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When I turn my head, I see Cole looking right at my ass.
I straighten and turn around. When I glance at him again, he is pretending to be very busy with the papers in front of him.
I smirk. He thinks he got away with sneaking glances at me, but I saw him looking. It’s nice to know that he appreciates the dark blue, body-con dress I’m wearing over white tights.
“Knock knock?”
Both of us startle when River pokes his head into the office. He sets down an enormous pile of rolled blueprints on Cole’s desk.
“Hey.” River embraces Cole. “Nice digs. It’s a little sparse in here, though.”
Cole shrugs. “Suits me just fine. Did you get all the blueprints I asked for?”
“Yep. Every single building that is on the list of potential building sites.” River swings his gaze to me. “Hey, Sav. You look nice.”
“Thanks!” I favor him with a sunny smile. “How did you get the blueprints?”
“River is the CEO of Bennett-Taylor Realty. Knowing how to access blueprints is most of his job.” Cole slaps his brother on the shoulder.
River pulls a face. “It comes in handy at times like these. But listen, I have a client meeting over in Pineville in an hour. Let’s keep this meeting short and sweet.”
“Okay. Where should we start?” Cole casts an eye over the blueprints.
“You want to write this down?” River suggests.
Cole smiles pointedly and raises his hands helplessly. “That’s why I employ an assistant, isn’t it?”
I wave my cell phone at both of them. “I’m keeping notes. Go ahead, River.”
River leans against my desk.
“Okay. The first thing you are going to need is a plan. That way, when you present to the City Council, you can answer their questions. Assume that your baseball camp is successful, and you’re at maximum capacity. How many athletes will that be? How many staff? Where will the staff live? Where will the guests stay? How will they get to and from the camp? What will they eat when they are at the camp? What about the rest of the time? Where will the guests park? Where will they be accommodated?”
“Those are all good questions,” Cole says with a sigh.
“When the planning commission meets, you want to wow them by showing them you have thought of every detail. Plan for emergencies. Plan for hurricanes. Show them that you have put in the work. They will reward you by giving you permits. The permits are your gold stars.”
“Gold stars…,” I say as I type. “Got it.”
River looks at his watch. “Do y’all have any other questions?”
“About a million,” Cole says. “But not enough to keep you here. Thanks for making the time.”
“You got it. Remember, preparation and planning are half of the battle. The rest is finishing up all the shit the contractors forget to do.”
At that, River hustles out of the office, closing the door behind him. I walk over to the blueprints and lift a few, checking them out.
“They are interesting.”
Cole’s lip twitches. “This entire project is a giant pain in the ass. Rex isn’t wrong to plan for the future, but he has terrible timing.”
“Well, you did come back to Cape Simon. You’re clearly in a period of transition. Maybe he was just taking advantage of the opportunity.”
“He is taking advantage all right. And now he has dumped this huge project in my lap.” He shakes his head. “I’m going to do it, but it’s going to be a slog.”
“Let me try to paint this in a different light.” I sit on the edge of the desk. “You are going to be working on the main part of a huge project that will earn you a lot of profit in a few years. Not just that, but you’re going to be an active part in revitalizing this community. The money that you put into building a hotel and funding local restaurants will be life-changing for the residents of South Shore.”
Cole narrows his eyes. I’m sure he’s about to pick apart my words, but he surprises me.
