Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Excuse me,” a man called, making me turn. I found a very attractive man: tall, fit, wearing a three-piece suit, with well-groomed chestnut hair, brown eyes, a charming, straight white smile, glasses that almost immediately made me figure he was smarter than he probably was, and a great watch.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Would you happen to be Lula?”
“Who’s asking?”
“My name is Drake Holland.”
“That’s a soap opera name,” I teased.
“My mother is an avid watcher. That must explain it.”
“I’m Lula. Can I help you with something?”
“I’m a developer.”
Of course he was.
The town had been crawling with them lately.
I wasn’t sure what it was about Shady Valley that made them decide to descend upon us. Maybe it was the sweet, small-town vibes (as lacking as they were in many essentials). Or it could be the gorgeous Death Valley mountain range that could even look pastel in some places.
Because, normally, a prison in town was enough to discourage development. I guess they were getting desperate for cheap, abundant land to build on.
Shady Valley as a whole was mixed on how they felt about it. On the one hand, we did genuinely need more housing. On the other, people were afraid of losing the small-town feel. The only thing everyone was in agreement on was that we could use a few more shops and restaurants in town.
“And I’ve been informed that you own twenty acres of some of the best land in Shady Valley.”
“I do. Let me guess. You want to buy it from me.”
“I want to build on it with you.”
“Oh, the old ‘let’s build a development together’ scam,” Raff said, shooting me that smile of his again. “Let me guess. He wined and dined you.”
He had.
He’d invited me out of town to a very fancy restaurant where he ordered amazing wine and incredible steaks. Then he launched into it all: his vision for the land, what kind of houses he would build, how he wanted to make sure each one was unique so it didn’t look like one of those ‘suburban hellscapes.’
I’d been sucked right in. I, too, hated when every single house lined up in a row looking exactly the same. He also had plans to make the neighborhood winding so you could walk your dog or take your kids on bike rides and for there to be a big park at the end with a basketball court, soccer/baseball field, picnic tables, and a big playground.
By the time I sank my spoon into the brownie sundae dessert, I’d been all in.
“And we will start with your own house, of course!”
By the time I climbed into my bed later, I was sure I was about to have the home of my dreams… and millions in the bank.
He made it sound so possible.
Not only possible, but easy.
Maybe that was the first red flag I’d ignored.
But if there’d been any concerns, he’d spent the next few weeks easing my nerves and answering my questions.
He’d had blueprints drawn up.
He compiled vision boards for types of stone, floors, cabinets, fixtures. Which houses had front porches or back ones, who got a two-car garage, what kind of fences or shrubbery could be planted to lend some kind of privacy. Everything. He had it all mapped out.
“So he romanced you with the plans, got you all excited about a lucrative business venture. Then?”
“Then we set things in motion. I started working on the permitting, surveys, environmental studies…”
“Sounds expensive.”
“It wasn’t cheap.”
“And, let me guess, he didn’t invest.”
“He set up the LLC and drafted up the loan paperwork.”
“Shit.”
“I looked it up. It was all very… normal. I never would have signed without researching. He was meant to pay me back from his portion of the sales of the homes. And then he got to work on the contractors. Things really seemed to be progressing.”
“Except, I don’t remember seeing any development around here lately.”
“I kept getting excuses. The contractor was finishing another job. The wood we ordered was on backorder. Everything seemed reasonable. You hear horror stories about building things. There are always delays. For the first few months, I didn’t question it too much.”
“And then?”
“And then Drake started being harder to reach. He claimed he was traveling. Visiting other building projects. It was another red flag I ignored.”
“When did you figure it out?”
“He missed a third scheduled meeting. At that point, I hadn’t seen him face-to-face in… six weeks. And it just felt wrong.”
“So you went digging.”
Boy, did I ever.
I tore through every document, pored over every line. And then, then I checked the account.
“Drained?”
“Nearly, yeah. And the bills started rolling in for the contractors, for the supplies...”
“So you decided to sell your condo.”
“I had enough left of the loan for some of it. And some savings. But it wouldn’t be enough.”
“Why not cancel the plan? Was his name on everything?”
My gaze cut to him.