The Sweetheart Deal. Syndi Powell
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Foster Community Bank’s proposal to rebuild Lincoln Street.” He flipped the first card over. “And that’s what this is—an opportunity to come together as partners in redeeming what was lost.” He glanced out again and squelched the nerves radiating from his fingers, making his note cards tremble. He found Megan staring at him. He kept his focus on her. “Foster Community will offer low-interest-rate loans to those business owners affected by the snowstorms, whether directly or indirectly. After all, what happens to one of us touches the entire community.
“We are also proposing a community fund to raise the funds necessary to help in the rebuilding process. I have set up an account where anyone can donate a dollar, five, ten. Whatever you have. Foster has agreed to match all contributions.” He flipped the next card. “We want to be a partner during this difficult time. And I hope that together we can rebuild and revitalize Lincoln Street as well as Lake Mildred. Any questions?”
Hands shot up around the auditorium. He wanted to groan, but Eva had warned him about this. Rick approached the podium and pointed to a gentleman near the front. “Mr. Finney?”
“You said low interest rate. How low?”
Adam smiled. A question he was prepared for. “Three percent less than the current rate, which will save the business owner thousands over the life of the loan. And no application fee or closing costs.”
“Why would Foster be willing to work with us now when many of us lost our homes before because they refused?”
A hard question, but again he’d come prepared. “I regret how things were handled in the past. Those responsible are no longer with Foster Community, and we are working hard to repair those bridges we burned. I have been brought here to salvage the relationship the bank once enjoyed with you all. We want to be your source of sound advice and help you achieve your financial goals.” He stopped before he sounded anything more like a public-relations brochure. Another hand, and a familiar guy stood. Adam wanted to ask someone else, anyone else for a question, but he stood and waited. “And we should believe you why?”
His smile faltered slightly at the sight of his old friend Shane Lee. “I approached the bank president regarding these plans, and she has agreed to them all in writing. I have copies of our proposal should anyone need one.”
“I still don’t trust a word you say. We all remember what you were when you left here.” Shane took his seat.
Adam winced. He’d anticipated that something like this might come up, but he’d hoped it would come from someone else. “I grew up here, so you all know the boy that I was. But I’ve returned as a changed man. I don’t want to see us lose any of the businesses, including the aquarium store. Let’s work this out together. I’ll be in my office every day and every hour the bank is open this week and next for those who want to discuss this plan further.”
He glanced out at the audience but didn’t see any more hands. Most had gone down after the last question, which meant he had to rebuild more than the bank’s reputation. He had his own to consider.
* * *
AFTER ADAM’S PROPOSAL from Foster Community, there was another rival branch manager who stood to offer assistance. But Megs noted that it didn’t come close to what Adam had offered. There was no talk of a community fund with matching contributions. Or lower interest rates.
Maybe Adam had changed. Megs shook her head. She meant the bank had changed. The Sweetheart had been a customer for longer than she’d been alive, so it had been a no-brainer to keep the accounts there as they were before Grammy died. And though she hadn’t been affected by the foreclosures, she knew many of her customers who had been. The town’s population had shrunk by almost a quarter during that time. Slowly, it was changing for the better. People were now buying homes that had been sitting empty for years and bringing their money to spend in her shop and others.
She stole a glance down the aisle to where Adam sat listening to the other bank manager. Had he changed from the angry bully she remembered? The one who hurt others to keep everyone at a distance? He turned and found her looking at him. She turned back and tried to keep her focus on the speaker, her cheeks heating at getting caught.
After another hour, the session broke up with Rick assuring everyone that there would be a follow-up next week at the town council meeting. Megs rose to her feet and reached behind her to grab her thick coat. The snow had stopped for now, but the frigid temperatures had returned with a vengeance. She struggled to get the parka over her shoulder when a helping hand intervened. She turned and looked up into Adam’s long thin face. She stammered and cursed her flaming cheeks. “Thanks.”
“I meant what I said up there, Megan. I’m here to help.” He glanced past her, at her sister and Sam, then nodded and left.
Megs turned to Kelly. “What was that about?”
Her sister shrugged. “Sounds as if he wants to help you.”
“I don’t want his kind of help.” But she felt less sure of that than before.
“But you might need him more than what you want.”
Megs noticed him walk up the aisle to the back of the auditorium before getting stopped by several people with questions. He leaned down to hear them better and seemed interested in what they had to say. He seemed so different from the boy who had bullied her and her friends. Less hostile, more willing to help. But could she trust him? She already had two strikes against her with the other banks. What could it hurt to try the third at Foster with Adam?
But to help her case, she’d be sure not to show up with empty hands reaching out.
* * *
WHEN SHE RETURNED HOME, she scoured Grammy’s cookbooks for the best recipe to use for what she had in mind. She needed to tempt Adam with her sweet treats, but it had to be special. Something more would be required than a batch of chocolate-chip cookies if she expected him to hand her a loan for thousands of dollars. It had to require an effort on her part since she was asking for the same thing from him.
Cannolis? She wrinkled her nose. Those always sent the wrong message, especially if it was a gift for the opposite sex.
Strudel? Nah, she didn’t want to come across as flaky as the pastry.
She willed Grammy to direct her hands as she flipped through pages, as if the woman could tell her from the other side what to do about the business. The back door opened, and Kelly breezed in, her cheeks flushed and lips swollen. Megs gave a smirk but returned her gaze to the cookbook. “Said good-night to Sam?”
Kelly brought her fingers to her face and nodded. “That man sure can kiss.”
“Hmm, I’ll have to take your word on that.” Despite the fact that she’d known Sam longer and perhaps in some ways better, it was her sister’s attention he had snagged. She flipped through more pages and sighed. “So now that you’ve gotten the all-clear on the house, what are you two going to do with it?”
Her sister hung up her bright pink wool pea coat on a peg, then took a seat across the dining room table from her, snatching a cookie from an overflowing plate. “Good question. The will won’t be out of probate for a few more months, so it’s not as if we have to decide right this minute.”
Megs looked up at her. “Do you think you have the money to buy out Sam’s half? Or are you two planning on something more permanent?”
Kelly teased, “Now that I don’t have my paycheck from the bakery, I have even less money than before. And Sam hasn’t mentioned the future lately. Maybe he’s having second thoughts.” She munched on her cookie for a moment before she said, “The best thing would be to sell the place. As much as I hate to say it.”
Megs shook her head. “Sam’s planning a future, all right. And you’re the only one he’s intending to spend it with.”
Kelly shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Definitely.”
They both looked around the renovated