Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Certainly, sir. I’ll have that brought up to you right away.”
I exhale. Yup, this is where I’m meant to be. I feel good. I did my job at Crompton. I didn’t need to spend as much time there as I did, but I would have had to go back for John and Carole’s anniversary dinner anyway. It made sense to leave after that.
The conversation with Kate had been difficult. But she knew Crompton wasn’t my home. She belongs there, not me. I head to the shower, not wanting to dwell on the fact I was an asshole for taking her to Norfolk and then leaving.
I always like a cold drink and a shower to settle into a new place.
The doorbell of my suite rings just as I fix a towel around my waist. I grab a small towel from the rail and rub it over my hair on the way to get the door.
“Good morning, sir. I have your drink.” The waiter crosses the room and puts the drink on a coaster on the table by the couch.
As soon as I see the iced tea, I want a ginger beer. Jeez, when did I become such a creature of habit? Kate observed my habits and love of routine, but I guess I’ve never given it much thought.
“Do you guys do ginger beer?” I ask.
“Your assistant called ahead, Mr. Cove. Your fridge is fully stocked with your favorite brand. Would you like me to pour you a glass?”
“That’s fine, I can do it.” I tip the guy and let him leave.
Why did I order an iced tea when what I want is a ginger beer?
I pull out my phone again and text Jacob that I had to leave the UK unexpectedly. Kate seemed to get along well with both Sutton and Ellie. Perhaps one of them will call Kate and check on her. Not that she’s going to be devastated about me leaving or anything. It isn’t like we were…
I grab the glass of iced tea and take a swig. Nope. I definitely want a ginger beer.
Fuck.
I stride across to the fridge and grab a bottle, opening it with more force than necessary. I gulp the first mouthful straight from the bottle. Yup. That’s what I want. A shower and a ginger beer, just like always.
Simon was already seated by the time I got to the restaurant.
“Have you ordered?” I ask.
“Nope. I was waiting for you.”
“What’s good here?” I scan the menu.
“No idea. Never eaten here.”
We order—me a quesadilla and him tacos.
“So, when are we seeing the site?” I ask.
“Well, I didn’t expect you to get here so quickly, so I’m still trying to arrange it.”
“But it’s up for sale. Officially.”
“Like I said on the phone, they can’t decide the price and apparently one shareholder is stalling. Hopefully we can get in this week at some point.”
“So, it’s good I’m here. I can see it with you.”
“Right,” he replies, his tone uncertain. “I want to bring a surveyor with us. Obviously, we’ll have to have them do some ground tests. We won’t know until then how easy construction will be.”
“Great,” I say. “And then we’ll be able to move really quickly because I’ll have seen it. Did you do the analysis on the hold price compared to the development?”
“I did. I just finished it this morning, which is why I haven’t emailed it to you. I can send it now.” He pulls out his phone.
“Does it work?”
He shrugs. “It’s borderline. And you’ve got the risk of one of the big players setting up next door. Like I said, it’s not clear who’s bought that plot. But if it’s a major brand, we won’t get permits for another operation. We’d have to sell. Or change lanes completely.”
“Right,” I say. I do remember him telling me about that risk. I must have put it to the back of my mind. “Send me what you have on the owners of the next-door plot, and I’ll get my team to do some digging. What do you know about other bidders for the plot we’re interested in?”
“Not much,” he says. “I’ve started to find out, but at the same time, I don’t want to draw attention to the fact that it’s coming to market. We don’t want to end up in a bidding war before we even know the price.”
“No one likes a bidding war.”
“Honestly, Vincent, you could have saved yourself the trip. Until we get that initial site visit, there’s nothing we can do. Before then, the most important thing is to figure out who bought next door.”
I thought coming over here had been urgent. Or did I just want to believe it was? I didn’t want to miss an opportunity, which was all too possible when my head was full of Crompton…and Kate.
“I was passing,” I say. It’s a lie, but he doesn’t need to know I need to rip out some roots that had been burrowing without me noticing. “I’ll hang around a couple days, see if I can dig anything up about who owns next door. And I have a couple other things in-state to deal with as well.” I have an investment in a semi-conductor plant in Tucson. I could drop by, put in some face time with one of the partners.