners, probably because they were able to buy them for peanuts. They haven’t been cooperative about selling to Imperial. So we sweetened the pot and are ready to approach them again.”

“That’s where I come in,” Hunter surmised.

“You’ve done an exceptional job finishing up Manhattan Row.” Bruce clapped a heavy hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “This may seem like a step down, but I need your negotiating skills and expertise to close the Mariposa deal.”

“This is severalfloorsdown from Manhattan Row.” Hunter edged out from under the other man’s hand.

Juliette tilted her head, her sharp blue eyes gleaming. “Believe me when I tell you this project maylookinconsequential compared to Manhattan Row, but it’s a little jewel.”

“I don’t likelittlethings.”

“Yes, well…” Juliette slid her gaze over his chest and shoulders, her red mouth pursing. “You don’t exactlyhaveanything little, do you, Hunter?”

Ignoring the unsubtle remark, he studied his boss. “I want the Tokyo Cityview project.”

“I need you in the US.” Bruce pulled himself to full height, which was still several inches shorter than Hunter. “Juliette is the only other person I’d trust with this deal, and she’s busy finishing our hotel in Atlanta. Close this deal for us, and I’ll promote you to the president of Imperial’s West Coast operations.”

Hah. Well played, Bruce.

His boss knew Hunter had been gunning for that promotion. Reaching the company’s highest executive level was another piece in the puzzle he’d designed back when he was a kid, planning a future that was the opposite of the shitty life he’d been living.

“Get this done.” Bruce extended his hand. “The promotion will put you in a perfect position when the board of directors appoints a new CEO. Of course, you’ll have Juliette to compete with…” he threw his daughter a smirk, “…and I’ll need to retire first, but it never hurts to lay the groundwork early.”

“No, it never hurts.” Juliette gave Hunter a tight smile.

Smothering a rustle of guilt, Hunter shook Bruce’s hand.

“You don’t have a lot of time,” Juliette said. “According to that hick town law, the Mariposa building owners have to vote collectively to sell their properties. Eighty percent majority wins. That’s twelve out of fifteen votes. The association’s next meeting is a month from now.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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