Page 44 of The Billionaire Land Baron

Chapter 10

Jake drove around town a bit in the Jeep after leaving Matt’s. It was nice to be behind the wheel again and despite the rough ride of the Jeep, he liked the height of it. Something about driving relaxed him, so he drove through town and then took a few country roads a few miles out and then back. He needed time to think. And to prepare.

Seeing Shelby again after last night and having things go back to whatever felt like normal between them left him feeling a mix of happiness and also the same guilt that he’d been nursing. He had to tell her. Knowing that she was looking at houses, especially ones that looked as terrible as the one across from Matt’s house had left him feeling gutted. Maybe it wasn’t too late.

He should call Xander. Maybe it was time for the bailout of this project. Everyone had been nervous about it from the start, but Jake in his pride and Xander in his overt faith in Jake, had pushed past where they would normally leave a project and move on. Permits were still sticky and the mayor. And now he had personal reasons for wanting to distance himself as much as possible from the whole thing. He called Xander while heading back toward town.

“Jake, what’s the word?”

“I’m still here. Headed to the mayor’s in a bit. Going to check on Layla first.”

“Good, good. I know that you’re going to be amazing with McClure. He’s on board, it’s just a matter of making him feel like he’s important.”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “Here’s the thing—”

“And I don’t want to push you, but if you happen to like his daughter, that can’t hurt. As long as you don’t leave her broken-hearted. But that’s more my M.O. than yours.” Xander laughed and Jake tried to figure out how to respond.

“About that, I may have not been completely forthcoming with you.”

“Pulling out the big words. About?”

“The woman I’m staying with. I mean, nothing’s happened yet.”

“But you’d like for it to?”

Jake was relieved to hear the sound of a smile in Xan’s voice. He shouldn’t have been worried about that. Xander had always looked out for him in personal ways as much as business.

“Yeah,” Jake said. “I would. But—”

“That’s great! Then don’t worry about the mayor’s daughter. Stay far away so you don’t give the wrong impression. I’m all for a fling with a small-town girl.”

“It’s not—”

Xander kept going. “After the mayor, we’ve still got some issues brewing with the city planning. Louisiana is giving us a really hard time with the permits there. Apparently, the wildlife preserve really is a big deal to them. Though we plan to go over it with the bridge, building the bridge will apparently disrupt the ecosystem there. We’ve got some groups protesting.”

“Maybe we should back off this project,” Jake said. The words took guts. He didn’t like to back off. Xan liked it even less. There was silence for a moment.

“Something I don’t know? Do you see a problem from your end?”

Xander sounded concerned, which made Jake feel bad. A lot was riding on this project. Money, but also jobs and people. Not to mention the reputation of their company. His reputation. Xander’s.

“It’s more…personal. The woman I’m staying with? Hers was the last property we secured yesterday.”

Xan cursed softly. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty positive. She found out yesterday it was being annexed. She’s out looking for other places to live right now.”

“And she doesn’t know about your involvement, right? Or the project?”

“Nope.”

Xander was silent for a moment. Jake didn’t know what he wanted him to say, but hoped for some kind of directive. Maybe it was cowardly, but it would take the mounting pressure off.

“Man. I don’t even know what to say to that. First—I’m sorry. That’s a really tough position to be in.”

Jake could picture Xander, running a hand over his face the way he did when he was tired or stressed. He felt so much better after telling him. There weren’t many things that he kept from Xan and he wasn’t sure why he’d initially held this back. Sure, Xander could be over-involved at times, but he cared. Which was more than Jake could say for his father or any of the other men in his life.

“Thanks. I found out last night and haven’t figured out what to do or say. I mean, I know the project is on the downlow for now, but—”

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