Page 59 of Heating Up (Nugget)
“I’m fine. You have a chance to run the counteroffer by Ray?”
“I have,” he said, and Dana could hear him shuffling papers in the background. “He’s willing to go for it, including leaving the furniture.”
Dana had to keep from gasping. Holy Toledo; she was about to close the biggest deal of her career.
“Ray, however, is adamant that Flynn Barlow maintain grazing rights for his cattle for the next two years. The Rossers and Barlows have been longtime associates in the cattle industry. Ray wants to keep his word to them.”
“But payments for the two-year lease will go to my buyer.” Gia had shown interest in the income because Dana doubted she would use the land to run her own cattle.
“Nope, Rosser wants that money.”
Ray wants to keep his word, Dana’s ass. He wanted to continue profiting off land that no longer belonged to him from behind prison bars. Nice scam. But Dana was Ray’s agent too, so she held her tongue. “I’ll run it by the buyer. If she’s good with it, you think we could get this signed before the weekend?”
“That’s the plan,” Del said. “Between you and me, Ray’s gonna plead guilty tomorrow. As soon as that’s done, they’ll move him to San Quentin to be processed. So let’s get this done before he’s transferred.”
“The word’s already out. Harlee Roberts, the local reporter, found out from one of her sources,” Dana said. “Is it okay if I confirm it for her?”
“Sure. The cat will be out of the bag in twenty-four hours.”
“What’s he pleading guilty to?” Dana asked, curious herself.
“Second-degree murder with a gun enhancement . . . fifteen to life and ten for the gun.”
Whoa, that was a lot of time. “I’ll talk to the buyer and get back to you right away. Thanks, Del.”
“Let’s get it done,” he said.
As soon as she got off the phone with Del, Carol hovered. “Well?”
“Ray went for it. Fifteen thousand more instead of thirty thousand.” Dana explained the caveat about Ray continuing to collect the income from the cattle lease.
“It can’t be that much money,” Carol said.
“I think Gia will go for it.”
“Woohoo!” Carol called out, and both she and Dana danced around the office like crazy women.
As soon as they calmed down, Dana called Gia.
“They’ve accepted!” she said, not bothering with a formal greeting. “But there’s a catch. Ray wants to continue collecting on the grazing lease for the life of the contract . . . two years.”
Dana heard Gia take a deep breath. “I was counting on that money. And now the land will be tied up, preventing me from doing anything to monetize it.”
“Not necessarily,” Dana said. “Not unless you want to run livestock too.”
“Or plant.”
The idea of Gia becoming a farmer seemed far-fetched to Dana, but she wasn’t going to argue with a client. “I can tell them no, but the truth is, there have been changes in Ray’s situation that will make it difficult for us to continue negotiating.”
“Like what?”
“Tomorrow he’s planning to take a plea bargain. I’m not clear on all the details, but according to his lawyer, he’ll be moved from the county jail to San Quentin.”
“Ah, jeez. What should I do, Dana?”
“It’s up to you. But in a multimillion-dollar deal like this, it seems silly to walk away for twenty-five-thousand-dollars in land revenue.”
“It’s not the money,” Gia said. “It’s not having use of the land for two years. But I’m going to take the deal anyway.”
