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This was starting to seem like one of those times. There was a reason Brynne was placed in my path. I have the power to reimagine this project and save myself from financial failure. Best of all, though, is figuring out I don’t have to choose between making a profit and ruining people’s lives. I can do well and still make people happy.
It is my project. I found and bought every parcel. I want to buy out the investors so I will own it outright and can do what I want without having to answer anyone. I made a call to Brody.
“Dude,” I say, feeling like I need to bounce this off someone before it takes up even more space in my head. “Facetime or Zoom?”
“Zoom,” he says.
Brody is always up for business. He is the embodiment of a business junkie – always on and always ready. I think he is bored by real life – far preferring business life with its game-playing and intrigue.
“What’s up?” he asks, sounding so relaxed. As always, I am impressed by the opulence of his house and wonder if he gives me any credit for the lifestyle he enjoys. I know that my needs make up the bulk of his billings.
Sometimes, I get the distinct impression from little comments he’s made here and there that he thinks he is the reason for my success. It sometimes makes for a strained relationship between us. I have stopped myself more than once from reminding him that good lawyers are a dime a dozen.
I let the truth roll off my tongue. “I think I want to pull back on the Dove Point project.”
“Wow,” he says robotically, sputtering. “What a surprise.” He rolls his eyes and throws up his hands. He makes a weird noise like he is grunting and coughing.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask defensively.
“The second you slept with her,” he says acidly. “I knew this deal was in jeopardy. Shit, the moment I heard you tried to reason with her naked, chained to the porch, I knew you were going to cross a line. Not that I blame you. If only I had gotten to her first.”
I let that one slide.
“Red Hawk Realty still owns the properties,” I remind him.
“Well, no,” Brody corrects me. “You do.”
“What?” I ask.
“Initially, I thought we would be well underway with a site redevelopment by now. But once we had to deal with Covid,” he confesses. “I started protecting assets so that if push came to shove, no one else could claim them.
They are all debt-free, so there are no lenders to worry about. To protect you from investors, I always include a payoff provision in the partnership agreement everyone signs, allowing you to pay them their principal at the rate of interest, plus a loyal investor fee of 2% to keep them happy and allow you to dissolve the partnership without cause if you wanted to.
“Holy shit,” I say. “It’s all mine? All the properties?”
Brody breathes in deeply as a response. “As soon as you pay the investors their money. I’ll have them sign a release and hold harmless agreement upon receipt of their funds.”
“Yes.” Brody corrects me snidely. “You essentially own Dove Point. You could nominate yourself as mayor. Put Steve Greggs out of a job.”
“Of what?” I ask vehemently. “It’s a ghost town. We wiped these people out.”
“We bought them out,” he calmly reminds me. “Big difference. We turned homeowners into millionaires. If they had put their homes up for sale, they’d still be sitting there with a sign out front. They did better by selling to us.”
“But they didn’t want to,” I admit. “Brynne was right. We talked John Mair into selling when he wanted to leave the inn to Brynne and her sisters.”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” he moans. “So, what happened here? You got inside her, and now she’s inside you?”
“Crossing a line there, Dillman,” I growl. “I gotta read papers more carefully,” I say. “But anyway, the good news is we haven’t even started, so we haven’t lost a thing. I want to redirect what we do from here.
I am convinced we need to rethink an office park, given the current reality of a shrinking tenant base and the growth of remote work. And turn the area into something everyone benefits from. Maybe attract local businesses instead of drivingthem away. And drop Adrianne from our investor partnership roster altogether. She’s the one who wanted offices.”
“Seriously? Is that what this is about?” he asks. “Try to sell that this is strictly about cutting out our wealthy investor to someone else. I won’t buy it. But let’s hear it.”
“It is one of the best surfing spots around,” I say.
“Surfers won’t care what is sitting on the sand,” he argues. “The waves will still be there.”
“That’s not what I am talking about,” I say. “What if we make it a resort? We can cater to businesses with conferences and a think tank event during the week – and families during the weekend. Whereas, with the office park-”
