Love On The Brazos (6 page)

“Did you talk to them?  Funding it I mean?”

“They mentioned it, I didn’t.  Until Daddy told me where things stood, I was worried about their future, but he assured me that wasn’t something I should worry about.  I was afraid of all of the medical costs associated with his health problems, but apparently that isn’t a problem.”

“Going back to my original question, would you be interested in the trip if you could get away?”

“Yes, I would definitely be interested.  I’ll look at things and see how I can do it.  I’d like to go.”

“Great.  Now all we have to do is make it happen.”

* * *

After Jordy got home, she sat in the family room talking with her mother.  Her Dad had already gone to bed.

“Mom, is it me or is Dad tiring more easily now than before?”

“Of course he is.  Today was a therapy day, and that is always tiring for him.  They are working on increasing his stamina.  He says he’s improving.”

“Michael has asked me to go to Belize with him for a week.  I really would like to go.  I am pretty tired, and the rest and the sun would do me good.”

“I’ve heard Belize is a beautiful place.  A couple of friends have been, and they raved about it.  I’ll bet your Dad would watch the business while you were gone.  My Dad always said if you wanted to know how good you are, leave and see how it works while you’re gone.  If you’ve done it right, it will be as smooth as ever.”

“Thanks, Mom.  I’m going to ask Dad.”

“One thing to remember, honey, you’re his girl and it might not sit too well with you going off with some man.  He won’t say anything though.  Go for it, you deserve a vacation.

* * *

“Daddy, Michael has asked me to go to Belize with him for a week, and I’d like to go.  I certainly could use a break.  Would you watch the office while I’m gone?”

“Sure, honey, just get me up to date before you go.”

“Thanks Dad.  It won’t be until I hear back from the investors on my project.”

“Whenever.  It will keep me off the streets and out of your mother’s hair.”

Thanks, Dad.  I appreciate it.”

Later…

“Michael, I’m all set to go as soon as we get some results back.”

“Great.  We should be good to go in a couple of weeks.”

The office was quiet when Jordy walked in.  As usual, she was the first one in.  She walked back to the break
room and started the coffee brewing.  It wasn’t long before the tantalizing aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the room.  Like her Dad, Jordy took her coffee black.  On the way into work, she had stopped at the What-a-Burger drive-up window and ordered a bacon and egg taquito.  She returned to her office and settled down to her breakfast and the mail left from the day before.

One of the enve
lopes was from Bryson Investment Corporation, to whom Jordy had made a proposal.  The letter thanked her for giving them the opportunity to review her proposal, but unfortunately, given the scarcity of land, and the high prices of available acreage, the proposal specifications did not meet the requirements of their company. 

“Jerks!  The land is there and is one of the choice properties in the
Sugar Land-Rosenburg area.” 

“Talking to yourself again, Boss?”  Her secretary had entered the working area so quietly Jordy didn’t even know she was there.

“Yeah.  These jerks turned the proposal down without ever seeing the property.  Once we get started, they will want in or even wanting to build a house there.  Lots of luck with that!”

Jordy moved to her drafting table and continued working on the layout.  This was a part she liked, though not as much as getting out and getting her hands dirty on a project. 
She became so immersed in what she was doing, she was surprised it was mid morning when her secretary told her she had a call from First City.  Assuming it was Michael, she wondered why he hadn’t called on her direct line.

“Good morning and how are you this morning
,” she asked in the musical voice she reserved for her closest friends.

“Good morning.  Is this Jordan Carlyle?”

Realizing her faux pas, she changed to her business voice and replied, “Yes, this is Jordan.  How may I help you this morning?”

“Ms. Carlyle, I am Paul Merriam of First City Investments.  We are interested in your proposal.  We would like to visit the property with you and discuss the other aspects of this project.”

“I would be delighted to show you the location and my concept of Carlyle Estates.  When would you like to see the property?”

“As soon as possible.  Our vice-president is going on vacation
, and we would like to get it done and put before him before he leaves.”

“
Are you available to do this today?”

“
Today would be perfect.  Can you come into our office and leave from there?”

“Yes, of course.  How many will be in the group?”

“There will be three of us.  Two engineers and me.  Is 1:00PM convenient?”

“Yes,
1:00 is fine.  I’ll see you then.  Thank you for calling.”

Jordy’s car would be too cramped for four people so she hurried home to change it for her Mom’s Land Rover.  She found her Dad on the back side of the house and asked if he would like to go with her.  He said, “This is your project Jordy.  I think your clients need to see with whom they are dealing.”

“Okay, Dad, but you are welcome to come along.”

“I know.  Knock them dead,
Darlin’ and let me know how it goes.”

“I will.
  And, I’ll call you too.”  She flashed her most brilliant smile at him and headed back to the office.

She walked into the Investments and Trust Department five minutes before the appointed time.  What they didn’t know was she had been in the lobby twenty minutes early.  At the secretary
's desk, she introduced herself and said she was Paul Merriam’s 1:00PM appointment.  “He’s expecting you and asked that you come to the conference room.  I’ll show you in.”  She led Jordy to the conference room and introduced her to Paul Merriam.

“I’m delighted to meet you, Ms. Carlyle.”  He then introduced the two engineers
who would be accompanying them.

“Please, call me Jordan or Jordy.  Would you like for me to orient you now or wait until we are on-site?”

“Why don’t you show us the layout?  I’ve seen it, but our engineers have not.”

Jordy put the design and layout on the table.  “Who did you use for your planning
,” Merriam asked?

“I did
this myself, but we will be bringing in other consults once we begin.  I got input from one of my former professors in the engineering department at A&M.”

“So, you’re an Aggie?”

“I’m proud to say I come from a long line of Aggies.  My grandfather and his father were both in the Corps.”

“Well, things are looking up,” one of the engineers said.

“I’m not sure I can deal with two Aggies,” the other engineer said.

They pulled off the road
, and under the same tree Jordy had parked when she showed her idea to her parents.  Using her iPad and Google Earth, she oriented them to their surroundings.  One noted the elevation and observed there wouldn’t be a drainage problem with the Brazos so close.

““Do you have an option on the land, Jordan
,” Merriam asked? 

“That wasn’t and won’t be a problem, Paul.” 

“Before we move toward a final decision we would have to see that completed.”

“As I said, that won’t be a problem.  It’s owned by my grandfather, as well as a good bit beyond what I’ve shown here, allowing for the possibility of future expansion.  Papaw said let him know when you needed a signature
, and it will be done.  Besides, I’m his only grandchild, and it will be mine someday.”

“Well, I guess that resolves that concern.”

“I have an attorney all set to get the necessary permits as well as the preparation of an environmental impact study which has been completed.  Our lawyer says we should be able to get a tax abatement from the county also.  I have a commitment from a MUD District to bring utilities to the property.  I also have verbal commitments from four other construction companies to take 100 home sites each.  Several others have asked to participate, but I want to hold the rest for myself.”

“Jordan, your thoroughness is impressive.  I am prepared to take this to our executive committee this week and would expect approval to be
forthcoming by the end of the month.”

“Mr. Merriam, um Paul, you should know, we have put this before other investment houses, but would prefer the prestige of First City.  We are also prepared to underwrite this ourselves if no satisfactory options present themselves.
  Carlyle Estates will be a reality.  It is just a matter of who our participating partners will be.”

“You have that kind of resources available, Jordan?”

“I do.”

“You came prepared to play hardball didn’t you?”

“Not necessarily, but a good business person must cover all of the bases and I think I am a good business person.”

“I would agree with you, Jordan.  It has been my pleasure
to meet you and I thank you for the opportunity.”

Jordan shook hands and said, “Thank you.”  She shook hands with the engineer that had said he was from A&M and started to shake hands with the other.  “I’ve never
shaken the hand of anyone from Tech,” she said.

“Now how did you know I was a Red Raider?”

She laughed and said, “If you had been from UT, you would have said so and we had already established you weren’t an Aggie.”

He bowed at the waist, and said, “I applaud your logic, ma’am.”  Everyone laughed.

* * *

Back at the office Jordy, called her father, “I promised to let you know how
things went
with First City.  I think they are very interested and were impressed with what we’ve done thus far.  It could not have been done better.”

“Well that’s good.  I knew you could pull it off.  I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks Dad.  I’ll see you in a little while.  Bye.”

Michael called Jordy just after she and her parents finished dinner.  After the small talk, he said, “You blew our team away today.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Paul so impressed.”

“You talked with him after our meeting?”

“Yes, he came by my office after you dropped them off at the office.  It’s going before our executive committee as soon as he completes his analysis of the project.  That will probably happen Monday or Tuesday of next week.”

“Who is on the committee?”

“The VP of investments, our chief engineer, and several of the other VPs.”

“You’re on the committee?”

“I chair it.”

“Shit!  Excuse me, Michael.  I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Jordy, my decision on going forth will be purely a business decision based on what’s good for First City.  If you like, I can recuse myself in which case the head of the investment department would lead it.”

“Michael, I’m just determined to do this on my own, that’s all.”

“I understand perfectly, and I’ll step aside.  Now another subject.  What are you doing tomorrow evening?  Mom asked me to invite you to dinner.”

“That was nice of her.  What time?”

“Why don’t I pick you up at 6:30 since Mom likes to eat at 7:00?

“Sounds great.  I’ve been looking forward to meeting your dad.”

“You’ve met Mom, but Dad can be a challenge.”

“That will be fun.  I like a challenge,” she said with a laugh.

Jordy picked out a simple sundress that was a pale blue with a scooped neck.  The length was just above the knee.  Her hair was in the usual page boy style.  She put a little blush on her cheeks and a peach colored lipstick.  Looking at the reflected image in the mirror, she was satisfied with what she saw.

* * *

Michael reintroduced Jordy to his mother, whom she hugged and thanked for the invitation.  Then, he turned to his father and said,
“Jordy, this is my father, Steve.  Dad, Jordan Carlyle.”

She extended her hand, flashed a brilliant smile and said, “Everyone calls me Jordy.  I am pleased to meet you.  Michael has told me so much about you.”

“Jordy, welcome to our home.  I have a tip for you.  You can’t believe everything Michael says.  He’s been devious since he was a little boy.”

Mrs. Simms said, “Would you care for something to drink?  We have tea, wine, and soft drinks.  Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes.”

“May I help with anything, Mrs? Simms.”

“No, no, why don’t you visit with the men folks.”

“I heard about your meeting with Paul Merriam today.  He was certainly taken with you.  That doesn’t happen very often.”

“I guess my excitement about Carlyle Estates comes out.  I can hardly wait to get started.  My only regret is Dad won’t be as involved as much as I would like.”

“How is your Dad,” asked Mr. Simms?  I haven’t seen much of him in the past two years.”

“Since his stroke, he isn’t able to come to the office as much as he would like.  He has turned most of the day to day things over to me.  It’s kind of sad because my dream was always to work with him.”

“I guess we’re fortunate in that Michael, and I can work together now since I’m at the bank most of the time.”

“Michael didn’t tell me you were at the bank.  I thought you were in oil.”

“I was; I am, but my father is in such good health, I’m not needed there as much as I am at the bank.”

“I see what you mean about Michael’s being sly.  I’ll bet you’re in the investment department aren’t you?”

“Jordy, Dad is president of the Investments Division and chairs the executive committee at times.”  He had the sheepish grin of someone who knows he’s been caught.

“I see.  Now what do I do Michael?”

“Just go on gracefully and chase your dream.  You’ll get there.”

“Mr. Simms, Michael offered his help in my project, and I refused.  It’s a dream that I wanted to do myself to prove to people I am more than a girl.  When he was outed today, he offered to step aside and let his boss take his place in the executive committee.  Now, I guess I have to give in. 

“Michael, you remember I told you I never get mad, but I always get even?  You had better watch out.  You’ve got one coming,” she said with an evil looking grin on her face.”