Chapter Eight
Not much to his surprise, when Harlan showed up at the appointed time the next day, Taylor kept him cooling his heels for the better part of fifteen minutes. He pulled out his tablet and used the time to catch up on some work.
“Mr. Taylor will see you now.”
“Since you chose to be late, I can give you fifteen minutes,” Harlan said, walking in and taking a seat. “So get to it. What’s this about?”
Taylor looked much as Harlan remembered him, except older, of course. Dark hair, liberally shot with gray, a neatly trimmed beard, also streaked with gray, and an insufferable air of arrogance.
“My daughter tells me you’ve bought Whiskey River Construction. And that she plans to continue working there. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“I want you to fire her.”
Harlan laughed. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you won’t get a dime from my bank unless you do. How do you plan to complete your projects without financing?”
“Sorry to disappoint you but I’ve got my own financing. I don’t need yours.” Taylor looked like he didn’t believe him. How did he think Harlan had bought Whiskey River Construction with no money? Apparently, he hadn’t bothered to check out Phoenix Homes either, or he’d know Harlan wasn’t hurting for money.
“Your brother does.”
Harlan stared at him. “You’re shitting me. You’re trying to play that card again?”
Randall shrugged. “I will if I have to.”
Harlan wasn’t worried about Travis and his friends. He doubted seriously that Travis had approached Taylor’s bank, knowing what the man had done to their family years ago. Everyone in the family, including Laurel, the baby of the family, knew Taylor had threatened to evict the family from their house. What none of them knew was why it never happened.
If Travis and his partners needed money to renovate the airfield, Harlan would see they got it. But he knew Zack Bannister owned the property and Levi Chapman was bankrolling the expansion. According to Travis, Levi had serious money. If so, then Levi almost certainly had the financing taken care of.
“You don’t want to threaten me, Taylor.”
“Why not?”
If Taylor had had any leverage that smug smile would have set Harlan off like a blowtorch.
