***
A week later, Mr. Goldberg and I were in a big meeting room with Jared’s team in charge, getting ready to iron out any wrinkles in the deal if necessary. This was when a young lady walked in and announced the new offer their boss was ready to put down on the table. She put it quite succinctly and yet extremely comprehensively: Jared would double his investment in the project, giving me more funds to make my small cottage community even better and thus attract more clients down the line, if we made one more deal–sell the house. He wanted Maple Grove House. His team had done the necessary assessment of the house’s condition when they were on the property checking the future construction site last week. The sum he was offering was very generous and he was eager to close the deal as soon as possible.
“What does he want the house for?” Mr. Goldberg asked me when we were out on the street.
“You heard her: ‘Mr. Shannon would like to give back to the community he was once a part of by restoring the house to its former glory and converting it into a cultural space for educational purposes.’”
“What on earth does that mean?”
“Beats me. Whatever it is, he’s willing to pay top dollar for it.”
“You still need to start the project with your money, though.”
“Yes, but there’ll be much more later. We just need to get a few offers and we’re golden.”
“If you get those offers.”
I smiled. Mr. Goldberg was a very cautious man. I tapped him on his shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
We walked to the parking lot and stopped by Mr. Goldberg’s Range Rover.
“I didn’t know the house was for sale in the first place. Your parents had been keeping it and hoping that one day you’d have a family, and you know…”
Charlie would be found alive, and we would all go back to being a happy family in a big house.
“…you know what I mean,” Mr. Goldberg said, getting his keys. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it wasn’t for sale. Until now, I suppose. I mean, it’s been empty for more than a quarter of a century.”
He unlocked the car and we both got in.
“You aren’t seriously thinking about that preposterous offer, are you?”
“Well, it will be nice to have more cash for the project, but I need to speak to my father about this.”
“You bet you do,” Mr. Goldberg said, starting the engine. “Say hello to him from me and be sure to let me know the outcome of that conversation.”
