The Inheritance (Forever Bound #1) Read Free Page A

truth was, she didn’t really know a whole lot about the man that stole Ana’s heart. She sat down and opened up the menu. She looked it over, but her mind kept going back to the guy on the dance floor.
    “I’m so happy you two finally can meet,” Ana said.
    Charity looked up and smiled. Jesse was looking at her friend, and they were close enough that he could’ve been on her lap. “Me too!” Jesse replied, keeping his eyes glued to Ana.
    Charity looked back down at the menu. It wasn’t like Ana to get Lovey Dovey all of a sudden, and she required at least some answers. The waitress approached them, and they each placed their order, and when she was gone, Charity looked up. She was prepared to throw out some tough, but necessary, questions.
    “So, how long have you two been dating?”
    Ana was quick to answer. “Five months.”
    “Wow…five months?” Charity glanced at Ana, raising her eyebrow. Ana gave her a smug smile. Charity had to admit she was impressed Ana stuck with a guy for so long, but disappointed Ana really hadn’t talked about him. She refocused her attention back to Jesse. “So what entices you to my best friend?”
    “Charity…” Ana hissed.
    Jesse just laughed. “I don’t mind answering that question.” He smiled at Ana and gave her a slight wink, before turning back to Charity. “Her smile…her eyes…her genuineness about everything…” His eyes lit up as he spoke and it slowly started to dawn on Charity; this was real. “She has a good heart.”
    “Awwww…sweety…” Ana enthusiastically replied next to him, hanging on every word.
    Charity chuckled lightly, looking away from the two of them as they shared their sweet and intimate moment together. Her eyes caught with the strange guy’s, as he continued to stare at their table. She smirked, and he nodded a slight greeting. Her goal was to get back to him, and she was pleased to see that he had the same thought.
     
    ***
     
    Derek took a sip of his coffee and placed it back down on the desk. He rifled through the paperwork until he came across the latest map of the renovation of the town. A whole section was being rezoned to include a mall, a few restaurants, and several other businesses that were sure to bring jobs to the area. He was excited to finally get the project off the ground. He looked over the design that Ray, his contractor, had dropped off to the office earlier that week.
    He took another sip from his coffee and surveyed each location. There were only a handful of properties along the line that required being bought out, so they could proceed. Luckily, no one drug their feet, because everyone could see it would be a huge advantage to the city. His phone rang, bringing him away from his thoughts.
    “Mayor Worthington…” he replied, speaking into the phone.
    “Hey…it’s Ted,” His main foreman for the project replied on the other end of the line.
    “Hey…what’s up?” He put his coffee mug down and settled back into his chair.
    “Have you received the blueprints?”
    “Yep. I’m looking it over right now,” Derek answered.
    “Well…” there was a slight hesitation on the end of his sentence. Then Ted continued. “I’m out on the property and at the corner of Elm and 64 th Street, there’s a shed, or a dilapidated old house, or a barn…not really sure which. It’s kind of hidden behind some trees. Anyway, have you cleared it with the buyer to buy it out so we can destroy it?”
    “I’m sure we have. Just a minute.” Derek rummaged through the folder and pulled out the contracts he had acquired. He leafed through them, speaking out loud as he did. “Janson…Broderick…Forester…Jacobs…” he stopped. “There were only four people we had to contact, from what I understand. The corner of Elm and 64 th street you said?”
    “That’s right,” Ted responded. “You pretty much had to be searching for it to notice it, but it’s here.”
    Derek glanced at the addresses on the pages and