23. Seth
TWENTY-THREE
Seth
“Thanks for meeting with me today,” Eli says. The country club is a hidden gem, a swanky oasis tucked away just twenty minutes from Whisper Springs. I had no idea it even existed, mistaking it for a simple golf course. Eli messaged me yesterday and asked if we could meet for lunch.
“No problem. Nice place.”
“It is. I can get you membership information if you want. You have to own land in the area though.”
“I’m looking into Land.” It’s a lie, but one that will keep Eli talking. Though, now that I know about the country club, I most certainly will be getting a membership. Plus, it might be another place we can add as a perk for our guests.
Eli grins over his gin and tonic. “That’s just what I was hoping to hear. I’m looking for a partner.”
“What kind of partner?” I do want to stay here, and if I do, I’ll need to invest in the area. Not just the resort. But I’m not sure about working with Eli. He still makes me a little nervous because he seems like the kind of guy who won’t tell me the whole story. Plus, I’ve never had a partner before that wasn’t one of my frat brothers.
“To buy land. When Green Bank was being built, the government offered anyone within a five-mile radius a contract for the exclusive rights to buy the landowner’s property if they ever intended to sell. Most landowners jumped on it at the time because they were given ten thousand dollars if they signed, which was a ton of money back then. But there are loopholes in most of the contracts.”
I lean forward, now entirely intrigued. “Tell me more.” I’ve never heard of any loopholes, and David has been looking into it. But he hasn’t managed to get his hands on Keith’s contract yet.
“The contracts can be bought out by private investors for the same amount of money they were given when they signed. Ten grand.”
“What happens to the landowner?”
“Nothing really. They’re still in the same position. They can only sell out to the investors now instead of the government. It basically means we can buy the land when they sell it. The government contracts were written years ago. A lot of the people who own the land are getting older, and their kids have moved away. As soon as they die, the families will want to sell, and we’d be their only option. We can get the land for a third of the actual value, and that includes the cost of the contract, because we can offer them whatever we want, and they have to take it if they want to sell.”
I swallow and try not to show any panic or excitement. I’m not sure what I’m feeling at the moment. I could snatch up Keith’s contract, and then the problem of Mae’s dad would be solved. I want to leave now, but I need to hear more details from Eli and feel him out to see if he might make a good partner.
Over the next hour, I learn more about his plan and what exactly he wants from me. It’s promising, definitely something I’ll look at. But first I have to talk to David and take care of the Keith problem.
* * *
David grins at me over the Zoom call. “Why did you hire me to do research if you were just going to do it yourself?”
“It wasn’t urgent before. It is now. We need to get that contract. It’s the only way Mae and I can guarantee Keith won’t mess with us.” If Eli is doing a land grab, it’s only a matter of time before he goes after Keith.
“I’m on it. I already had my assistants doing some research, but this will lead us in a different direction. The contracts are tricky to get our hands on. We have to physically go to the records office, but first we have to mail in a request. There’s no electronic way to do that. I overnighted a request yesterday, and we’re following up today. Once we get the okay, I’ll fly up one of my people, and we’ll get it done.”
“You’re the best. Thanks.” I’m grateful I have connections like this.
“I know. I do enough for y’all. I should open up a firm called My Friends Can’t Live Without Me. ”
“Yeah, well, you charge us enough too.” I roll my eyes at him. “Talk to you tomorrow. Hopefully you’ll have the contract, and we can get this wrapped up by the end of the week.”
I hang up, and a knock sounds on my office door. I spin around, expecting Mae, but she never knocks.
It’s Mark and Levi. Bisbee and Gilbert squeeze past, and Deka jumps up to greet them. “You wanna go for a hike tomorrow morning?” Levi asks. “It’s supposed to be a nice day. No suits allowed though.”
I stand, grinning, and ignore the suit comment. “It is nice and good timing too. We’ll have something to celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?”
“I have a solution.”
I tell them all about the lunch with Eli and the contracts.
Mark nods. “You better hope you get there before Eli. Keith can’t stand their family. If he found out Eli was poking his nose around, he’d sell out to the government no matter what happened with you and Mae.”