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“It pays well to get to know people like Jared Sha
“Speaking of which, what is this charity for anyway?” Christopher asked, sitting down.
“And where is that open bar?” I asked a more important question, looking around.
The event went well. We left the place a couple of hours later. We took advantage of the open bar, but we did donate some money to… I could not even remember what that blasted charity was for after we went to the after party. I did remember one thing. I did not particularly like the way Jared looked at Natasha. But I could not blame him for being smitten by her beauty either.
***
A week later, Mr. Goldberg and I were in a big meeting room with Jared’s team in charge, getting ready to iron out any wrinkles in the deal if necessary. This was when a young lady walked in and a
“What does he want the house for?” Mr. Goldberg asked me when we were out on the street.
“You heard her: ‘Mr. Sha
“What on earth does that mean?”
“Beats me. Whatever it is, he’s willing to pay top dollar for it.”
“You still need to start the project with your money, though.”
“Yes, but there’ll be much more later. We just need to get a few offers and we’re golden.”
“If you get those offers.”
I smiled. Mr. Goldberg was a very cautious man. I tapped him on his shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
We walked to the parking lot and stopped by Mr. Goldberg’s Range Rover.
“I didn’t know the house was for sale in the first place. Your parents had been keeping it and hoping that one day you’d have a family, and you know…”
Charlie would be found alive, and we would all go back to being a happy family in a big house.
“…you know what I mean,” Mr. Goldberg said, getting his keys. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it wasn’t for sale. Until now, I suppose. I mean, it’s been empty for more than a quarter of a century.”
He unlocked the car and we both got in.
“You aren’t seriously thinking about that preposterous offer, are you?”
“Well, it will be nice to have more cash for the project, but I need to speak to my father about this.”
“You bet you do,” Mr. Goldberg said, starting the engine. “Say hello to him from me and be sure to let me know the outcome of that conversation.”