Chapter 16 - The Vineyard Was Never for Sale
The resort developers returned with a new offer.
Forty-two million dollars.
I declined.
They increased it.
Forty-seven million.
I declined again.
A representative finally asked:
“What number would make you sell?”
“There isn’t one.”
He seemed genuinely confused.
“Everything has a price.”
“No.”
I looked across the vineyard.
“Everything has a value. That’s different.”
The preservation trust was finalized that year.
The vineyard would remain agricultural.
Workers received profit-sharing interests.
A portion of annual revenue funded Thomas Hale House.
Samantha cried when I signed the documents.
“You really protected it.”
“Yes.”
“From people like Greg?”
I smiled.
“From people like all of us.”
Even good people can make bad decisions when enough money is involved.
The vineyard needed something stronger than promises.
May you like
Now it had it.
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