California Can Wait, page 10
Finally he nodded. “Yes, I do. So… Find out why.”
15
With her coffee table covered in barely legible notes, Andi put the pieces together. She shook her head as everything started making sense right before her eyes. “Unbelievable.”
“That sounds ominous.”
She smiled at the man leaning against the doorjamb that led to the room where she’d left him sleeping. “Know why the bank is calling in loans all over town?”
“I’m guessing you do.”
“Stu Harding, the chief loan officer, had a falling-out with a local businessman—Calvin Schindel. Ever hear of him?”
“Of course. He owns half the town.”
“Yeah. The half that isn’t having loans recalled. Looks like he closed all his accounts, leaving the bank in quite a crunch. They are having serious liquidity issues.”
“You have proof?”
She jerked her head, indicating that she wanted him to join her. “The bank has been trying to buy funds to cover their losses. In the meantime, they are closing credit lines for anyone who has problem debt.”
“People like me,” he said under his breath. He sat beside her and looked at the paper trail she’d uncovered. “Do you know what the feud was about?”
“Well, according to witnesses, they were at some political fundraiser a few weeks ago, and Stu hit on Calvin’s wife.”
“Stu is a horndog. Nothing new there.”
She grinned up at him. “Well, that wasn’t what caused Calvin to close his accounts. His wife left him three days later. Guess where she went.”
“So every business owner in this town who has been struggling to make payments is paying the price for the chief loan officer’s affair. Why am I not surprised? This entire town operates like everyone is still in high school.”
“Well, this time the entire town is going to pay for it. Not only will the paper, the salon, and the donut shop go under, but so will a number of other businesses. And those are just the ones I’ve gotten to confide in me. Several people I spoke with could lose their homes. This is bad, Graham. This town is about to get gut-punched, and they don’t even know it. I wish there was something we could do.”
“We could talk to Schindel. Let him know he’s hurting more than just Stu Harding with this. Maybe he’ll move his accounts back.”
“And then what? The bank will magically call off the debt collectors?”
He frowned. “Doubtful.”
“It could take years for the local economy to bounce back.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “I can’t pay off this loan, Andi. The best I can hope for is a loan with interest so damn high, I’ll never get out from under it. I bet every single one of these business owners is having this same realization. I cannot believe one man’s dick could cause this many problems.”
“Oh, honey. Men’s dicks have been causing catastrophes for centuries.”
He laughed despite the seriousness of the situation, and she smiled with him. “What will you do? If you lose the paper, I mean.”
“I don’t know. I really don’t. I don’t want to go back to the corporate world, but I’m not cut out for the newspaper business either. I don’t know what I’ll do. You?”
If the paper folded, there wasn’t much reason for either of them to stay. This town wasn’t going to have an employment boon anytime soon. Even if they wanted to stay, they wouldn’t have the means to survive what was about to come. She shrugged and looked at the papers that spelled out the end of her so-called new life. “I guess…get to California and see what happens there. That’s what I was doing before this little side trip.”
He nodded slowly. “Right. California.” Leaning forward, he kissed her. “I have to run out.”
She looked at her phone. “It’s almost nine o’clock.”
“I’ll be back.”
“You’d better be,” she said with a pout. “It’s my turn to be on top.”
The entrance to Calvin Schindel’s ranch was impossible to miss—two oversized wagon wheels flanked either side of the driveway, and an arch with a giant S hung over it just for extra emphasis. Every light in the sprawling home appeared to be on, illuminating the way.
As he parked, Graham wished he had taken the time to put on a clean suit. Men like this were far more impressed with money and prestige than down-home charm. He tugged at his shirt, doing his best to straighten out the day’s wrinkles, as he walked toward the front door.
Graham pressed the button to ring the bell, which had barely stopped chiming when a short Latina opened the door. He used the little bit of Spanish he’d learned in the last few years to ask to see Mr. Schindel. She rushed off, and Graham took the opportunity to examine the exposed beams and marble floor of the entryway. He hadn’t been inside a home this extravagant since walking away from the corporate world. He hadn’t even noticed how little he’d missed his old life.
Julie used to tell him he didn’t fit in. Not in all the ways that really mattered. He hadn’t seen how right she’d been until that moment. He’d been fooling himself for so long. She’d seen through him from the start.
So had Andi. Which was comforting for reasons he didn’t understand.
Maybe he wasn’t the greatest newspaper publisher, but he’d done his best, and he’d done so with the integrity that Julie had insisted he had hidden under his business suit and tie. He might have failed at fulfilling her dream, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
Andi was right, Julie would be proud of him. He’d done his best. That was all she had ever asked from him.
Now, though, he needed to make Andi proud of him. Or at least stay with him long enough to give him a chance to make her proud. Without the paper, there was no reason for her to stay in Texas. He could go to California with her, but they weren’t at a point in their relationship where they should be moving across the country together. They had barely started anything. How could they possibly start over somewhere else?
But, truthfully, this was about more than just the paper and Andi. This was about the town he’d called home for the last two years. This was about the people he’d met and come to admire—even Donna. Without the paper, Graham couldn’t begin to guess what she’d do. She was so awkward and introverted. He couldn’t picture her working anywhere else. What would happen to her if he had to let her go?
“Mr. Bradley.” Calvin extended his hand as he crossed the room. The older man’s shoes echoed with each step he took. Like Graham’s, his shirt was a bit rumpled, and he’d rolled up his sleeves. “This is unexpected.”
Graham shook his hand. “Sorry to drop by unannounced at this late hour.”
“I don’t mind.” He guided Graham deeper into the house and gestured toward a sitting area. “Would you like a drink?”
Graham sank into an oversized chair. “No, thanks.”
He popped the top off a decanter and turned a glass over. “Is this business or pleasure?”
“Business, I guess.”
Calvin lifted silver-blond eyebrows that matched what was left of the hair on his head. “You guess?”
Graham started to speak but then laughed softly as he realized he didn’t quite know what to say. “I got a call a few days ago. Seems the bank is calling in my loan despite my having an agreement with them to get caught up on payments. Come to find out, several businesses in the area are in the same predicament.”
“Sorry to hear that,” he said.
Graham didn’t know the man well, but he suspected how his brain worked. He was already calculating a response to a request for money. But Graham had no intention of asking the man for a loan. “One of my reporters started digging to find out why the bank was suddenly so desperate to get loans repaid. Rumor has it someone closed all his bank accounts, and the bank is about to go under if they don’t get some money coming in soon.”
Calvin stared Graham down as he swallowed what remained in his glass. He exhaled loudly, as one did while whiskey burned its way to the stomach. “It’s my choice where I take my business—”
“I’m not disputing that.”
“Then what the hell are you doing here?”
“I just wonder if you’ve considered the ripple effect your decision will have on the town. The paper was struggling already. That’s no secret. But there are several other businesses that have been as well. The bank, being local, has been very generous with those of us who are having a hard time making ends meet. That generosity was because they could afford it. Now they can’t. I just wonder if you considered that before pulling your money.”
“I appreciate your concern for the townsfolk, Mr. Bradley, but the bank couldn’t demand payment on those loans if they weren’t in trouble already. Seems to me, if you’d been able to pay your bills, you wouldn’t have anything to be concerned about. If the bank goes down, that’s on them. I gave them the opportunity to keep my business.”
“Let me guess. They just had to fire the man who stole your wife.”
The hardened eyes of an experienced businessman stared back at him. “Would you do business with the man who ruined your marriage?”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“So don’t sit there and tell me I should. I’m sorry about your paper and the rest of the businesses caught up in this mess, but like I said, if you’d been on your feet in the first place, you wouldn’t have gotten knocked down.” Standing, he set his glass on the table. “If that’s all…”
Graham stood as well. “There’s a woman who works for me. Her name is Donna Williams. Ever heard of her?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”
“She’s been with the paper since she was eighteen. All she knows is that job. If she loses it, I honestly don’t know what will happen to her or if there is anyone out there who can or would take her on as an employee. She’s…awkward in ways that would make most people uncomfortable. The nail salon on the square is owned by Lindsey Swanson. She put herself through beauty school while her mom was battling cancer. When her mom died, she left just enough money behind for Lindsey to pay off the medical bills and buy supplies to open the salon. The doughnut shop—”
“Are you going to go through every goddamned sob story in this town? People have it rough around here. I get that. You think I don’t get that? I’ve lived in this town my entire life. You dropped in out of nowhere a few years ago. I employ almost twelve hundred people through one business or another. That’s more than half the population. You want me to take them all under my wing? Be Daddy to everybody? I can’t carry an entire town, Mr. Bradley. Some of them will have to make it on their own. If they can’t, they’ll have to find another way. I’m sorry you’re in a bad way, but I can’t save every business that runs itself into the ground by poor management or bad financial decisions.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
“Then what are you asking?”
Shit. He didn’t know. Not really. Graham drew a breath and met the man’s eyes with a new conviction. “Maybe you could use your influence to convince your new bank to help those of us impacted by your account transfer. You know, give us a chance. If we take our business loans there, maybe they’d be willing to help some of us get through this.”
“It’s not that simple. Banks are audited, their loan practices reviewed. They won’t put their good standing on the line for a couple down-and-out business owners.”
“No, and I wouldn’t ask that. If someone local saw a good reason to give us a chance without killing us with interest payments, that’d help. I could keep the paper going. I’m sure some of the other businesses could find a way to help as well.”
Calvin crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “I’ll see what I can do. But you have to understand, banks don’t much care for lending money to people who have proven unreliable in paying it back.”
“I know that.”
“Even if they are able, they may not be willing.”
Graham nodded. “I know. But without it, we don’t stand a chance.”
Calvin didn’t need to know the other half of the we Graham meant was a blue-eyed hellion who would disappear into the sunset if he lost the paper.
16
Andi dragged her fingers down Graham’s chest, smiling as he drew a breath. He’d slept more soundly than he had in days. The fact that she knew this about him disturbed something low in her stomach. At some point in the last few weeks, they’d practically moved in together.
A night or two at his apartment, followed by a night or two at hers. She hadn’t slept alone in weeks. She wasn’t complaining, not in the least. She was worrying. He was going to lose the paper. And he’d be lost without it.
She could invite him to California, but he wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. She’d seen that in his eyes. Maybe he didn’t even know it yet, maybe he’d tell her he would go, but when it came time for her to pack up her car and go, she’d be leaving him behind.
She’d be leaving this behind. Whatever this was.
Lovers. Friends with benefits. Neither had put a name on their relationship, which meant it really wasn’t a relationship. At least not the kind a man would move halfway across the country to keep.
They were dedicated to the here and now. They were committed to each other today. But this life they’d settled into was going to end soon. Graham had very little time to save the paper, and that time was passing quickly. When it was up, she couldn’t stay here. Neither could he. There’d be little left by the time the businesses finished closing.
Her breath caught when he grabbed her hand, surprising her.
“Keep doing that,” he said with a sleep-thickened voice, “and I’m going to have to make love to you.”
“That’s not much of a threat,” she whispered.
Tugging her to him, he dug his hand into her hair as she rested her cheek on his chest. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure?”
She inhaled slowly. She didn’t want to say what was on her mind. She didn’t want to think about how things would have to change. Even if he did go to the coast with her, things would be different. They wouldn’t work together. There wouldn’t be the excitement of keeping this secret from everyone. They’d just be another couple moving on and hoping for the best.
Sliding onto him, she placed several kisses along his collarbone before finding his mouth. Once there, she gave him a slow, deep kiss. He hugged her to him and kissed her back. The moment lacked their usual heated passion but was almost better. She could feel him, really feel him, as she drew him in. Straddling his hips, she reached for the nightstand, where she kept a supply of condoms.
After putting one in place, she eased onto him, gently rolling her hips. God, she loved how their bodies fit together. He hugged her to him as they began to move, and she sank into his arms. Melding her mouth to his, she tasted him as they made love.
And they were definitely making love. This wasn’t the exchange of two passionate lovers. This was something deeper. Something that made her feel connected to him on a level she hadn’t felt with anyone for so long. His hands in her hair, lightly stroking her back, gently gripping her hips as they moved together, was just as erotic as all those times they let passion overtake them. Maybe more so because this felt more real somehow.
Her heart ached as she realized this felt like two people who knew the end was near.
Graham hated how distant Andi seemed. He understood why. Everything was up in the air right now. She’d told him how much this job meant to her. She’d said over and over how much his trust in her meant. She was convinced no one else would have ever given her a chance, let alone the kind of chance that Graham had given her.
He suspected she was right, but that was the loss of any newspaper that passed on employing her. If he’d had her from the start, he might not have gotten into such a mess. He could have kept better control of his budget and his sales and kept his head above water. He wouldn’t have fallen behind on his loan and had his credit yanked out from under him.
But he wouldn’t have been open to her back then. Two years ago, when he would have needed her most, he would have been terrified of this connection he felt to her. He might have even resented it. He was still mourning the loss of his wife back then. He would have been too blind to accept Andi into his life. He wouldn’t have been ready for her.
He would have turned her away. And look what he would have missed.
He scoffed at his own miserable thoughts and glanced out the window toward the object of his obsession. Instead, his eyes caught on a man headed toward him.
Calvin Schindel.
Graham’s stomach tightened. He wasn’t sure why the man was strutting toward him, but the determination in his walk was a bit unsettling. Graham stood and met Calvin at his doorway. Andi turned in her seat as Graham led Calvin into his office and closed the door.
Graham sat behind his desk, hoping to appear casual despite his sudden sense of anxiety. “What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to let you know that I talked to the bank. They’re willing to work with local business owners. They can’t promise credit lines will be approved, but they are aware of the situation. If you’d like to spread the word, Community Bank is willing to help out as many folks as they can.”
“That’s great news.” Graham reached across the desk to shake Calvin’s hand again. “Thank you so much.”
Calvin sat back after breaking the shake. He apparently had more to say, so Graham braced himself.
“It took a lot of courage to show up at my house last night. The fact that you were there for all the businesses and not just looking out for yourself says a lot about you, Mr. Bradley. I’d say you’re one of the few people who came to me asking for a solution instead of a handout. I appreciate that.”
“This is bigger than me or the paper.”
