The Ex-Wife's Revenge

Chapter 16

It was three days before Catalina invited herself back to the Park estate. This time, she went bare. No pitch, no presentation, no dossier. Just her wits, a notebook, and pen.

The guard must have gotten used to her by now, because he opened the gates without question and led her through the garden to the workshop.

There were two chairs in the room this time.

David glanced at them. ‘‘Sit.’’

She sank into the chair. David returned to his workbench, dropping a small piece of unfinished wood on its surface.

He turned back to her, folding his arms.

‘‘I am surprised it took you this long to come back. I was half expecting you to be a daily guest.’’

Catalina smiled, relaxing her nerves. This wasn’t turning out so bad. ‘‘Well, you deserved some days off my stalking.’’

‘‘True,’’ He dusted off his hands and sat in the second chair. ‘‘Let’s get into it. I have been looking at your smart home initiative.’’

Catalina felt herself straighten unconsciously. ‘‘And? What did you find?’’

‘‘It is quite an attractive investment. Your rehearsed pitch doesn’t do it justice.’’

She resisted the urge to smile. Today was shaping up to be miraculous.

David leaned back. ‘‘You can hold off on patting your back. I am not sold yet. The project makes sense. Commercial districts, safe and affordable housing. Sounds good. On paper that is,’’ he said. He stood at that line, walked toward the window overlooking the fjord. ‘‘I just don’t believe you.’’

Catalina almost balked. ‘‘Why is that?’’

‘‘I can’t see the community in it. You have shown all the projections, investment numbers, developed land.’’

A sound of defense stuck in her throat; he silenced it with a raised hand.

‘‘I don’t see the people, Catalina. What will you do with the people who already live where you develop?’’

Catalina sighed and closed her notebook. His stance proved there would be no miracles today. ‘‘What do you want me to do?’’

David studied her for a few seconds.

‘‘There is a small community on the coast that a developer wants to purchase. New condos, threw money in their faces, the usual.’’ He paused. ‘‘The community refuses to leave because they lived there their entire lives.’’

Catalina gritted her teeth at the intended snark. ‘‘And you want me to stop the developers?’’ She couldn’t hide the incredulous note from her voice.

‘‘Nope,’’ He took a file from the table and dropped it in her hands. ‘‘I want you to find a way to develop that community without destroying the heritage there. You win; you would have answered my first question.’’

Catalina opened the file and scanned its contents. Definitely a hard test. She looked up. ‘‘And if I lose,’’

David’s expression didn’t change. ‘‘Then, my first impression is confirmed.’’

Catalina held his gaze and smiled. ‘‘Well, I have never lost before, not going to start now.’’

By noon, Catalina was almost ready to pack it in.

The Rinaldi guest room resembled a war room. Property records, construction estimates, and handwritten notes littered the table. Her laptop mocked her; another development model joined the last in her recycle bin.

This was her third. The last had required Giordano Estates to absorb too much cost, and still displace half the residents. A tell-tale migraine pulse behind her cornea, she abandoned the screen in pursuit of food.

As though sensing her distress, her phone rang as she gulped down the last bits of apple-flavored milk.

Micheal.

‘‘You are in Norway.’’

Catalina smiled despite herself. ‘‘Hello to you too.’’

‘‘What’s wrong?’’

She sighed. ‘‘David Park.’’

‘‘Ah, you met.’’

‘‘Are you friends?’’ She asked with hope.

‘‘The man has no friends except his late wife.’’

Catalina laughed. ‘‘Just great. He gave me a ridiculous test, which I’ll fail and pack it up to New York in shame.’’

‘‘Tell me about it.’’

She explained the community, the development, and the unwilling residents.

When she finished, Michael was quiet.

‘‘Well?’’ She nudged.

‘‘The man practically gave you the answers; talk to the people. Nothing will come from staring at projects on your screen.’’

Catalina blinked. She hadn’t even considered going to the people. This is why two heads were better. ‘‘Thank you.’’

‘‘Anytime. Now, go win this man to our side.’’

……………………………………………………………………………

The community David had given her was less than an hour’ drive from Bærum, tucked between a patch of forest and the sea. It looked quaint.

Grocery stores with faded signs, small houses, schools with peeling paint. Nothing unique, yet homely all the same.

She parked near the harbour, adjusting the sleeves of her cream sweater. The first person to acknowledge her was an elderly man with a fishing line.

‘‘You can go back. We already said we are not selling.’’

Catalina hesitated. ‘‘Good thing I am not here to buy anything. My name is Catalina,’’ She took his free hand in a firm shake. ‘‘I am here to help you keep your homes.’’

The man was her guide for the day, taking her through the community. She met the carpenter who had spent three decades working in a shop attached to his house, the baker whose shop had been passed down for generations, the teacher whose students had grown and built lives in the town.

Every report confirmed what she thought. They didn’t want to disappear from their heritage.

Catalina looked at the homes and glanced toward the sea. A light bulb went off in her head, and she faced the little group around her. ‘‘What if the development happened around you instead of replacing you? You would still get compensation for your troubles, but stay in your community.’’

The fisherman regarded her quizzically. ‘‘That sounds fair. Can you do it?’’

Catalina smiled. ‘‘I would need all your help, but yes, we can.’’

……………………………………………………

David was in his living room when Catalina returned the next day. He looked out of place, holding a Magazine and not his usual woodwork.

He looked her down, eyes going to the thin folder at her side.

‘‘Where is your presentation?’’

‘‘Don’t need one. The goal is to not impress you.’’

Catalina placed the thin document on the table. ‘‘I went to the community. Spoke to the fifty-three residents. Found a solution,’’ She slid the page forward. ‘‘I am not proposing Giordano Estates buy the community; that would be an easy fix. We would develop with the community, existing residents keep their homes, new housing would be built on underused land, old homes would be reinforced.’’

His eyebrows raised. ‘‘Profit Margins?’’

‘‘Almost nothing initially.’’

‘‘But?’’

Catalina replied. ‘‘We would build an infrastructure that attracts businesses, which would create employment opportunities for the new generation and increase demand for commercial space. The community would receive a percentage of revenue from the designated commercial developments.’’

‘‘The residents would be stakeholders, not customers,’’

David said nothing for a tense few minutes and stood slowly. ‘‘Come with me.’’

They walked past halls into the cherry blossom grove. In the middle, David stopped and looked up at the pink blossoms swaying against the Norwegian sky.

‘‘My wife planted the first one when we were in Jeju. Something about wanting to embrace my culture. I laughed it up at the time, but when she passed, I couldn’t bring myself to abandon them. I had to bring them home, back to her,’’ A faint smile played on his lips. ‘‘My kids think I am a fool, worshipping a shrine of flowers, but here I feel she still,’’

‘‘Breathes,’’ Catalina interjected.

David looked at her for a moment, then to her right where the guard had come holding a dark leather folder. He handed it to her.

Catalina’s pulse quickened.

‘‘Open it.’’

Her eyes moved across the first page and stopped. The shares transfer document.

She looked up. ‘‘I don’t understand. You agreed 3 days ago.’’

‘‘Yes.’’

‘‘Then, why the test?’’

David stretched out a hand and caught a falling petal. ‘‘Trust. I needed you to trust yourself as much as I wanted to invest in you,’’ His eyes held hers. ‘‘The journey to reclaiming control will only get harder from her. I want the assurance you won’t run when things get tough.’’

Catalonia looked at him. In the halo of sunlight, she felt almost relieved. ‘‘Thank you. I won’t let you down.’’

David shook her hand this time. ‘‘See that you don’t, Catalina.’’