Book One, Page Nine. The Chill Of Liquid Money.
"No!," said Jerry. "They can't tear this place down! It's too important! Have they made the deal yet? Can I talk to the seller?"
"Wait a minute," said Karen, looking down and holding her hand up. She had her own reasons for being upset by the news that there was another potential buyer of the old Roquette's Pharmacy. She needed this sale. "It's not impossible for you to block this. But let me ask you something important that I wasn't going to bring up yet. Can you get your hands on a million dollars? And, if so, would you be willing to sign the lease right now?"
That gave Jerry pause. "Well. . . what's the million dollars for?"
"The owners want $4500 a month rent," she said. "That figure is not negotiable. I think it's a good deal for a location like this. But here's the thing. They'll include an exclusive option to buy for another $300."
The first calculation that went through Jerry's mind was that this rent figure was about half of what he earned from his veterinary practice in a good month. Then he added in what it would cost to equip the place. And hire people. It got scary, now that he was looking at real money.
"Can I borrow your pad?" he said, reaching for his pen.
Karen handed it over to him. He flipped the top page over to a clean one, but as he did so he saw, in Karen's hand, "Needed to make this month's target: $4500/mo." It only caught his attention for an instant, but transferred to a virtual Post-It note in Jerry's mind. His conscious attention turned to adding how much this would all cost to get going. He had only five figures written, but he was already feeling a shiver.
"Does it seem unreasonable that this project will cost me $200,000 the first year?" he asked her.
That would sound about right to me," said Karen. "I know people who have opened restaurants for more, and for less. Depends on what you do, I guess. But all I really know is the real estate angle, and this $4800 I think is quite a deal. For a location like this, I mean."
Jerry felt cold inside. Yet every instinct told him this was the right move at the right time, even though it would complicate his life exponentially.
"I'll take it," he said. "Are you serious that we can sign the lease right now?"
"Sure!" said Karen. "The owners said they'd get right over here if I had someone ready to move in. Shall I call them?"
"Let's do it," Jerry said. He knew he'd catch it from Julie for not consulting with her. But each moment he spent in the old drugstore made him love it more. If he could lock the place down, he could maybe save it from disappearing. And he'd have the restaurant he dreamed of.
