discussed the arrangements, and he took her email address so he could send his orders electronically. As they were leaving, Brad Denning gave Jamie a friendly smile. He was nothing like his obnoxious brother.
“It was good meeting you, Jamie.”
“Likewise,” she said, yet she couldn’t help sniggering once she was alone.
She was now a Mar Vista supplier.
How much oxygen was Zack Denning going to need?
* * *
BRAD WINCED AS the van bounced entering the public road. His fist went instinctively to his aching thigh, but he dragged it away. They’d told him the pain would ease; his shattered bones would strengthen and wasted muscle rebuild. In the meanwhile he was treating it as survival training...one step, one minute at a time.
“Nice lady,” Gordon commented. “What was that stuff about her closing?”
Brad hesitated. He didn’t think Zack would relish the staff gossiping about his disagreement with Jamie Conroe. His brother had changed; in some ways he was nearly a stranger.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Brad said as Gordon parked close to the kitchen. “Ms. Conroe seems to have a unique sense of humor.”
“Yes. It should be entertaining getting to know her.” Gordon hung the keys on the central message board and returned to his kitchen. He was a nice guy and hadn’t minded Brad dropping by one afternoon to scrounge a snack. Gordon had prepared the sandwich himself—a masterpiece of roast beef, cheese, sautéed mushrooms and spicy peppers piled on fresh-made sourdough bread. Brad had eaten it with Gordon clucking over him like a brood hen.
Since then the chef had pressed a number of dishes on him that he claimed were experiments, but were obviously intended to tease the appetite of a recuperating patient.
Clearly, if Gordon hadn’t become a chef, he would have been a mother.
Brad set out to walk the perimeter of the resort, willing his body to cooperate. At the hospital they’d dictated the amount of exercise he should get, but he’d outmaneuvered them by covertly visiting the rehab center in the middle of the night and using the equipment on his own.
Lord.
It was tough accepting that his old life might be over...a life in which he’d served his country. People didn’t always understand. It wasn’t the battles or adrenaline he missed; it was doing something for folks he’d never even met.
“Hi there,” Rick Lopez called as Brad passed his open office window. “I saw you on the course. Are you taking up golf?”
“There’s no chance in hell. Knocking a ball around a manicured lawn isn’t my style.”
Rick chuckled. “I beg your pardon.... Manicuring those greens is hard labor. But you’re right—it isn’t for everyone. Between you and me, I don’t believe our fearless boss loves the sport, either. Zack is so grim practicing his swing. I swear he only plays so he can converse with the guests and join with a group in unavoidable circumstances.”
Naturally.
Everything Zack did nowadays was to support his dream. The resort was a marvel, but it wasn’t an atmosphere where Brad felt comfortable.
Nonetheless, Mar Vista and its ritzy counterparts were Zack’s world.
And Kim Wheeler’s.
Kim.... Brad rubbed his jaw. He’d enjoyed seeing her, however briefly. She was more polished and beautiful than ever, wearing discreet evidence of her professional achievements. He imagined those diamond studs on her ears would cost three or four months of a soldier’s pay.
* * *
ON TUESDAY AFTER the Memorial Day weekend, Zack read the surveyor’s report in disbelief. It plainly indicated that the real estate he’d purchased didn’t include the section where Jamie Conroe had her fruit stand. He owned the beach north of it, not the entire waterfront.
“Hey, Zack. Snap out of it,” Kim commanded over the video-teleconference connection.
“How did this happen?”
“There were a number of parcels involved, Zack. You were preoccupied with construction and made the deal in a hurry.”
“In other words, I should have had your office check it.”
Her lips curved in humor. “Actually, few buyers have a lawyer review a real-estate transaction until closing, although large companies usually bring in an attorney from the beginning. I didn’t check your other purchases and they were successful.”
That was six years ago, when the land had cost less and he’d bought it on speculation. Had success with his first batch of acquisitions led him to a hasty decision with the second?
“What are my options?” Zack asked.
“You might have a chance in court if you think the seller was deliberately misleading.”
“I don’t know if Jenkins did anything wrong, and I doubt we could prove dishonest intent if he did. It would be a nasty fight. People liked the old guy, odd as he was.”
Kim nodded. “And they’ll be protective of his granddaughter. You’re a smart businessman, Zack. Negative relations with the local community is extremely costly in the long run. My suggestion is to work it out with Ms. Conroe. She isn’t a bad sort.”
Zack pictured Jamie’s stubborn face. “She doesn’t like me.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Don’t rub it in. I’ll have the real-estate agent contact her with an offer.”
Kim tapped her pencil on the desk thoughtfully, and a corner of his mind appreciated the technology for doing video teleconferences. It wasn’t face-to-face communication, but closer to it than the phone. This way he could read her body language and get a feel for what she was thinking.
“I have a suspicion Ms. Conroe won’t sell,” Kim said. “There’s a sentimental attachment. Other solutions are possible, though. For example, she makes jewelry. How about featuring her pieces in the gift shop? In return, she may relocate the stand.”
He stared at the computer monitor, appalled. “For Pete’s sake, I can’t put cheap bits of beadwork on sale here. We carry top-end items like art glass and original sculptures.”
“Look for an accommodation.” Kim sounded exasperated. “Talk to her. She might compromise if she realizes the potential impact on your operations.”
Zack glanced at the map on which the property lines had been clearly drawn. “You’ve got higher hopes for her goodwill than I do.”
“If nothing else, you have your contingency plan to build around her and border it with a tall hedge or stone wall. Your guests would still have a private beach since you aren’t required to provide access between her two sections. She has to use the public road the same as everyone.”
Zack groaned. He’d gotten used to the idea of having all that lovely, undeveloped land to himself. It was so much less complicated.
“Make nice,” Kim ordered. “You do it with difficult patrons. Swallow your pride and pretend she’s a VIP client staying in your King Louis suite.”
“I don’t have a King Louis suite. What’s your schedule over the next couple days? Unless you ticked her off, I’m sure she’ll listen to you more than me.”
“We got along fine.” Kim scanned her iPhone, and then shook her head. “I can’t get away for a while. Anyhow, you should be the one to take care of this. Like it or not, she’s your neighbor and you’ve got to mend fences. Begin with an apology for trying to get her arrested. It wasn’t your finest moment.”
He groaned again.
“I have to go, Zack. I’ve