“He does work fast,” I commented and she looked at me to decide how I meant that. I let her wonder.
“We’ve taken the liberty of checking out the adjoining property and Brandon is making inquiries if the owners are interested in selling. We have to raise funds, of course, before we can begin making offers.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my checkbook. While she looked on, I wrote a check for one hundred thousand dollars and handed it to her. She looked at me, puzzled.
“Let me be the first to contribute, I pushed the check toward her.
“Okay,” she said, tears glistening. “What have you gone and done? That’s guilt money if I’ve ever seen it.”
“Nothing. I’ve done nothing but make plans for our future,” I assured her. “Take it. It’s yours and you have my blessing to begin collecting all you can and getting your dream launched.”
She just stared at me.
“You don’t trust me,” I summed it up.
“Nope.”
I pretended to be hurt, but couldn’t authentically claim it because I acknowledged that maybe I had been just the slightest bit progressive in my plans without consulting her.
I knew how to handle this.
“Okay, now here’s what I’ve been up to.” The order in which I presented things was critical to her not being angry. “I went back to the office the other night and caught Jervis doing something that does not belong in a professional environment.”
“Really? What?” I had her full attention.
“Well, I’m more or less bound to keep it quiet, but let’s just say a gentleman usually does not engage in such things without a lady present.” Her eyes were huge and I knew I had her in my corner already. “We had a bit of a quarrel and I told him it was him or me. I offered to buy him out on the spot and he went for it. I guess his petting zoo was more important, shall we say?”
Auggie’s eyes were huge and her mouth open in an ‘o.’ “Then you can’t afford to give me this,” she said, pushing the check back across the table.
“Of course I can. I’m hardly a pauper, my dear. I’ve also come into my trust and now that Jervis is out of the way, I’m going to convert the clinic, which is another way I need your help.”
“I’m all ears,” she said, smiling.
“Well, sip your coffee and listen. I realized that Jervis’ way of doing things was old school and as you and I discussed, many people leave just as broken, or in some cases, even more so than when they walked in the door. Some things you said and have been planning for Sunset Village got me to thinking. I want to augment my practice with additional means of healing.”
“Go on,” she said, her eyes alight. She took the fact that I’d listened to her as flattery, and yes, it was meant as such, but it was also good business.
“Well, in addition to psychological therapy, I want to include some more holistic services such as acupuncture, a few of the more helpful exercise therapies, a room lined with pink salt from Himalaya, saunas, hot tubs, massage, aromatherapy, activities for children including daycare while their parent is taking part in a therapy. I also want couples’ counseling and from time to time, sex therapy.” I wiggled my eyebrows at the last one.
She didn’t wiggle hers back. “Sex therapy?”
“Yes, I know you don’t like the way that sounds, but there’s a great deal of diagnostic data to prove that when a person’s sex life is healthy and rewarding, many of their mental health issues improve as well. It’s all very scientific so you needn’t worry, but I’ve studied this and it will be handled very clinically.”
“Worth, I don’t know what to say… it sounds fascinating!”
Her green eyes were like sparkling waves and the deep green sweater she wore only emphasized this. I felt my groin ache and knew I’d been without her too long. But my revelations were not yet complete and now that I had her excited, she would take the remaining news in a more positive fashion.
“Well, there’s more,” I began and her brows raised in question. “I’ve moved out of my Father’s farm, and McLean and I are going to share the current house at our place for three months.”
“What happens in three months?” She was curious, as was to be expected.
“McLean’s divorce will be concluded and I will be leasing that house back to him for a dollar a month. In return, he’s going to look after the place and help you with the horses as you acquire them.”
Auggie leaned forward, shuffling in her seat. “But, Worth… I don’t have the horses yet… only Carlos. There’s nowhere to keep them. Why would I need his help?”
“That’s the next part of my surprise,” I said and kept going lest she let questions begin to sink in. “I’ve hired an architectural firm and they’ve presented me with a preliminary set of plans. I’ve told them you’re in charge of the details and they’re to have the entire house and barns constructed and ready to move in within three months. I figure that should put you at the Keeneland sales next spring to begin your choosing.” I sat back to await the explosion.
Her head bobbed forward at the same time her shoulders jerked backwards. “Wow. That’s a lot to take in, Worth. Why didn’t you tell me all this was going on?”
I was ready for this one. “I knew you had your hands full getting the foundation launched and I’ve only laid the groundwork. I will need you to handle it from here. I’ll be busy with the remodel and marketing for the clinic. I’ll have to hire new staff and buy equipment. I was hoping I could leave the house and barns up to you.”
She took the bait and I felt relief in the pit of my stomach. “Who’s the firm?”
“Dexter Architectural Associates” I handed her their card. “You can deal with Beverly Dexter. I thought you might prefer to deal with the CEO.” I made the fact that she was an attractive woman completely incidental and the fact that I was giving her access to the head of the firm the more important fact to absorb.
“So, Auggie,” I began tentatively, “can you help me, honey? Can you handle all that while I see to the clinic?”
She sat back as it all began to sink in. She’d gone from sitting on her princess bed contemplating her wardrobe to supervising two major construction processes and she had carte blanche on both of them. She let the importance of her power sink in before nodding enthusiastically.
She responded exactly the way I’d hoped. I knew her button was being supervised and treated like a child. I had managed to lay the critical groundwork and then hand the details off to her. She was happy, which meant that ultimately I would be happy.