Aaron had a sinking feeling that there was a reason why, and it wasn’t because these guys were too busy, like they claimed. Someone had gotten to them before he did. Someone who was already at the office at the crack of dawn and was smart enough to know exactly where Aaron would look for help first.
His father had effectively shut him down before he even got started. This must be how Bonnie had felt when she figured out she’d been blacklisted. Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie.
Inspiration struck. He grabbed his keys and got in his car. This was going to take a face-to-face meeting to pull off.
CHAPTER FOUR
“IF I GO TALK to Lauren today, I think you need to go talk to Mr. Cole. We can both practice being assertive.”
“I’m not talking to Mr. Cole,” her dad said, setting down his coffee cup. “I already talked to him when he let me go. Trust me, there’s nothing I can say that’s going to change that man’s mind. You, on the other hand, haven’t even tried to talk to Lauren.”
This morning’s pep talk was not going the way Bonnie had planned. She had come over to her dad’s to motivate him to fight for his job. Instead, he was pushing her to do what Aaron had basically talked her out of doing yesterday.
“Aaron said he was going to talk to her. Let’s see if that changes anything.” She didn’t have high hopes. Once Lauren got stuck on an idea, there was little that could veer her off course. Right now, she wanted to run Bonnie out of town and was working overtime to make it happen.
The doorbell rang, and her dad got up to answer it. Aaron’s voice caught her attention right away. She hurried over to the front door.
“I stopped by Bonnie’s and she wasn’t there. I hoped I’d find her here, which is perfect, because I want to speak to both of you.”
Had he performed a miracle? He was smiling. That was a good sign. “You talked to Lauren?” Bonnie asked, knowing he must have and that was why he was here.
The corners of his mouth fell, and Bonnie’s heart sank. “I did.” His gaze dropped to the floor. “Her wounds are still so raw, but I think I started to create some doubt in her conspiracy theory.”
No miracles. Lauren still believed Bonnie was the bad guy. Maybe he was here to share good news about her dad’s job. “Did you get my dad’s job back?”
Aaron’s eyes lifted. “Not exactly, but I am here to offer him a different job. Both of you, actually.”
Bonnie tilted her head. “You want to offer me a job? I already have a job, Aaron. I know your sister is trying to get me fired, but that’s not going to happen. I don’t need a job from you or anyone with the last name Cole.”
Aaron shook his head. “That’s not exactly what I meant. I need to hire both of you. You, Bonnie, to help me buy some houses and you, Mr. Windsor, to help me flip them.”
Bonnie’s dad turned and looked at her, but if he was hoping for her to understand why Aaron Cole was involving them in this scheme, he was sorely mistaken. It made no sense to her why Aaron would come to them.
“You quit your high-paying job to flip houses? That was your plan? Are you sure you’ve thought this all the way through?”
“Like I told you yesterday, I’ve done nothing but think about it. This is what I want to do, and you two are exactly what I need to get started.”
“Your family hates me. Why would you hire me to find you houses?”
“Because I trust you. You’re smart and know this market.” He sounded so sincere, but there was something else going on. He continued, “And I don’t know anyone better at general contracting than you, David. You could teach me how to do things and eventually we could have multiple projects going at once. I think it could be a profitable business.”
“Flipping houses can be high risk as well as high gain. More people lose money than make it, despite what they show you on all those television shows,” Bonnie warned.
A grin spread across Aaron’s face. He had the most perfect teeth. “I’ve got the money to risk. What I need is you. You can help me choose the best houses, and your dad can help me make them amazing.”
It sounded too good to be true. A member of the Cole family helping the Windsor family after Walter Cole had stated very clearly that the Coles were no longer going to associate with the Windsors?
“And what are your parents going to say? What about Lauren?”
Aaron slid his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “We won’t tell them. I think we can keep them in the dark for a little while, at least. The longer they don’t know, the less likely they are to sabotage what I’m trying to do.”
Would his family really do that? Sabotage his new career because he chose to work with her and her father? That might be too much pressure. Bonnie also hated the idea of sneaking around. Lauren was bound to find out, and it would give her more reason to hate Bonnie when she did. Although, after everything that had happened, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be friends with Lauren anymore.
She had no reason to believe Aaron wasn’t being earnest, but every reason to believe the rest of the Coles would do everything in their power to bring Bonnie down. Staying away from everyone with the last name Cole seemed like the best idea. Their answer most likely had to be a solid no.
“We’ll do it,” her dad said.
“What? No, we need to talk about this.” Bonnie wasn’t ready to give
