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“I don’t have the kind of money to put in to be partners.”
“You have the trust.” He folded his arms on the table, the plate of food in front of him forgotten. “And I have my share, but I gotta get things going before my debts are called due.”
That didn’t sound good. He must be more overextended than he’d let on.
“I don’t have access to the trust. My mom and Grandad have control of that, and it won’t be mine for several more years.” We’d only recently become aware of that fact, and it would be nice if Grandad could release it early instead of wanting us to “build character.”
Joe smirked. “You can borrow against it.”
How does Joe know about the trust?Phoenix and I’d only found out recently. And the bank was watching it like a hawk for Grandad.So could I borrow against it?Probably not.
Joe flagged down the waitress. After she gave him the bill, he dropped some cash on the table to cover it and waved to me.
“Come on. I want to show you the first house we’ll buy.”
We left, and I climbed into his old but new-to-him Bronco.And why didn’t he just buy a new car?He had all that NFL money, even if he had been picked last as Mr. Irrelevant all those years ago. It bothered me enough to ask as he backed out of the parking lot and pointed us away from the college.
“This is a work truck. I didn’t see the point of wasting hard-earned money on something that will only get scratched up from hauling materials.”
Makes sense.“How far is the house?” When I returned, I had a paper to write, and if I had time, I wanted to hit the gym again.
“Forty-five minutes away, give or take.”
Fuck.That wouldn’t be even remotely possible to manage. I clenched my teeth almost the entire drive. And when we got there, he threw the SUV in park and hopped out. I reluctantly followed, meeting him in front of the car.
He clapped my shoulder and dragged me closer, excitedly waving his other arm around. “Just look at the potential here.”
I looked, but what I saw was a boarded-up, slant-roofed house. “It’s rough.” And that was only the outside. I wanted no part of going in and seeing the amount of “potential” he’d mentioned.
“It’s in an up-and-coming neighborhood, and the housing market is hot now. We need to hurry before someone else snaps up this gem.”
I tuned him out, losing interest faster than words spewed from his mouth. It wasn’t my thing, and the thought of taking on anything else seemed ridiculous. He had enthusiasm for the project and the company that he wanted to build with me and my brother. Maybe even enough for the both of us. But I wasn’t on board yet, and he could tell from my expression.
The ride back was a hard sell, and my mind spun with how much he pushed the issue.
“I need your deposit and Phoenix’s soon so we don’t lose the house.”
I found that hard to believe but kept my mouth shut and eyes forward, willing the diner to appear much earlier than it would. I wouldn’t touch on the topic of my brother. “The distance to school is too great. I can’t manage that with all my other commitments.”
“You don’t need to worry about that because I’ll manage the work. I have a contractor lined up. I just need the thirty grand to buy it and maybe another twenty to put in.”
“I don’t have that kind of bank.”
Joe glanced at me, his brows raised, before returning to the road. “Your car is worth a hell of a lot more than that, and you could always get the money from your grandfather. He’s loaded.”
No way would Grandad lend me that kind of money, especially to work with Joe Wrenshall.
“If I have to get the money from someone else, I will. I just thought this would be something we could do together, since I didn’t get to do things with you guys before.”
My head throbbed. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t mention this deal to anyone just yet.”
Right, who would I mention it to?Phoenix didn’t trust him, and Grandad would run him out of the state if he could. Joe turned right, and I almost sighed in relief. We were about five blocks from the diner.
“I doubt Phoenix would want to be in on this.”
“We can bring him in after we have a return to show him. And of course, in addition to the initial investment of fifty grand, you will get half the profit to show your brother.”
