Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
On my way to Sadowski Construction, I couldn’t stop thinking about Zoe—specifically kissing her in her Jeep.
I’d wanted more, but considering how we’d met, I wanted to make sure she was comfortable with me before I went any further.
The last thing I wanted was to accidentally cross a boundary, and knowing Zoe, she wouldn’t tell me if I did.
She’d tough it out, and I didn’t want that. I wanted honesty between us.
The Sadowski Construction building wasn’t what I expected.
I guess I was thinking it would be more like the man himself.
Maybe a cinder-block box, with fluorescent lighting that he shared with four other businesses.
Not this attractive, two-story brick building that had been designed with care.
It had wide-planked hardwood floors, and as the receptionist walked me to a conference room, I walked past framed photos of different Sadowski projects. The whole operation was professional.
The conference room was on the second floor and had windows that looked out over misty, tree-covered hills. The credenza held coffee and pastries.
Harvey got up from the table and came over to shake my hand. He had the grip of a man who had been in construction all his life.
“Adam, damn glad you’re here. Damn glad you agreed to come on board.” He chuckled.
“Thanks, Harvey.”
“I’m serious. Renzo is doing great work, but I’m pulling him in too many directions and there have been other things that have popped up that meant he had to cover for me. You’re a Godsend.”
“Well, I’m here ’til the end.”
I walked further into the conference room and saw Ford sitting there, which I should have expected.
He was always early. He was leaning back in one of the plush leather chairs with his boots crossed at the ankle.
He held up a coffee mug in salute. The mug said, ‘World’s Okayest Carpenter’ in block letters.
“Nice mug.”
“Wedding gift from Walker. He thought it was hilarious. I was proud.”
“Did you get him a mug?” Knowing Ford, he did.
“Of course. It said ‘World’s Most Anxious Carpenter’. Never saw him drink out of it. Damn shame. It’s oversized like this one.”
Walker came through the door behind me. He was holding a yellow legal pad, a calculator, and a mechanical pencil. Then he pulled out a chair across from Ford and sat down. He looked like he was ready to take meeting minutes.
After he was settled, he looked up at me and gave me a quick smile. “It’s good to see you again. Sometime when we’re not deep in it, we need to go to Maverick’s and catch up.”
Deep in it. That didn’t sound good.
Renzo Drakos came in last. He was carrying a roll of site plans and a tablet under one arm, and he smiled at everyone, before shaking my hand.
“Adam, glad you could make it this morning. I’m really looking forward to working with you, not just because of Ford’s great recommendation, but because I just got my Tennessee architectural license six months ago, and you’ve been working in this state for how many years? ”
“Almost ten,” I answered.
“Great. Great. When I have the time, I’ll be asking a lot of questions.”
“According to Harvey, you don’t have a lot of time.”
Renzo winced. “Yeah, it’s been complicated around here the last few months.”
“Everybody take a load off,” Harvey said.
We all sat down, with Harvey at the head of the table, and Renzo to his right. I sat down next to Walker. “Adam, Renzo’s going to explain some disturbing shit that’s been going on. We think we have a handle on it, but it’s possible it might escalate.”
I frowned, then looked over at Renzo.
Renzo opened his laptop. “Five-and-a-half months ago, we started getting hit with what looked like routine bureaucratic friction.
Petty stuff, that turned out to be complaints filed through an LLC called the East Tennessee Heritage Preservation Coalition.
Sounded legitimate. Legitimate enough that the county planning office had to take them seriously.
“What kind of complaints?” I asked.
“Environmental impact concerns, drainage issues, historical designation questions about the land, which was a creative touch since there’s nothing on that property older than a fence post. After a while, we figured out the goal wasn’t to win, it was to create delays.”
Walker’s pencil was moving, then he looked up.
“The planning office only has two people. They were overwhelmed. As soon as one got dismissed another one popped up. Each one delayed the project, and time cost money on a construction job, especially when you’ve got a construction loan tied to that timeline. ”
It seemed that Walker was more involved than just the millwork side, and he was good at it. Harvey was smart, using him that way.
“Walk, tell him what the town did.”
Walker gave a full smile for the first time since sitting down. “The town did what Jasper Creek does. Word got around, I still don’t know how.”
“Little Grandma,” Renzo guessed.
“Florence,” Ford said with authority.
“Anyway, within two weeks we had twelve written public statements supporting the project, all filed with the county. It basically spiked their guns.”
“Is that all that’s happened?” I asked.
“I wish,” Renzo sighed. “They pivoted to the money. We couldn’t prove anything, but suddenly there were unusual delays on our construction loan draws. Covenant reviews were triggered for no apparent reason. A credit flag that appeared from nowhere and took weeks to trace and dispute.”
“Shit,” I muttered.
“Actually, it was bullshit,” Ford said.
Harvey nodded. I could see he was still pissed.
“It must have cost you,” I said to Harvey.
“Not as much as you might think. Thanks to Renzo.”
I turned to Renzo who gave me a smile that was all teeth. “After all the bullshit with the permitting, and now the financials, it seemed like a pattern. I reached out to my cousin who works part time for a security firm here in Jasper Creek.”
“What did he do?”
“Code was a cyber security specialist for the Army before he retired.”
Holy hell.
“I love that you have a hacker in the family.” Ford grinned.
“It does come in handy, however don’t ever let him hear you call him a hacker, he gets a bit testy about that term.”
“What do you have to tell us, Renzo?” Harvey asked.
“Code dug deep and got a lot of information. The shell LLC that’s been causing all the problems traces back to a California based real estate company, Pacific Rim Development Group. They’re a nasty piece of work.”
Renzo turned his laptop so we could see the screen.
“They’re not small. They’ve done this before. According to Code, at least three times.”
“Done what?” Walker asked.
“They basically screw over an existing project, then sweep in and buy it at a distressed price. Their MO is starting with the bureaucratic red tape, then the financing, then they move on to out-and-out sabotage if the first two avenues of attack haven’t worked.”
“What makes ours a target?” I asked.
“We’re trying to do what’s right. We’re not in this to make a lot of profit, instead we want to help the community. I mean, the low-end and medium housing have tight margins, we’re recouping on the luxury properties, but those are the longest lead times,” Renzo explained.
“Those fuckers. And what did they do with the last three developments?” Walker asked.
“Got rid of the low-end and medium housing, turned all the land into high-end condos and luxury homes, high profit, and cutting out anything for the needs of the community.”
“I repeat. Those fuckers,” Walker ground out.
“Did Code stop the financial bullshit they were pulling,” Ford asked.
“Yeah, but not before we took some hits.” Renzo grimaced. “He’s trying to figure out ways to reverse it and put the hurt on Pacific Rim.”
“I like your cousin,” Harvey said.
“There’s a lot to like.”
“What are we paying him?” Harvey asked.
“This is pro-bono. Anyway he’s married to Kit Lord, I’d say he has enough goodness in his life,” Renzo grinned.
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Harvey nodded. “They have a kid, right?”
“A daughter. Six months old. She looks like her mom. Code’s going to be in so much trouble.”
We all laughed, and at that moment I was glad I had a son, not a daughter.
“Do you think that’s the end of Pacific Rim?” Walker asked.
“Should be. Now we just have to focus on the work,” Renzo said as he spread out the site drawings.
This I was ready for.
“I want the one with the dog.”
“The dog doesn’t come with the house, Buddy.”
We’d been having this discussion for three days, and I couldn’t seem to get it through my son’s head.
However, the house was a strong candidate as far as I was concerned.
It had a big, fenced backyard. Perfect for a dog, should we decide to get one.
The kitchen and both bathrooms had been recently remodeled.
And it had a big wraparound porch that spoke to me.
It just seemed that if we were to live in Jasper Creek, we needed to fit in, and something about having that porch was inviting.
I shook my head. Since when did I want to invite people over? That certainly hadn’t been my MO back in Nashville. But it had been, back when Marie and I were a couple. Maybe I was really ready to get back to who I had been.
“Dad, are you listening to me?”
I looked down at James. We were sitting in front of my industrial-sized laptop, scrolling through the final three houses.
“I’m listening.”
“When we get this house, can we get a dog?”
It was the one house out of the three that was a purchase, instead of a rental.
Was I ready for that level of commitment?
It was four blocks away from Little Grandma’s house.
James would love that. He’d noticed that as we’d been driving around the different neighborhoods. The flower-house was hard to miss.
The house was also located close to the daycare that James was currently attending, and the school that Carrie’s kids went to.
According to Ford, that could either be a plus or a minus.
I’d met Bubba once when we’d gone to the kid-centric pizza place in Knoxville.
He talked James into hiding in the ball pit for twenty minutes, which had scared the hell out of me.
It was totally unlike James, and he and I’d had a firm discussion, resulting in no iPad for three days.
But I have to admit, I liked the kid. He took after Carrie, not Tommy. Yep, he was going to get James in all kinds of trouble, but since James didn’t have any siblings, this could be good for him.
“I don’t know about getting a dog, that’s a big commitment. You’d have to make sure he was fed everyday, and we’d have to take him for walks everyday.”
“That would be cool, Dad.”
“Even when it’s raining? Even when it’s really hot outside?”
“I’d get to play in the rain?”
I sighed.
“We’ll have to see about the dog. Now tell me, if you couldn’t get a dog, which house would you like the best?”
“I like the house near my pretend Grandma.”
Why did that not surprise me?
It was the one I liked the best.
Dammit.
Purchasing a house. I rubbed the back of my neck, where I felt my muscles tensing up. It wasn’t the money. I had a cash offer for the house in Nashville, thirty thousand over the asking price. I had plenty in savings. Nope, it wasn’t the money, it was just the idea of committing.
Then an image of Zoe Avery flashed in front of my eyes. Dark eyes, dark hair with a streak of blue. Mischievous grin. But what happened if we tried for something and we crashed and burned? I’d be living in the same small town with her.
“Dad, you’re not listening again,” James huffed.
“What is it?”
“Can we ask pretend Grandma if we can make brownies today?”
“We’ll see.”
“That means no.”
“That means, we’ll see.”
“Can we get a dog?”
“Let’s call Little Grandma and see what she’s up to today. Maybe she has time to make brownies, okay?”
He grinned at me. I’d been so outmaneuvered.