A Fortune to Die For (White Oak - Mafia Series Book 1) (12 page)

His brow furrowed. “I believe you. However, I have to think of my state first and foremost. If the land were developed, it would generate a lot of jobs.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t think they could hire many more construction workers before they run out of trucks, plows, and other machinery needed to assist the laborers.”

“Then they buy more.”

Meg cringed at his cavalier response. The governor of a state should know better. “Forgive me for pushing back, but I made the capital investment calls for a Fortune 500 Company for many years. You don’t over invest in equipment for short-term needs.”

His right thumb rapped on the edge of the table. “I’ve been told it would create a thousand jobs for ten years.”

“In total, or each year?”

His furrowed brow deepened. “I took it as each year.”

“Give me an hour on my computer, and I can prove that’s a gross exaggeration.”

“Let’s say it was in total.”

“Okay, I still think it’s highly exaggerated, but let’s say it’s true. Do you have a thousand skilled woodsman unemployed in Iowa? If not, they’ll have to bring them in from somewhere else, because no sane person would allow an amateur to cut down a hundred and fifty-foot tall, five or six-foot diameter tree with a market value of six thousand dollars or more. If the cutter is not an expert, he’ll send the tree crashing into another tree just as valuable twenty feet away. To bring down large trees without destroying their value, you have to have experienced and highly skilled lumberjacks who can drop them with precision.”

He rubbed his chin. “I hadn’t considered the need for highly skilled lumberjacks, but I see your point. Where’d you get the value per tree?”

“I based it on the current price of a hundred feet of white oak less a thousand dollars. I dropped a thousand from the current price because, if the forest were cut down, it would flood the market and cause all lumber prices to drop. This could be disastrous for any lumber yards holding large quantities of wood in inventory. Some could very well go out of business. Others might have to lay people off to recover.”

His poker face didn’t reveal any concern, so she pushed harder. “I don’t need to explain to you how volatile commodity prices damage small businesses. You must see it all the time here with corn, soybean, and wheat prices.”

“What about the houses built on the land? We’ve plenty of people who can build homes,” he challenged.

“Possibly, but with the housing market in its current state, I expect they’ll do very little building and a great deal of tree harvesting for the first three years. And when people do start buying houses, then the builders will hire only the minimal needed to complete the jobs they have solid contracts for. So in all likelihood, I don’t see any new jobs for Iowans in the first years, few afterward, certainly nothing close to a thousand.”

Wishing to end talk of cutting trees, she added, “Give me a day. I’ll do an analysis of the major building companies hiring practices over the last three years.”

“Why not the small ones?”

“The big guys have to file 10Ks, which are audited, so the data is more reliable than calling small house builders and asking about their practices. And any developer who is serious about building houses will behave like or engage one of the major companies. The profit margins on building houses are too small to overstaff right now.”

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to see such an analysis.”

A small army of servants entered, setting the table and delivering to each of them a salad. Meg watched the Governor scarf down the cheese in his salad and push the plate away.

Meg chuckled. “Trade you. I can’t eat cheese.”

He stared at her as if her admission made no sense.

“I’m lactose intolerant.”

Now understanding, he swapped out the plates and devoured her cheese.

She took her time with hers, enjoying the spinach, walnuts, and tomatoes covered with balsamic vinegar.

He watched her like a hawk as she ate. “You said you were a financial analyst, but your profile listed several titles, all far more impressive.”

She smiled. “The more skilled I became, the better they paid me and fancier my title grew, but if you cut to the core, every job I had was built around my ability to analyze and translate all actions into financial results. This meant I had to accurately predict what will happen when a plan is put in place.”

“Such as the drop in white oak prices.”

She nodded. “And the need for skilled woodsmen, who wouldn’t live in a land with barely a tree left…outside of this forest.”

The salads were removed and the main course served. It was fabulous…almost as good as the lunch Helen had made.

He continued to watch her as he ravaged his salmon. “Have you decided what you want to do for employment in this fair state?” Before she could reply, he held up his hand. “I know you don’t have to work, but a person doesn’t get to the skill level you have without having a passion for your job. Can you tell me why you quit?”

“I thrive on working with a team of experts, translating their knowledge into hard numbers. After I won the lottery, my co-workers resented me so much they would feed me incorrect information. No longer able to perform to my standards, I quit. And I’ll be honest, my boss didn’t try to convince me to stay.”

“For someone who seemed to only want to tell me what I already knew, you’ve been very forthright.”

“Telling people of my past and specifically the lottery win pretty well defeats the reason I changed my identity. However, I realized when you properly identified my home state that you had obtained a profile of my former self from either the FBI or the one Helen Campbell had.”

He smiled. “I asked, but the FBI refused to provide me a profile unless I could give a reasonable need for it. Evidently, you wishing to give the state two-hundred acres of the last forest we’ll ever have wasn’t sufficient. So I got it through other channels.”

“I hope you mean Helen’s. Otherwise, the FBI should probably be told who else had me investigated and matched me to my new identity because it could very well be the person who wants me dead.”

His right eyebrow rose at her comment. “I suspect this was Helen Campbell’s, but I will confirm the matter, and if it turns out to be anyone else, I will notify the FBI agent investigating the attempts on your life.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

“Joe was right about you. When he heard Jeffrey Campbell had a two-hour slot on my schedule today, he insisted I not make any promises I might regret.”

She stopped mid-cut on her fish and looked at him. “Was his meeting by chance before ours?”

The Governor chuckled. “Yes, it was. And since he wrote a rambling email requesting the meeting, I suspected I already had his side of the story and decided to drop in and catch your side instead.

“Well, I haven’t told you my proposal yet. I’ve just been shooting down the alternative. I think you’ll be very pleased with my plan. But I will provide no more details since Joe is setting up the library for what I hope will be the best plan and presentation you’ve ever received.”

“Big words stated with confidence. I like that.”

“Thorton, you weren’t supposed to be here until six,” Joe scolded as he entered the dining room.

“I canceled my four to six.”

“Thank God. The last thing you need is to be meeting with attempted murderers,” Joe said as he sat down on the governor’s other side.

“Have you confirmed the allegation?” the governor asked.

Joe shrugged. “The FBI isn’t talking, but we need to be wary.”

The governor rapped his knife on his plate several times. “If you hear anything, let me know. I’ll still have to do some damage control. Jeffrey and Benito were both major contributors to my last campaign.”

Joe rolled his neck. “If I were you, I’d get your people on it now.”

The governor focused on Meg. “Any chance I can convince you to abandon your salmon and work on those numbers you promised me?”

Meg sighed. “Can I take this delicious plate to my room and finish it while I work?”

He motioned to a servant, and she swooped in like an eagle and snatched the plate.

“If you hurry, you can get to your room before your salmon arrives.”

Meg rewarded him with a smile, nodded at Joe, and hurried off. As she was leaving, she heard the governor say, “Most impressive.”

She hoped he was talking about her analytical skills and not the speed in which she could chase after food.

True to his word, her dinner, hiding beneath a silver lid, arrived moments after she did. When the server removed the cover, she discovered they had brought her a brand new plate of fish, which suited her fine since she was still starving.

Fifteen minutes to six, she wrapped up her report on the probable job outcome for developing the property versus making it the showcase state park of Iowa.

She included the linked assumptions on the front worksheet, so if his people wished to make a change to the assumptions, the entire package would reflect the new numbers. She emailed it to Joe and asked him to print off three copies.

By the time she arrived at the library, the pages were printed and placed about the small conference table. She gathered and stacked all three beneath her case. Hopefully, her presentation would make the analysis irrelevant.

Exactly at six, the governor arrived and sat in a leather high back behind the desk, while Joe sat on the couch and Meg stood before the giant LCD screen above his fake fireplace.

The governor was flipping through his bound copy of her plan until she spoke. He then set it down and gave her his full attention.

She first gave a brief overview of the land’s potential to be the finest state park in Iowa and a tourist draw from across the country, peppering financials throughout the discussion, assuring him before the presentation was over he’d understand all the assumptions behind them.

By the end of the overview, he was smiling like a kid in a candy store.

As she worked through the details, he frequently threw in an “excellent” as she raised and then solved a potential problem.

When she came to the unusual guarantee of a job for Tess Campbell, he opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him. “I realize this looks like we’re throwing a bone to the prior owner. But in fact, we are locking in the best-qualified person for the job. Under Helen’s tutelage, Tess has been managing this property for the last five years. And they are the best trails I have ever hiked, and I’ve hiked over a thousand parks.”

The governor smiled. “No doubt why Helen sought you out.”

She nodded and continued, “I so strongly believe Tess Campbell is the right person to continue management of these lands, I’ve written it in as a condition of the land donation. Once Tess obtains the proper credentials, the job is hers. And until then, she will be retained as an Assistant Forest Manager, which does not require a degree, only the experience and skills commiserate with the job.”

“Have you spoken with the head of Parks Commission yet?”

“Not yet.”

He looked to Joe. “Who’s the head of Parks Commission now?”

“Barkman, I think,” Joe replied.

“Well, get him out to those woods and have Tess take him about. You can tell him about the proposed land donation, but don’t tell him the girl is being crammed down his throat. Then get his opinion of her, and if it’s positive, float the idea to him.”

“Got it,” Joe said.

The governor returned to Meg. “How long will it take this girl to be properly qualified?”

“She will have her master’s degree in six years.”

He scowled. “What man is going to take a job if he knows it will disappear in six years, regardless of his efforts?”

“Someone could ask the same of your job. Yours is only good for four years,” Meg challenged.

He laughed. “True enough, but I wanted some ray of hope for the poor fellow.”

“I’m convinced if we choose the right candidate, we can make this work.”

“If you can, I’m declaring you a miracle worker, but let’s wait and see what Barkman thinks. I hope you’re getting to the costs soon.”

She clicked the control, and the cost and revenue projections were listed for ten years.

He frowned. “Why are there two cost totals?”

“First, I show the overall costs, which, as you can see, given my minimal estimates for revenue, are negative in total. Since I will be establishing trust funds, lasting in perpetuity, to pay for advertising and the salary of the workers on the site, the final costs, even with the lowest revenue projections, will still create revenue for the state.”

She smiled at the governor. “In other words, for the first time in Iowa’s history, a state park will be revenue positive.”

She clicked to the next slide. “In addition, given the level of advertising, it minimally should create an additional six hundred jobs through increased tourism. Using the higher projections, it could double the employment numbers. And these are jobs currently unemployed Iowans
can
do.”

He almost smiled and then frowned. “What’s the conditions of the roads to this area?” he asked Joe.