Page 9 of A Secret Chance
Charlotte turned the page to the summer section. “And is this a McBroom golf course?”
The woman knew her stuff.
“There are going to be three of them.” Thomas grinned. “We are going to turn this town into a year-round destination.”
“Three golf courses,” Charlotte said quietly and then shut the brochure. “It looks like you’ve got everything all planned out. What did you need from me?” she asked.
Baxter interjected. “There are a few landowners who are holding out.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Is that so?”
He couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not, so he continued, “And there are a few who we can’t reach.”
“And where do I come into all of this?” she asked.
“We were hoping that you could provide us with some current market information, trends, comparable sales and the like.” I leaned forward and placed my hands gently on the table, a negotiation tactic that showed that I was open to a response. She didn’t bite. She remained silent, another negotiation tactic, so I continued. “We would compensate you of course.”
“Is that all?” she asked.
“Well,” The room felt like it had shot up ten degrees and the collar of my shirt was strangling me. “We were hoping to find some local business people who would be supportive of the project. And in your case, perhaps approach some of the landowners and convince them that they would be crazy not to sell,” I continued.
“Mr. Caldwell.” Charlotte pushed the brochure across the table away from her. “If you want to get the locals on board with your plan, you’re going to have to change it. That...” She pointed to the brochure. “Does not help out the community. That is creating another community that will take business away from the downtown core. And I’m no expert, but it looks like those three golf courses will probably impact some of the natural habitats. Most people around here would rather have grizzly bears than golf courses.”
Baxter had scheduled the meeting with the realtor first, assuming that she would be on board with the development. This meeting was not going as planned. “Are you sure about that?”
“No. As I said, I’m not an expert, but opposition to your project is strong. If you want to get this to go through, I highly suggest you communicate with the community, ask them what they want, what will make their lives better. And Mr. Caldwell—”
“Baxter,” he interrupted.
“Baxter,” she smiled. “Your biggest hurdle is going to be getting the Conservation Authority on board.”
Barry chuckled. “We’ve got them under control.”
“You do?” Charlotte raised her eyebrows. “How so?”
“Our pockets are deeper than theirs,” Thomas replied. “Our lawyers are better than theirs.”
“Well, it sounds like you’ve got everything sorted out then, doesn’t it?” The smile had disappeared from her face. Fucking Thomas, getting all cocky about their resources. Baxter didn’t want to reprimand him in front of the rest of the team, or this beautiful stranger, but that idiot had just blown their shot with one of the few people in town who might have actually been on their side.
“We’ve got a meeting with the Conservation Authority tomorrow.” I kept my voice low and flat, trying to bring some calm back to the room. “Mrs. O’Hare...”
“Miss.”
“Miss O’Hare.” I stood up. “I want to thank you so much for your time. You have given us a lot to think about. Perhaps we need to come to this development with a different strategy.”
“I think that would be wise.” She stood and my team followed suit. “Come back to me when you have a revised plan. One that won’t destroy this small town, and then I will consider helping you.” She opened the door to the conference room, signaling the end of the meeting. “Aligning myself with your project as it stands, would be career suicide for me. I hope that you understand.”
He did. They left O’Hare Realty and headed back to the swanky lodge. As they drove, Baxter started to wonder if they were in way over their heads. His dad was going to kill him. Had he underestimated these small-town people?
