Facade of Love (Yvette Scott and Idris Young) novel Chapter 141

Chapter 141 I Will Get Iddy to Marry Me 

I had not even started to ask when Zoe blurted out, “Yvette, guess what I heard? There are a bunch of new projects kicking off in Lake City, Down in Southern City, the city hall’s marked off a chunk of land for themselves, planning to move there. Come next spring, they’ll break ground, and right now, they’re gearing up to call for bids.” 

New projects? 

I took a beat, eyeing her curiously. “Where’d you hear that?” Lake City was not exactly sprawling, and Scott Corporation had been a fixture for decades. Despite recent hiccups, we were usually clued in on the local buzz. If there were fresh projects brewing, we should’ve caught wind of it way earlier, yet, here I was, just as in the dark as Maxwell. It threw me for a loop. 

“My uncle told me,” Zoe piped up. “He’s got a gig at city hall. I was over for dinner last night, and he started chatting about the project funds. It got me thinking about when Maxy said he wanted to hook Scott Corporation up with some projects, so I made a point to meet up and fill you in.” 

She finished her spiel and glanced over at Maxwell, her face all lit up with a crush that she could not quite hide. 

Maxwell, looking a bit overwhelmed by her googly eyes, quickly shifted his gaze to me and said, “If she’s got this opportunity, we should definitely throw our hat in the ring for these projects.” 

I nodded, turning back to Zoe. “Did you catch when the bids are going out?” 

Zoe shook her head. “Nope, did not ask.” 

“That’s no sweat,” Maxwell chimed in. “It’s a public tender by the city hall, so they’ll announce it. We just need to get our ducks in a row, and sniffing out the when and where should be a breeze.” 

I frowned slightly, feeling a tad uncertain. 

Maxwell noticed my silence and asked, “What’s bothering you?” 

I paused, then said, “I’m just thinking that this might be more complicated than we thought. Projects starting after the New Year should be put out for bids at least six months in advance. But we’re only hearing whispers about it from Zoe now, which makes me think someone’s already got their hooks in them. By the time they announce the official bids, it’ll probably just be for show. If we throw our hat in the ring, we might just end up as sacrificial lambs. 

Maxwell’s brow creased. “I hadn’t considered that. 

I sighed. It was the worst–kept secret around: everyone was after the golden goose, but there were only so many eggs to go around. Getting your hands on one? That was all about who you knew. 

The whole ‘open bidding spiel was just a smokescreen to make the process look legitimate to those 

on the outside. 

After a brief silence, I turned to Zoe “Hey Zoe, could you do us a solid and dig up the details on when 

the bidding starts. Find out who’s running the show for this project.” 

“Yeah, I’ll check with my uncle,” she replied.