Duke(82)
“You know,” he reminded her, “if it’s been on that laptop, Brain can pull it back up.”
Gen closed the program she’d been using to remotely access her office computer, pulled the USB out, and motioned for Duke to take the laptop. “Fine, then I won’t need to tell you anything.” She put the jump drive in her jeans pocket, physically handed him the laptop this time, and said, “This calls for an entirely different outfit. I need to go home and start getting ready.”
In truth, she wanted to talk to Tyler away from RTMC ears. He tended to be a little overprotective of everyone in Frisco’s group of friends, and she needed to be sure Tyler didn’t insert himself into the situation.
“Yeah. I think I’ll follow you home,” Duke drawled, his gaze sharp. “See what kind of outfit this type of situation calls for.”
Gen rolled her eyes. “Fine. That lets me wear the boots home, and you can bring them back with you, so they’ll be here if we want to ride.”
She talked to Tyler on the drive home, with Duke on his motorcycle behind her. He’d emailed an app to her, told her to install it, and then use it to call him, insuring it would encrypt their conversation so no one could overhear.
When she had him on the phone via the app, his first words were, “I don’t know that tipping your hand is the way to go.”
She wasn’t entirely certain he was wrong, so she asked, “I’m assuming you have a better idea?”
“How about calling the mayor’s office now, with a few hours to go before the meeting, and telling him there’s a potential problem with the land he’s been looking at, and suggesting another property that may work better for the city’s needs.”
“I’m not aware of any problems.”
“Easy to fix. I’ll get one of the archeologists working on the Moccasin Bend site to draft something and email it to you, so you’ll have it before you’re home.”
Gen laughed. “You’re brilliant. The whole area is riddled with Native American stuff. The city attorneys will run screaming to another plot of land if anyone even mentions an artifact within a quarter mile. Okay, work it up. I actually have another spot already picked, and I’ll get double commission if I sell it, so this works perfectly.”
“Yes, and gets you out of the quagmire without making a political enemy.”
“Thanks, Tyler. I’ll give you fifteen percent of my commission on the sale. You’ve more than earned it.”
“That’s very generous, and I’ll accept, but only because I need to grease a few palms.”
“Right, and I’m sure I don’t need to say it but I will anyway. No money trail going from me to the archeologist.”
“Of course.”
Chapter Thirty
“Crisis averted,” she told Duke as he swung off his bike. “Original outfit will still work, if there’s going to be a meeting, though I’m not sure it’ll happen today. I have some phone calls to make, see what kind of damage and mayhem I can create.”
“Can’t wait to see what you’ve cooked up, Beautiful. I love the way your mind works.”
He sat on her dainty little sofa in her home office, looking totally out of place, and she ignored him as she talked to several city attorneys, the city media liaison, and finally the mayor himself.
When she pushed way from her desk, still in jeans and motorcycle boots, Duke said, “Our version of mayhem is way different than yours, but I’m not sure which is worse.”
“Bodily harm will always be worse than financial harm, Duke.”
“Always? I dunno. I’d rather have a few black eyes and cracked ribs, if the alternative was losing a twelve million dollar deal.”
“Yeah, well, you heal almost instantly, too.”
“So, by my reckoning, you just negotiated a deal that’ll give you a sixty thousand dollar commission instead of the thirty-five thousand dollar commission you’d have received if the other plot had worked out?”
“Yeah, but I’m gonna have to pay out nine thousand in expenses.” She shrugged. “I’m still way better off, and the mayor is hurting. The irony is, I only started digging for the true owner because they got too greedy and something didn’t feel right. If they’d accepted my fourth offer for just under ten mil, which was more than the land was worth, we’d be closing in about forty-five minutes and they’d be free and clear.”
“Are you going to expose them? Let the media know the mayor bought land on the cheap when he knew the city wanted it, and then jacked the price up?”