“We don’t have a university,” Alex smiled.
“We will in about a year,” I said. “Big plans, already bought the land and started digging. It’s supposed to bring in up to five thousand students. That’s a lot of business for Kent.”
“Right, and more investors, I get it,” Alex nodded. “Where university students go, the money follows.”
“Pretty much.” I leaned in and scratched the back of my head. “I mean, Kent’s seen major change just because of the college. Imagine what an added university is going to do.”
“Well, at least you’ve given me a place to start,” Alex said, “and why Heath Collins is the middle of this.”
I cringed at the mention of Heath’s name, and decided to avoid talking about Garth’s involvement as well.
“Thanks, Jenni,” Alex said, standing up and pulling out his wallet.
“On the house,” I said quickly. “Don’t worry about it. Besides, Samuel’s in here every day, so your breakfast basically been paid for a hundred times over.”
Alex laughed and pocketed his wallet. “Fine, then at least let me get you coffee later.”
I felt my heart jump and smiled. “Coffee sounds good.”
“When do you get off?”
“Usually at three, but I’m going to have to be here until the paperwork is done,” I said. “So maybe six or seven.”
“Seven it is,” Alex said with a wide smile. “I’ll see you then.”
I watched him walk out the diner, giving my father a quick wave before he disappeared out the door. I looked at the time on my phone and already began counting down the minutes.
Chapter 11: Alex
I found out very little about Hope Enterprises, the company pushing to bring a casino to Kent.
I didn’t know if it was because they were intentionally keeping a low profile, or simply the fact that everything they were involved in seemed far too boring to make any headlines.
My research online resulted in a bunch of websites outlining just what the company was all about, their achievements, and basically a bunch of praises from obscure names I had never really heard of. Other than that, they seemed clean. A little too clean, but nothing that threw up red flags in my mind.
Alexis Hope was a completely different persona altogether. From the scant number of pictures of her I could find, she seemed like the type of woman who would walk through a steel wall to get what she wanted, and do it without breaking a sweat.
Black raven hair, blue eyes that promised to bore into your soul and learn your darkest secrets, and enough of a poise that radiated confidence and control to make any man uncomfortable.
She was not a woman I wanted to cross paths with.
When you put her next to the information I could find on her company, something just didn’t add up. It was hard to believe that someone like her would lack the ambition to be front cover news on every magazine in the country. I rarely met a woman in my professional career who was in a position of corporate power and had no desire for the spotlight. Alexis Hope radiated ‘newsworthy’, and the fact that I could find out so little about her made me skeptical.
I placed a call in to Raul in Miami, and after about fifteen minutes of assuring him that I was good, that Kent was beautiful, that Kelly was doing great, I filled him in on what I needed. He didn’t seem all too convinced that doing a background check on Hope Enterprises was worth his time, but the minute I told him I’d drive back to Miami and do it myself, he promised he would. Anything to make sure I got the rest I needed, or at least what everyone thought I needed.
I spent the couple of hours before my meeting with Jenni in the park. Samuel had shown Kelly most of the town, and from the looks of it, she wasn’t all too impressed. The park, though, was different. We took her to the duck pond where I had spent most of my afternoons with my father after my mother had died. It was a magical little place, secluded from the noise of the rest of the park, nestled amid large maples that hung over it like a protective veil. At night, if the moonlight was just right, you could easily lose track of time here. And there were nights where Samuel and I stayed there until dawn.
I drove them home, literally pulling Kelly away from the pond, and parked my car in front of the diner at exactly seven. Jenni came out a few minutes later, looking like she had had the worst day of her life, eyes droopy as she opened the passenger side door and all but collapsed in her seat.
“Home?” I asked. She looked beautiful, despite how tired she appeared to be. I caught myself tracing the lines of her cheek and jaw down to her neck and collar. I imagined my lips there, and quickly shook the image away.
Jenni shook her head quickly. “God, no, I’ve actually been looking forward to this,” she said.
“Actually?”
She giggled. “Yes, actually. If I go home now, I’ll crash, and that means the day’s been a complete waste.”
I shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot.