Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
CALEB
I make my way into the boardroom.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” I say, taking my seat at the head of the table.
“I take it, this has something to do with the new plans that have appeared on my desk this morning?” Donald says.
He's a friend of my father and one of the first people to come on board when I set up Frazer Development.
“And the fact the canteen is currently full of teenagers and OAPs.”
Elana smiles. I saw her outside watching the flash mob.
“A proposed change to the current plans for Sunny Down,” I say. “As for the latter,” I shoot Elana a smile. “We are trying to win over a community. This was the perfect opportunity to show them we are on their side.”
Everyone opens the packs Trish prepared this morning before my meeting with April.
“As you can see,” I say. “The changes to the plans will involve a time delay and additional costings.”
“Is all this really necessary?” Donald asks. “Can’t we just move the dance school into the proposed gym facilities? Kill two birds with one stone?”
My mind drifts to April’s reaction to the same proposition.
“A dance school is very specific. Whichever option we take, it will require a change to the current plans.” I pause and let my words sink in. “Jeff, you were at the town planning meeting. Would you care to give your view on the meeting?”
Jeff looks up. “We’ve been royally stitched up by the landlord,” he says in his matter-of-fact way, and I bite my lip to prevent myself from smiling.
“What do you mean? Does this have anything to do with the demonstrations or today’s flash mob outside?” Donald asks.
“Unfortunately, it’s come to light the landlord wasn’t entirely honest with us. We’re not sure why, but anyway. The community are in uproar over what they see as the forced closure of one of their businesses.”
Donald sits back and crosses his arms. “Can’t we just compensate this business?”
It’s my turn to step in.
“No. The business in question offers a place to go for the younger generation. It has been heavily involved in keeping the kids off the streets. We have been inundated with letters and emails complaining about our supposed treatment.”
“But that’s not our ethos,” Elana sits forward.
“Exactly,” I say. “We build up and improve communities. It’s been our motto from day one. When we get the community onside, we have somewhere like Copper Town.”
Murmurs go around the room.
“You’re saying Sunny Down could be another Copper Town? ”
“I think it can be bigger and better. We learned a lot the first time around.”
“But Caleb, the cost increase. Budgets are put in place for a reason. This project is already flying close to the wind.”
“I understand. If you look at page three, I’m proposing we take funds from the proposed Spencer Lane development.”
“It’s a big risk. It could have a knock-on effect,” Elana says, looking at the document in front of her.
“True, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. It’s the right thing to do, for the good of the community and our company,” I tell them. “I need you to trust me. When have I let you down?”
A few heads around the table nod.
It’s Donald who speaks first. “The time delay, Caleb? Can we really afford to push this project back any further? We’re already six months behind, courtesy of the landlord.”
“I think I can pull it back in,” I say, meeting his steely gaze. If there’s anyone I have to win over, it will be Donald. At sixty, he’s seen and done it all.
“I’m speaking to the contractors and our onsite team at the start of next week. I did, however, want to update you all on the changes I am proposing.”
“And we appreciate being kept in the loop, Caleb.” It’s Jameson who steps up, the head of communications and public relations. “If I can add. I think we all need to take these figures away and think about what this means. I tend to agree with Caleb. This community are not going to sit quietly by on this. There are already stirrings. I’ve had reporters on the telephone, sniffing for a story. Today’s flash mob got people’s attention. We don’t need to damage our reputation when we have a proposed fix.”
It was a member of Jameson’s team who sat on April’s emails.
“I called the planning office and spoke to Mo. The retail outlets proposed for development can easily be repurposed with a change in planning application. As the business has already been present, there should be no issues,” I say.
“Fine, then I suggest we all take the weekend to process what is going on. Have another meeting once Caleb has spoken to the developers.”
“You are taking a great deal of interest in this project,” Donald says, staring me down.
“It’s my reputation. I did not set this firm up and work this hard to have miscommunications and false truths derail us.”
“I’m happy to reconvene next week and see what you come back with. But you need to fix this, Caleb, ASAP. We can’t afford for our reputation to be damaged any further. No more protests or flash mobs.”
“Just give me your approval next week, and I promise you, all this will go away,” I tell him.