“Are you ready to eat chicken and salad in front of a castle?” Matthew asked.
“More than ready.” Ashley didn’t know what she’d do after he left, but she wasn’t going to think about that tonight. They had two more days together before he flew back to Bozeman, and she was determined to make the most of them.
***
The last person Matthew expected to hear from on Thursday was Hazel. She was following up on his question about a structural engineer’s report of the warehouse.
The Reaching High Foundation had asked a structural engineer to look at the building before it was purchased. There hadn’t been any issues, and everything had gone through as planned.
She emailed him a copy of the original sale and purchase agreement and the engineer’s report. He thought that was all she’d sent until he checked his email account ten minutes later. Hazel had also sent the architect’s plans of what the finished building would have looked like if the Foundation’s funding hadn’t been stolen.
He was impressed. The youth center would have been incredible. It was no wonder everyone had been excited about what it would mean for the local community. After looking at the plans, the first person he wanted to talk to wasn’t one of the people Ashley had asked him to call. He crossed his fingers, hoping Jacob could see the potential of what he was proposing.
There was no way Matthew could afford the kind of money the center needed, but Jacob Green could. His friend owned commercial and residential investment properties across America.
With its close proximity to Manhattan and the size of the warehouse, it was the kind of opportunity that Jacob couldn’t refuse, especially when the redevelopment plans had already been approved.
Matthew flicked through the contact list on his phone. Their only stumbling block was that the property wasn’t for sale—yet.
When the next wave of articles exposed Jasmine’s lies and corruption, it would only be a matter of time before some of the Foundation’s assets had to be sold. If he were in charge, a reasonable offer to purchase the warehouse and keep the youth center operating would go a long way to keeping other projects on track.
But he wasn’t in charge, and Jasmine Alfredo could be unpredictable.
He found Jacob’s phone number and hit dial. If they were going to do this, they’d need to make their offer to the Foundation’s board members, and they needed to do it quickly.
***
Friday morning came around far too quickly. Ashley had worked until midnight last night, writing her articles and making sure she had all her facts straight.Jasmine’s life was about to take an entirely different path, and Ashley wasn’t prepared to write anything that could be used against the newspaper.
Harry was driving them to the youth center—although the word ‘driving’ didn’t really describe the slow crawl through the traffic.
“You’re a million miles away,” Matthew said.
“I was thinking about Jasmine and what she might do next.”
“Don’t worry. The FBI is watching her.”
Harry pulled into a parking lot not far from the youth center. “We’ll walk from here. If anyone needs to leave the center quickly, we’ll meet back at the car.”
Ashley undid her seatbelt. “Do we know if Hazel or Jasmine will be here?”
“The person I spoke to said that Jasmine hasn’t visited the center since it opened.” Harry locked the car. “I don’t know about Hazel. She spends more time here than any of the staff who are based in Manhattan.”
“She cares about the center,” Matthew said as they crossed the road. “What did you tell the staff, Harry?”
“That we’re writing a story about inner-city community initiatives and want to include the youth center. Most of the people we’ll meet are volunteers.”
Ashley adjusted the strap of her bag and followed Harry and Matthew. She was uneasy about being here today. The first story about Jasmine would hit the Internet tonight. Tomorrow morning, the most damning story would be on the front page ofThe Daily Times. If the FBI didn’t have enough evidence to arrest Jasmine, she would come looking for Ashley.
When he reached the edge of the warehouse, Harry held out his hand. “Stay here for a couple of minutes. I’ll go inside and make sure Hazel and Jasmine aren’t here.”
Across the road, a fast food restaurant and newsagent stood side by side with metal bars on their windows. Two men were sitting on the stoop of a brownstone a few buildings away. Bonnie had said this community needed what the youth center could offer, and there was only one way to find out if she was right.
Ashley stood beside a lamppost and waited for the traffic lights to change.
“Where are you going?” Matthew asked.
“Across the road. I want to interview some people.”
