Page 52 of Tee’d Up For Trouble

I clenched my jaw, my grip tightening on the phone. “So, this Ballybeg…how are you buyin’ up the…you know village, did you say?” I kept my tone as casual as possible.

“Money talks, you know that. This development company we’re working with is real slimeballs. The guy on the project isfromBallybeg, and he’s setting it up. Some we are buying outright, others we may need to persuade some.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. This was how it was done. I knew that. It wasn’t right or wrong—this was…business.

“That’s the land, but you said there’s a freakin’ village, probably with a church and a bakery and….”A pub called The Banshee’s Rest.

“Yeah, yeah.” I heard him take a deep puff and release. “Oh, we’re keeping a few of the old buildings for charm, you know? But most of it is gonna get a facelift—high-end shops, a spa, the works.”

“So, everyone is happy to sell?” I began to tap the wooden counter with my fingers impatiently.

“I mean, there are always those who are stubborn. But you know what happens with deals like this. It becomes too expensive to live there. We jack up the real-estate prices and get the right kind of people buying timeshares and shit.” Big Gil paused for a long moment as he typed. “So, if you’re looking to put in ten mil, I can make it worth your while. We’re talking solid returns here—net operating income that’ll make your head spin, cap rates in your favor, and a cash-on-cash return that’s gonna blow past anything you’ve seen in your other portfolios. This isn’t just appreciation, either—this is a long-term equity play with steady cash flow.”

It was a good deal. If I didn’t know Ballybeg, didn’t know what this village meant to the people who lived here, to the woman I loved, I’d have been tempted to invest—hell, I probably would invest. I wasn’t going to play golf forever. Sure, I had a massive trust fund, but you had to invest and keep growing your wealth. That was how it was done. That was how the rich kept getting richer.

“Sounds tempting. Email everything to Brad, will ya?” At least this way, I’d have all the information, and Brad would be able to tell me if there was any way to save the village.

“Will do.”

“So…it’s all a done deal, yeah?”

He seemed to wait to answer that. “Ah…well, my guy in Cork tells me there’s a broad there who isn’t ready to sell her farm. It’s in the middle of the development. The others he can convince, but she’s gonna be a problem. He used to bang her, and she’s the kind who holds a grudge; you know women like that?”

“Yeah, of course,” I replied through clenched teeth.

Right then Dee went behind the bar and began to check inventory.

“So, he’s trying to figure out how to…you know…make her do what he wants. I told him if she’s still into him, he should just fuck her some and get her to sign stuff.”

He laughed, and I counted to ten.

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” I managed to choke out.

“She also has a pub, and if she plays nice and sells, we’ll probably tear it down. It’s prime real estate, and we’ve got plans for a boutique hotel in that spot.”

Dee smiled at me, and my stomach twisted. I nodded at her, keeping my temper reined in. She didn’t need to see me angry. Knowing her, she’d think I was angry with her. How a woman as strong as Dee was also so insecure wasn’t a mystery. Losing her family had done a number on her. Cillian had done another.

“And if they don’t sell?” I asked, my voice tight.

Dee frowned then. I smiled, winked at her, put her at ease.

“Then we wait her out,” Gil said matter-of-factly. “From what I hear, she’s already up to her neck in taxes. Once the land goes up for auction, we’ll swoop in and grab it for a steal. Make her a nice deal for the pub, too.”

The bakery, the library, the pub, everything was just another building on a blueprint for Gil, not a place that meant everything to the people who lived here, not a place that Dee had poured her heart and soul into. Letting him know that I had a vested interest in saving Ballybeg would only make him more determined because that’s what men like him did; they competed all the fucking time. It was always about whose dick was bigger.

“Okay, so I’ve asked my assistant to get everything to Brad. Hey, if you want a new manager, I got some great people who?—”

“I’m good with Brad,” I cut him off. Like hell, I’d leave the one man in this business I trusted implicitly tonotscrew me over and always tell me the truth, no matter how ugly.

“Right. Right. Well, it’s nice chatting with you, Jax, but I gotta?—”

“Yeah, yeah, of course.”

“Hey, how come you called out of the blue?”

I was prepared for this. “Ah, talked to Max, and he said he was working with you.” Max was my brother, and I had talked to him for cover in case Big Gil bumped into him and asked him about me. “So, I just wanted to hear what you were up to and if I could invest in anything. Can’t keep doin’ this forever, you know.”

“I know, bud, I know. Well, if that’s the case, I’ll send Brad a couple of other projects that I think could be interesting for you.” He typed away for a moment. “You know…if you buy into this Irish village thing, I could sweeten the deal further if you’d be the brand ambassador for the place. It’s a golf resort, and you’re the darlin’ of the golf world right now. What do you think?”

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