Page 38 of The Christmas Eve Delivery

The summer basically came and went before I had a chance to even think about Brookdale again. It had been far too long since I had seen Lydia, but my time was spent focusing on other projects, and I trusted Jackson to head up the Brookdale team to get those properties acquired.

His contact had said people in Brookdale were contemplating selling to us.

But we were completely stagnating on this project.

I pressed the intercom button and called my assistant. “Get me a flight to Albany and a rental car.”

“Sure thing. When are you planning on leaving?” Sarah asked.

“How soon is my schedule cleared so that I can have a couple of days upstate?”

“You have a meeting with Donald White in two days,” she said.

“Donald White?” I asked. “I thought he had written us off.”

“No, sir. He called directly to schedule this meeting.”

“Does he expect me to go to Long Island to see him?”

“No. He is scheduled to meet with you here.”

“Two days, huh? What is he expecting from me, a presentation?”

“He didn’t say. He requested a meeting, and you had availability. You’ve told me in the past that known investors are always welcome. And Donald White is a known investor.”

She wasn’t wrong. I did welcome any and all investors, even people seeking limited partnerships. While I could perfectly bankroll my own projects, it was always smarter to spend somebody else’s money. And Donald White had money.

“Okay, sounds good. What time?”

“Afternoon, after lunch.”

I groaned. After lunch could mean he was stopping in during the afternoon because he came into town to see a show. Or it could mean he expected to spend the entire afternoon in my office discussing whatever was on his mind.

I didn’t think I could get away with scheduling a flight out that evening. Besides, I didn’t want to take that drive in the dark. Upstate New York this time of year would be pretty with all the fall colors. And while I was a hard ass and economically driven, I did enjoy having a pleasant view while I drove. Whether that was a beautiful woman or a picturesque view, there was no view driving in the dark.

“Go ahead and book me a flight out the next morning,” I said.

“How long should I schedule the car for?” she asked.

“Why don’t you keep it open-ended for now? I’m not certain how long I plan on staying up there.”

A lot of my schedule was going to be determined by Lydia and how much she was going to be pissed off at me. She had to know that I was the developer she was directly campaigning against with her little historical society.

I had every confidence that I would win her back, but that would take time and effort. And probably a lot of wine. I missed her, and any time it took to win her back would definitely be worth the effort.

The next day, I was rather pleased to discover that Donald White did not want to waste my time.

“I almost expected you to not agree to see me, considering how our last meeting ended,” he said with a wry chuckle as he took a seat in my office.

“Just because we did not come to an agreement last time does not mean that potential investors aren’t welcome,” I said.

“Money talks?” he asked.

I nodded. “When money talks, I know better. I should listen. So, what brings you to my office this afternoon?” I asked

This time, he laughed outright. “Well, clearly, I’m here to talk money.”

I let the corners of my mouth twitch up in a mild grin. My smile would probably be larger once I knew the scope of how many dollar signs we were talking about.

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