The Broody Brit for Christmas (Holiday Springs #1) - M.J. Fields Page 0,90
in her eyes that she’s a shark.
I stand up, shaking her hand as well. “Rafferty Graham.”
Beckett clears his throat. “Thank you, Shepard, for coming in. As you well know, Hawthorne Properties, US, would like to purchase The Springs Mountain Resort along with the land, solely owned by you.”
He leans forward, his elbows on the table. “And as you know, I’m not interested in selling my family’s land.”
Beckett looks at Nikki, and she nods once.
“Nikki expected that’s how you would respond, so she’s come up with another possibility, which I believe would be beneficial to both you and Hawthorne Resorts.”
“You’re a businessman, correct?” Shep takes a sip of his coffee.
“Yes, Mr. Granger. I am.”
“So, when I didn’t respond to any of your previous attempts to contact me, you didn’t realize I had no interest? Nikki had to explain what the word no meant?”
“Sarcasm noted, Mr. Granger.” Beckett gives a tight smile.
“The truth is, I’m not interested in any sale. That land is where I was born and raised.”
Leigh pulls out her yellow legal pad and scribbles some notes.
“Shep, please look at the second offer and really look at it,” Nikki urges.
“Are you asking me to read the fine print, so you can show your boss you’ve done your job, or is it something that you think I should read?”
Nikki exhales. “Definitely the latter.”
He pushes the closed file toward her. “If the land was yours, what would you do? If the land was yours to do anything you wished on? Grass and dirt that was given to you by your parents, what would you do?”
She pushes the file back toward him. “Don’t put that on me, Shep. Mr. Hawthorne is offering to purchase the hotel which is rundown and in desperate need of renovation, plus the thirty acres surrounding it, for seventy-five million dollars, with exclusive rights to the area mapped out under a fifty-year term lease.” She turns the pages to a large map and unfolds it, outlining the area with her finger. “Here.”
Shep stays quiet, staring at the map.
“Hawthorne will pay the taxes on all the property that you own,” she continues, “and pay you three hundred thousand dollars annually, with yearly increases for inflation. However, you, or whomever your beneficiary is, must give Hawthorne Resorts the right to renew for another fifty years if they want it. If at any time you or your beneficiary decide to sell the property, Hawthorne will have the right of first refusal to purchase.”
He looks straight into Nikki’s eyes. “And you’d sign this with no amendments?”
“Yes, I would. With that kind of money, you could do anything you want for the rest of your life.”
He pulls out another toothpick, placing it between his teeth. “I do whatever I want now. But land lease sounds interesting.”
“Exactly. The rest is still your land, Shep.”
He leans back and scrubs his hand over his beard. “Well, even if I said yes, I’d want to ask my beneficiary.” He looks at Nikki pointedly. “Then I would have to deal with finding out if the other owner was willing to sell.”
Leigh pipes up, “There is no other owner. Public record shows that you alone own the land.”
Shep ignores her and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. “Public record doesn’t trump a signed contract, verbal agreement, handshake, and proof of three years of payments to my folks. It was never recorded, but it’s here.”
He hands Nikki the paper.
She unfolds it slowly. “We have lawyers who can deal with this.” She takes in a sharp breath, reading.
“Your folks were planning to build there, Nikki.” Shep swivels his chair so he’s facing her. “They paid them monthly for three years. Payments stopped after they all,” he shakes his head, “passed. You own twenty percent of the land. You’re also the only person I consider family, therefore my beneficiary, so you make the call, Nikki. I trust you, just like our parents trusted each other.”
Beckett stands up, clapping. “Well, I guess we have a deal, then.”
I snap, “Beckett, give them some fucking time.”
“Ten minutes.” He walks out the door, thankfully taking the iPad with him. Leigh follows.
When the door shuts, Shep looks at me. “This is why you’re here, Raff.” He turns back to Nikki. “You’re one hundred percent sure? This land is ours. We could be the ones to get financial backing. If you wanted to, we could be the ones to fix up the land.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think we should. Becks has some big