Part 20 (2/2)

He laughed. ”Ever heard of a thing called a loan?”

”I see. And regarding the selling price-do you feel that

you offered Mr. Westerly fair market value for his land?”

This made Rick laugh again. ”Maggie, this is business.”

She looked intently at him, searching for any sign of con-

science. ”I'm sorry, Rick, Mr. Westerly gave me the impres-

sion that you were his friend.”

Rick's face grew cloudy, but he said nothing.

Looking for You All My Life37

”I did a little research yesterday and learned that

according to local real estate values, the Westerly property

Lwas worth about twice what you and Greg paid Mr. West-

erly for it.”

His brows lifted. ”That much, eh? Well, thanks for that

information. Might be helpful down the line.”

Maggie tried to contain the hostility that now bubbled

within her. Turning her gaze downward to her notepad, she

continued, ”And does Mr. Westerly know of your plans to

develop his property?”

”Look,” his eyes narrowed. ”I know what you're getting

at, but the fact is Arnold coyld do with his property as he

wished when it was his property. But it's no longer his prop-

erty now.”

”When do you plan to start developing the land?”

”Just as soon as possible. You know what they say, time

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