Harlan watched her walk out. Working with Savannah, seeing her daily was going to be...interesting. Especially since he’d known the minute he kissed her that one kiss would never be enough.
“I don’t mind telling you,” Bill said, elbows on the conference room table, “I don’t know what I’d do without Savannah. She keeps this office running smoothly and knows a good deal about site management too. She’s had to take over for me before when I was out sick.” He grimaced and added, “Which was far too often this last year.”
Harlan nodded.
“Savannah’s very good with the clients,” Bill continued. “Even when they’re being a pain.”
“You don’t need to worry, Bill. As I told you before, I don’t plan on firing either Savannah or Liv.”
“I’m glad to hear it. They’re both good employees. I wouldn’t want my retirement to make them lose their jobs.”
“Set your mind at rest. Now what, besides the gas station, are you still working on? Do you need any help with anything?”
“No, no. The gas station is all I’m working on now. Thanks for offering but it’s almost finished.” He sighed and took another sip of coffee. “I still have mixed feelings about taking retirement. The wife already has three cruises planned.” Glumly, he added, “I don’t even like the ocean.”
Harlan laughed. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”
“That’s exactly whatshesays,” Bill grumbled.
Chapter Six
Later that same afternoon, Harlan met with Travis and his partners at Devil’s Rock airfield, to discuss the plans for it. Some improvements had already been made when they’d hired Whiskey River Construction, and they had expanded the runway to accommodate a small jet. But now the three men were ready to put some serious money and effort into making Devil’s Rock a private airport that not only catered to private planes used for pleasure, but could also become a business hub, with more runways long enough to handle small jets and other amenities to make it attractive to business travelers in the area.
The three were old friends, having gone to high school together. Travis was a flight instructor and had worked all over the state of Texas. When Zack Bannister inherited the airfield from his uncle, he’d decided to enlarge it and turn it into a real business. There were a lot of small towns around and he believed many of the business travelers would prefer a smaller, closer airport rather than having to go to Austin or San Antonio. He’d talked Travis into setting up a flight school in Whiskey River, hoping private flying lessons would be an added draw. Finally, their other friend, Levi Chapman, a wealthy inventor, had invested in it and also become their “idea person.”
“I might have found an architect for you,” Harlan told them once they sat down.
“From Dallas?”
“No. From San Antonio. She designed Wildcat Tower. Her name’s Dana DeLong.”
Levi choked on his coffee and set his cup down with a bang. “Dana’s going to design our terminal? Dana DeLong?”
“I don’t know, but it’s a possibility. I take it you know her.”
“Yeah, I know her. And there’s no way in hell Dana will agree to come back to Whiskey River.”
