Sweet Talk by Judith Keim

Author:Judith Keim
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild Quail Publishing
Published: 2015-03-14T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I pulled up to Seward Financial and climbed out of the car. Tense, my legs felt like wooden sticks as Jessie and I walked to the front door. The outcome of our meeting with Lou Willits would prove whether or not our planned project was feasible.

Inside the building, a cheery receptionist ushered us into a small conference room. I paced the room, nervously going over the numbers.

Lou Willets rushed into the room with an apologetic smile fifteen agonizing minutes later. “Sorry I’m late. Have a seat and we’ll start.” He sat opposite of us. “So what did you ladies want to talk to me about?”

We introduced ourselves and I handed him the bound business plan we’d drawn up. He took a moment to leaf through it and sat back in his chair. “So how do you think something like this is going to give the bank a good return on its investment?”

Taking a deep breath, I launched into a presentation of our project, giving as much detail as I could. We couldn’t leave anything to chance. We needed approval for a sizeable loan so we could go ahead and hire Jamison Construction to do the work. Jessie’s money still hadn’t arrived.

Jessie gave him a rundown on her merchandising experience and then I explained about the consulting Samantha had done for us and Blake’s involvement.

Lou quietly studied the two of us. “You’ve got a real heavy hitter supporting the project. That speaks as loudly as anything you’ve told me. I’ll try to push this through the committee. Blake Whiting is well-known to us and a buddy of mine. I’ll have a definitive answer for you within a matter of days.”

Blake’s name meant more than all our planning? Holding in my frustration, I gathered our paperwork, and rose.

Lou smiled and shook my hand. “The scholarship fund for the high school in memory of Kristin Lewis is growing nicely. How’s Daisy doing? She’s your daughter now, isn’t she?”

His innocent question hit me like a punch to the belly. All my gut-wrenching worries burned my stomach like acid. With difficulty, I managed to say, “There are still some legal issues to resolve.”

Things were in a nerve wracking state of uncertainty. I’d run an ad in the paper, asking anyone who might have known Kristin Lewis ten years ago to give me a call, cloaking my request with a reference to the scholarship fund. Dawson Smith was not due home for another week, and I’d heard nothing further from Todd Schaeffer, who was awaiting a response from Lisa’s lawyer.

He smiled. “Good luck with everything. You’ve got a lot to think about.”

Outside, Jessie turned to me. “Are you okay? You turned white as a ghost when Lou asked you about Daisy.”

“Jessie, it was so strange. I felt so afraid for her. What if we can’t stop Lisa from taking her?”

Jessie put her arm around me. “We’ve got to remain upbeat about that and everything else. Steady, girl. You’ve got a lot of people behind you.

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