Chapter 4 - THE FIRST OFFER
Elliot introduced Northshore as an opportunity.
Dinner.
Wine.
Architectural renderings.
He said:
“They’ll pay nine million.”
Elena laughed.
“For land they may never be allowed to build on?”
“They’re buying optionality.”
“My grandmother spent thirty years keeping developers off that bluff.”
“She also left you an asset.”
“She left me land.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
The difference irritated Elliot.
To him, an asset unused at its highest economic value was waste.
To Elena, ownership included the right not to maximize.
She asked:
“What happens if they cannot build?”
“They hold it.”
“And if they challenge the conservation restrictions?”
“That’s their problem.”
“It becomes the county’s problem. Then the neighbors’ problem.”
Elliot sighed.
“You always need to turn money into morality.”
Elena answered:
May you like
“You always need to turn ownership into liquidity.”
That was their first real fight over Harrow Point.
