“You can’t have become a bigger dick than you already were, dude,” he chuckled. “I would have never said that to you in high school.”
“I know, man, I… I was a nightmare, I know. I’m not the same… asshole that I was.”
“Then you are doomed for failure, my old friend. Because only that asshole could ever get this done. I hope you fail. I really do. And I'm not gonna lie. I’ll enjoy seeing it.”
“I’m sure everyone will say the same thing.”
“Oh, no, old pal – there are a couple who will probably throw you out of their store. Good luck and I hope you do stay in town for the reunion. That could be a lot of fun.”
I was concerned enough that I didn’t even ask for a bag of snow-covered peanut butter bites, which had been my favorite, but Denny had spoken the truth. One business after another told me that they were reconsidering the offer if they had agreed to sign or that they would never sell out to a greedy corporate monster who would wind up destroying the heart of the town. They all thought their shops were the heart, of course. It was grueling and depressing, but I admired how they wanted to fight for what they believed in – what they owned and took pride in.
But I always felt like there could still be a chance if I played the company cards right. The first offer was just the beginning of better and better offers until the company found the project completely unviable. With the wide swath of land they currently had on reserve from the city, all they needed was to purchase the remaining land on the edge of town that would be necessary to design one of our spaces and still have enough space for the golf courses and the canal they would create to ferry people to the nearby lake, it would take every square inch of this part of town.The eight businesses on the edge would all have to agree for this to work.
The town was willing for the project to happen, but it would not get involved with the purchase of the businesses. BHB always refused to change a square foot of their design plans, and every one of our resorts was the exact same size and design. The design meant something to Mister Boyd, and he would never deviate from it. To create this magnificent space, every one of these businesses would have to agree to sell.
Promises would be made if they wanted them. By the time the last offer would be made, it would be ridiculous for any of these businesses to refuse. BHB had that kind of money, and money usually got the job finished, even if it did break a few hearts. Besides, those hearts would have enough money to live incredibly comfortably for quite some time if they chose, especially in a small town like this. They could even afford to rebuild the business somewhere else in town and still have enough for a small nest egg. When BHB really wanted something, or when Richard Boyd wanted something, the money seemed to be never-ending.
Why here, though? Foggy Basin was in an area that didn’t have many resorts or even that much tourism, unlike the rest of the state. What other plans had BHB already agreed to for this to be a viable purchase? What were they hiding? The last time the company got their panties in a wad was on a project that fell apart before it ever began in Arizona. The whole project died because BHB tried to hide the burial grounds on the plans that the state had approved. The tribe had put a quick stop to that, and BHB sold the land back to the city for a pittance. Mister Boyd fired everyone on the project. It had been nasty.
The real question I needed to ask was if I even cared. This place held nothing but pain and bad memories for me, didn’t it? My parents still lived here, but they were retired, and Dadloved a good golf course, and our golf courses were absolute perfection. I had a job to do and, by the end of this distasteful week, a promotion that would allow my dreams to come true. I would stop being responsible for the on-the-ground operations and would be able to start dreaming and creating just as the other partners did. BHB may have been owned by three powerful and confusing men, but the rest of the partners were a lot like me. I would make my share mean something.
The one business that I was told we had wrapped up was Susie’s Dress Emporium. It was one of the newer businesses on the strip, even if it had been here before I started high school. My prom date got her dress here just as every other girl in town probably did. Susie had become a staple, and she had no children to leave anything to. According to BHB, she wanted to retire and start to live her life for herself, and the money that we were willing to pay would help that to happen. If she had played hardball like the others, there would probably be another zero at the end of that number later on.
There was always one that was willing to sell early. She could at least give me the lay of the land so I could figure out who I had to win over first. There was always the ringleader that the others followed. I just needed to know who it was, and everyone I spoke to had been very tight-lipped as soon as they knew I was working for BHB. What depressed me the most was that most of the people I spoke to had no idea who I even was. Time had moved on, and my face rang very few bells.
The door to Susie’s chimed as I opened it. She popped her head out from a curtain in the back and waved.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m here with BHB, and…”
“They sentyou?Youwork for them?”
“I’m sorry, I… Do you remember me?” I asked, completely thrown off guard. “I wasn’t sure that we had ever really met.”
She laughed, and it sounded like the ring of a bell. She was so tiny and dainty. “Your mother and I have known each other for… Of course, I recognize you. You’re Nancy’s son, Ben, who played football. I used to go with your mom to the games every now and then when your father was out of town. We were really close in high school and drifted apart after she became a mom. She got married, and I stayed single, but eventually, we found each other again and joined the same book club and quilting group.”
“Have we ever met?” I walked over to the counter and leaned against it.
“When you were younger. But it’s been a very long time since we actually talked. I imagine you were in elementary school the last time I saw you. But Florence and I saw each other. She had told me about your fantastic job building resorts and… I had never thought about you being the reason we…”
I held up my hands in surrender. “I just found out about this resort a couple of days ago. It’s a fairly large company, and I’ve been focusing on a job in Colorado. I would have never wanted this, but this town growing a little shouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“It’s not.” She nodded.
“The other businesses are acting like it is.”
“Well, they would not have a business any longer. Change is scary.”
“At least you know what you want.”
She sighed and patted my hand gently. “I may have changed my… I’ve owned this place for twenty-eight years. I bought it with the money my grandmother left me when she passed away. I had graduated college and was just trying to find my way when I came home for a visit and never left. This place means something – do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am, I do. So, you are changing your mind?”
“I may have. I’m still deciding. One of our younger owners has been talking to all of us, and he’s made some great points. There’s still a lot that we don’t know about any of this.”
I shrugged, unsure of what to say. “It’s a check. The rest is up to you.”
