Page 30 of The Library of Second Chances
A voice in his head reminded him that personal relationships and business didn’t mix, but he reasoned this wasn’t a romantic relationship. Control of the building was good for her business, and a successful project plan was imperative for his career at this point. He needed her to start trusting him and stop seeing him as the enemy. He would show her how well they could work together. Besides, he wouldn’t want to see the building fall into the wrong hands.
“Okay,” he leaned his arms on the table. “Let’s just say you have the down payment and collateral to buy the building. If all you need are more detailed business plans that cover the maintenance and upkeep of a historic building like that, let me help you. I’ve done tax credit work like that in plenty of towns. And figuring out the landlord side of things isn’t that hard either. I can show you how to price future rents.” He’d taken several real estate courses in law school, and he’d been involved in dozens of commercial lease negotiations over the years.
“Why would you want to help me? This doesn’t have anything to do with the waterfront.”
She raised a suspicious eyebrow, but he saw something else in her eyes. Hope? It only fueled his desire to help her.
“What can I say? I’m a sucker for historic buildings and the people who love them.” He’d meant to lighten the mood, but he saw a flicker in her eyes when he spoke the final words. The spark of interest was familiar to him, and he felt it every time he was near her. But it wasn’t like he could stay away from her. They had to work together on the waterfront project, and it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to help her with the building too.
“I don’t know.” She bit her lip.
He’d caught her doing that a few times when she’d been unsure of herself.
“Do you really think I could manage a whole building full of tenants? You saw what my systems are like.”
She smiled at him through her lashes, and he found it hard to focus on what he should say next. He cleared his throat and shifted to sit up straighter in his chair.
“It’s only a handful of tenants. We can put systems in place to manage that. I’ll help you with that too.”
The server appeared then with their meals, which gave him an excuse to look away from her soft brown eyes.
“Don’t you already have your hands full with your own project?” She frowned as she picked up her fork.
“Well, you’re going to help me with that, and I’ll help you with this. It’s called teamwork.”
“Oh, now you think I’m going tohelpyou commercialize the waterfront?” Her eyes twinkled, challenging him.
“To be fair, it’s already commercial.”
She shrugged in acknowledgment, so he continued.
“I want you to help me find ways to make it more profitable that don’t ruin the character of downtown.”
“Have you come up with any ideas other than the cruise ships and casino boats?” She popped a shrimp into her mouth.
He held up his hands. “Yes. I know those are no-gos for you. They were just the beginning of my ideas. What about paddle board rentals? Or jet skis? I also saw where another town bought these little two-person crafts you can teach anyone to drive with just a few minutes of instruction.”
She looked off toward the ocean as she chewed, as if she was trying to picture it.
“The downtown marina is actually a pretty good spot for that kind of thing, but there’s never been a proper ramp to help people load their kayaks into the water. It’s more like a river than an ocean on that side. From downtown, you could send people to the right toward the west side of the island and thatwould keep them out of the path of boaters who mostly come in from the ocean side.”
“See? Teamwork.” He winked at her and relished the way her smile spread quickly and easily across her face. It made him want to come up with more ideas that would make her look at him like that and remind him that he really was good at his job.
Crisscrossing globe lights over their heads flickered on as the sun dropped behind the west side of the building, giving the sandy yard where they sat a romantic glow. The people around them probably thought they were on a date. Two young, attractive professionals chatting over glasses of wine. Except this was strictly a business dinner.
“It’s still not enough money though, is it?” Her voice was barely loud enough to break into his train of thought. She poked at a shrimp on her plate, not meeting his eyes.
He sipped his wine. “If we could do the open-air market, the food kiosks, and implement some new recreational areas, it would get us part of the way there. We don’t have to figure it all out tonight. The important thing is that we’re adding some good ideas to the list.”
She gave a little nod. “Can we agree to a bit of a ceasefire?”
“What did you have in mind?” He leaned forward.
“No more going door-to-door trying to sell your plans. It’s not fair without someone there to present the other side. We’ll air everything out in the public forums.” She reached a hand across the table to shake on it.
He slid his hand into hers and felt the electricity. He searched her eyes to see if she felt it too. Her brown eyes glowed almost amber under the yellow tinge of the lights above. When they locked with his for a split second, he felt warmth wash over his entire body.
His voice was husky when he spoke. “Deal.”
