Chapter Seven
Jamie gave them all homework. He wanted ideas, and they’d come back in two days’ time and have a meeting after the lunch service was over. He put a sign on the door the very next day, saying that they would be closed for dinner service on Thursday night.
“Oh, Mike isn’t going to like that one little bit,” Hazel said. “He’ll be expecting his salad, pork chops, green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, and apple pie.”
Jamie looked at Hazel. “Who’s Mike?”
“He comes in nearly every night and gets the special of the day,” Flo answered. “You can set your watch by that man.”
“Well, you just tell him he’ll have to go somewhere else that night.” Jamie scoffed.
“Um... Mike isn’t one to be told to go somewhere else,” Walter added.
“Oh? What makes him so special?” Jamie asked.
“First off, he’s a Sergeant Major. He runs the entire engineering department on base,” Walter explained.
“And he usually gets what he wants, too,” Flo added.
“Now, ya’ll are making him sound like he’s as mean as a rattlesnake,” Hazel said. He’s actually a very nice man, who just happens to be on the quiet side, is all. “I think he just likes things... a certain way.”
Flo harrumphed. “He’s also built like a brick shithouse! He’s huge. I don’t know of anyone who’d go up against that man.”
“How about a compromise?” Dexter said. “We tell him that we’re going to be closing for a staff meeting, but we’ll make him dinner, and only him.”
“Yeah,” Walter said, shrugging slightly. “It’s nothing to fix him one dinner. We’ll have everything set from lunch, just need two pork chops ready.”
“Okay. Won’t bother me none,” Jamie said. “It’s a date then. We’re going to take that night off and see what ideas we can come up with, and I’ll cook us dinner.”
“I’ll sure look forward to that,” Dexter said as he rubbed his hands together.
“Alright, y’all,” Flo said, putting her shoes on before standing. “We still have dinner to get through. I doubt it will be all that busy, but you never know.”
“Pfft,” Hazel said. “We ain’t been busy on a Tuesday night since I don’t even know when.”
“Good thing,” Walter stood and stretched before picking up his coffee mug. “With Timmy out, it’ll make it easy on the kitchen.”
“I need to skedaddle,” Jamie said as he looked at his watch. “I gotta go meet with Glenn Brown.”
All the staff looked at each other, then got on with what they were doing. “Don’t let him keep you there all day, honey; he can be a talker,” Hazel said as she marched back to the counter. “I’ll polish up this flatware.”
“I got the sugar caddies,” Minnie said as she hurriedly started collecting them on a tray so she could fill them, not that there were many that needed filling.
“I’ll be back.” Jamie closed the front glass door. Why was it that everyone got so quiet when I said I needed to meet Mr. Brown?
* * * * *
“Come in, Jamie.” Glenn Brown shook Jamie’s hand. “It’s okay if I just call you Jamie, isn’t it?”
“Yes, of course, Mr. Brown.”
“If I’m calling you Jamie, you can call me Glenn.” He smiled as he motioned Jamie to have a seat at a small round table in his office.
“You said that there were several things that we needed to go over,” Jamie said.
“Well... yes.” Glenn pushed his glasses further up his nose. Jamie had since figured out he did that when he was nervous. “There are quite a few things, Jamie. Things that I doubt you have any knowledge of.”
“Why do I get the impression this is going to be bad news?” Jamie shook his head, wondering if he’d opened his mouth too early for the staff. Will I have to close the diner down? That was his first thought.
“It’s quite the opposite.” Glenn pulled out the blue bound bundle of pages and a manila file folder that was quite fat. “To start off with, you are the sole owner of the diner and all the property that goes with it.”
“Okay, but that’s just the diner and the small two car garage in the back, right?”
“Um... no.” Glenn pushed his glasses back.
“In fact, that property is three city blocks long, and a bit. All on the access road to the highway. On that property stands the diesel truck garage, the truck wash, the A & J paint and body works, the used tire store, and the Goodies store. In fact, it runs along Victory Drive access, from the tire store, the diner, and all the way back past the body works shop. All in all, that’s about ten acres.
Some of it developed but most of it not. ”
Jamie sat back in his chair, mouth open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Be rest assured, I am not.” Glenn sat back.
He had propped his elbows on the arm of the chair, his two forefingers creating an arch.
“The truck garage has a ninety-nine-year lease as well as the truck wash. The body shop also has the same lease. Only the used tire store has a ten-year lease. Solan was afraid that it would be condemned for a new road by the city, and he was almost right. The city planners moved it up another five miles.”
“I don’t even know what to say.” Jame leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “How did they acquire so much land?”
Glenn smiled. “When your grandparents took over the diner, then bought the diner outright, Mr. Hathaway, who really had no real inclination of the future, as both your grandparents did way back then. So, they made him a deal to buy it all lock, stock, and barrel and then sat on it.”
“But... what about the garage and everything else?” Jamie was so confused.
Glenn laughed. “That grandfather of yours would have made Wall Street tremble in their thousand-dollar shoes! He brokered each and every one of them a deal that if they built their own buildings, he’d give them that long lease and a percentage off the rent for the first ten years.
If they went under, he got to keep the building and re-lease it. ”
Jamie had to smile. “That sounds exactly like what Papaw would do.” Jamie laughed. “Don’t tell me: they never spent a dime of that money, did they?”
“As far as I know, no.” Glenn smiled at Jamie.
“You will have to take that up with Adrian Jackson down at Planters Credit Union. I do have a fairly good idea where some of it is.” Glenn handed him a manila folder full of papers that had been stuck in the file folder.
“Just present these documents when you go over to Planters.”
Jamie looked at the pile of papers, then asked, “Where’s the money then?” Jamie couldn’t wait to hear this next part.
“There’s a financial planner up in Atlanta.” Glenn leaned forward a bit. “Every heard of Payton Manley?”
“Of course I have.” Jamie thought for a moment.
“He comes into the restaurant I work for in Atlanta. It’s nothing for him to drop five hundred or more on a dinner.
” Jamie tilted his head. “He played pro-ball in the NFL till he got injured. Played for Alabama before that. He’s the financial planner? ”
“He is indeed, and a bit of a wizard at it from what I hear.” Glenn leaned back in his chair.
“He won’t take on any new clients until they have at least five million to invest these days.
” He let out a chuckle. “I have a feeling that Mr. Solan raked him over the coals pretty good before he’d let him have a dime too. ”
“Oh, holy shit!”
“Exactly.” Glenn didn’t move for a moment.
“Who else knows about this?” Jamie asked, sitting back in his chair.
“Only Adrian Jackson, as far as I know. But I have a feeling that most of the staff at the diner know something’s up. Flo for sure. She dated that guy at the diesel place for a while.”
“Okay, now that makes more sense.”
“Oh, how so?” Glenn asked.
“Flo made a comment about what might actually be in the will.”
“Always a smart one was Flo.” Glenn had a faraway look in his eyes.
“We dated back in high school. To be honest, I wanted to marry her. My parents would have none of that.” He looked at Jamie.
“Times were different back then. The town was smaller. They felt that Florence wasn’t the right type to marry a businessman.
They shipped me off to Princeton, so I’d have a good education and reputation. ”
“I’m sorry, Glenn. I had no idea.”
“It’s all in the past.”
Glenn nodded. “I know, Jamie. It’s why I told you, and I’ve known you almost your entire life, and I know whatever I tell you stays with you.
Honestly, you’re one of the bravest people I know.
I know how hard it was on you when you got here and then school and then.
.. all of it. You’ve had a rough go of it. ”
“And you see, I never thought that.” Jamie smiled. “I always had Mamaw and Papaw. And... now I can clearly see what I need to do. I appreciate all you’ve done for my grandparents.”
“Okay, now we need to get back to business.” Glenn took off his glasses and wiped his eyes with his pocket square. “I’d be more than happy to continue a business relationship with you, Jamie, if you’d like to that is.”
“I think I’d like that very much,” Jamie said. “I do have one question, though: why is it that you don’t know what’s going on at Planters Credit Union and of Mr. Manley in Atlanta?”
“I think your grandparents were kinda ol’ fashioned when it came to dealings with and about money.
The fewer people who know about it, the better it was.
They never wanted to flaunt what they had.
They were simple, happy people and just wanted to live their lives, take care of you, and they created another whole family. The family at the diner.”
“Never a truer word has been spoken, Glenn.” Jamie nodded. “Now, what do you recommend I do?”
“The first thing you need to do is sit down with Adrian Jackson.”
“I have a better idea.” Jamie rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you think you could set up a meeting between Mr. Jackson, Mr. Manley, you, and myself? Let’s collaborate and give me the lay of the land, so to speak.”
“I think that is an excellent idea. I’ll get right on that. But you have to go see Adrian. You’ll need to be able to access the business accounts for the diner.”
“One other thing, do you by chance know if there is any cash available to do some renovations on the diner?
Glenn tilted his head back and roared with laughter. When he pulled himself together, he apologized. “Jamie, my boy, you could tear that one down and build ten to take its place!”
“How do you know that?” Jamie was curious.
Glenn became sober. “After your grandfather passed on, Mrs. Puckett didn’t.
.. well, she didn’t take care of business the way your grandfather did.
I would say that there is a large sum of money sitting in Planters Credit Union.
So much so that it has driven poor Adrian close to madness.
There isn’t enough insurance to cover the deposits if anything were to happen to the credit union. ”