Realistically, I gave my chance of seeing her here again at about one in a thousand. I grabbed Duke’s leash and put him on it. We had to go back to the field to find his ball. I wore a smile on my face all the way home while I mentally relived my fun in the sun.
◊◊◊
After church and brunch, Dad and I drove to the office, where we found Caryn, Megan, and Kent in the conference room. Once we all got comfortable, Caryn kicked off the meeting.
“We have all the units rented in the strip mall. The foot traffic the restaurant is creating has caused us to have a waiting list if a unit should become available. We’ve taken over the Quickie Mart, and I have the numbers on alcohol, lottery, and cigarette sales. I’ve also broken down sales by the hour to see if staying open late is a good idea,” Caryn said as she handed Dad and me folders.
The later hours were profitable. The only problem was that the three things I wanted to remove were our biggest sellers later at night. Fritz had come up with a plan where we could put in a drive-through, similar to a bank, for nighttime security.
Another option in the packet was to increase hard liquor if we removed cigarettes. It took me all of two seconds to reject that idea. I had the Mennonites working the farm stand. They would never approve of us selling more alcohol.
“Can we make it without those three items?” I asked.
“It will cut into profits, but we should be fine,” Caryn assured me.
From looking at the numbers, it would hurt, but not everything was about the almighty dollar. Before I made my final decision, I turned to my dad.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“If it were me, I would leave them on the shelves,” Dad said. “I worry that you won’t have the margin you need if you have a bad month. And I worry that you’ll lose customers because of it. Caryn thinks that by making it more family-friendly, and with the addition of the produce stand, you should be fine. I understand your position on this. Though I have the concerns I mentioned, I believe in the long term, you’ll be okay.”
“Pull them.”
“I figured that would be your answer, so I talked to the suppliers. We can have it all out by mid-August,” Caryn said.
“Tell him about the food bank,” Megan suggested.
“You know that we’ve been giving food to people in need who come into the Quickie Mart,” Caryn said.
I nodded.
“We talked to the county about everything they already have in place, and they put us in touch with the food bank. Long story short, they’re going to take over the food giveaways. They’ll also help sign people up for other services that can help them out. We’re setting up a small desk in the back of the store for them.
“We also arranged for any surplus we have to be donated,” Caryn explained.
Then we talked about the restaurants and farms. Next, the conversation turned to Jack Mass and my investments.
“Jack finished up an apartment conversion to condos and sold it to a company that will sell the individual units. That frees up funds we loaned him, and we need to figure out what to do with them. Jack can roll them back into the business or move them somewhere else. We have an idea for the ‘somewhere else’ portion. I’ll let Kent tell you,” Caryn said.
“Two ideas, actually. The first is buying a house in LA. Your dad tells me you have set aside money for a home. What I’d like to suggest is that you pull the trigger now, and I have a specific home in mind. Before Craig Wild was killed, he bought a house for his brother in the Serra Retreat gated community in Malibu. It turns out he’d taken out a loan on it to support his lifestyle, and now that he’s passed, the bank wants their money back.
“Doug doesn’t have the money to buy it from the estate and is afraid that he’ll lose it. He’d like to sell it and possibly rent it from whoever buys it,” Kent explained.
“I’m not sure I would want Craig’s little brother renting my house if he’s anything like Craig. He would have it destroyed in no time,” I said.
“Doug is nothing like Craig. I think you’d like him.”
“How much?” I asked.
“He needs 2.5. It’s an eight-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bath home, with a two-bedroom pool house, on two-and-a-half acres. There’s currently a vacant lot for sale down the street for 2.5,” Kent said.
Warning bells were going off.
“What’s wrong with it?” I asked.
“It was built in 1960 and hasn’t been renovated. Doug needs a quick cash sale before the bank sues the estate and puts a lien on the property,” Kent explained.
“Have you seen it?” I asked.
“I found it for Craig. He spent quite a bit more for it.”
“What do you think?” I asked everyone.
“Send your mom out to take a look. She can do what she needs to make sure before you spend the money. She can also meet Craig’s brother,” Caryn said.
“I still have the home inspection report from when Craig bought it in February. Doug had an architect draw up plans for the renovation and give estimates as to what it would cost. That should give you an idea of what you’re facing,” Kent said.
