She leans against the table, hip pressing the edge. "If this decision was yours alone," she says, "which one would you choose?"
"Option B. Hands down."
"Why?"
"Option A shows what the Board thinks they want. Option B shows what's actually there."
Sam reaches across and closes her laptop. The click is decisive. "Then it's Option B."
"What about the Developer?"
"Your photography could sell ice to an ice fisherman." She says it like she's commenting on weather. Now we build the best presentation we can and let them argue with us.”
I stare at her. "That's it?"
"That's it."
Sam pulls her chair closer and reopens the laptop.
“Let’s practice what we’re going to say over the slides,” she says. “Tomorrow’s weekly update is where we start steering them. By the time the Capital Investment meeting happens, they should already be leaning our way.”
She taps a few keys and pulls up the deck.
“First image, the wide shot of the waterfront. What’s your voice-over?”
I glance at my notes. “The Harbor District represents a unique intersection of historical preservation and modern commercial potential.”
Her eyebrow lifts.
“You’re putting the Board to sleep in the first ten seconds.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It sounds like a textbook. Try again. Talk to me like I’m a person who cares about money and doesn’t have time for jargon.”
I close the notes and look at the image again—old brick catching late afternoon light, cobblestones running down to the water.
“This neighborhood has been here for over a century,” I say. “The bones are solid. The location’s prime. And the community’s already invested.”
She nods slowly. “Better. But what’s the payoff? Why should I care that the community’s invested?”
“Because it means less resistance to development,” I say. “Lower risk.”
“Now you’re talking.” She types quickly. “Next image.”
I swipe to the residential street—row houses, narrow sidewalks, trees planted in little squares of dirt.
“This is the residential core,” I say. “People already live here. That means built-in demand for retail and services.”
Sam leans back slightly. “So a developer doesn’t have to create a neighborhood.”
“Exactly. It’s already here.”
She smiles. “There you go.”
We move through the next few slides the same way. She pushes, I adjust. The explanations get sharper each time.
Finally, she pulls up the last image, the fountain.
