Chapter 6
6
Q uinn sat at a conference table in Price Realty's office.
Margot Price, a very pretty fifty-something-year-old woman who owned Price Realty, entered with a smile on her face.
"So here we go. Are you ready?" She asked.
Quinn nodded. "Yup, I'm ready. Let's do it."
Margot laid paperwork in front of him. "This is your offer. It's a little more complicated than just a regular offer. You know, the Army has their little idiosyncrasies that they have to have in each offer. But take a look at the price." She pointed her pen at the amount he was offering. "If that's correct, then the next thing we'll move to is the closing information."
She moved her pen down to the date, one month from today.
"Will that be sufficient? Will you have funding by then?"
Quinn shrugged. "I have funding already, so I don't have to worry about that. I'll be paying cash."
Margot's eyebrows shot up in her dark bangs. "Cash? You're paying cash for this?"
He grinned. "I've set money aside after some great business deals. I have money from my grandfather that has been in a trust for years. And yes, I'm paying cash for this."
He grinned, and she laughed. "Well, okay then. That changes the story a bit. You can close whenever you want. If you want to close before one month, I can write that down in the offer."
He shrugged. "It'll take me about four days to get the money gathered up. What the hell? Let's throw it out there as one week. Let's see if they'll bite."
Margot shrugged. "It might take more than a week for them to even get this offer to the person who needs to see it. But hey, what the hell? Let's try it."
She scribbled on the paperwork, changed the date, and they continued to move through the items he wanted in his offer. Basically, there wasn't much to change. There was no title that the Army was willing to give other than there were no liens or encumbrances on the property. They would offer him that. Anything else was as is. They weren't guaranteeing anything inside; the plumbing, the electrical. The condition was the condition. He had to agree he wouldn't be coming back to them for anything else, and he was fine with that.
He knew the building was older. The plumbing and the electrical would all have to be rerouted to make up new units. So that was a moot point.
Once they gutted everything, he'd start all over. It would be worth it. Otherwise, he'd be fixing things all the time. So he may as well start out fresh. And this was going to be a big thing for him. Kurtz Construction was doing well. He was grateful for that. He'd worked hard for years to make his company viable. But this was going to be the thing that he wanted to be known for.
This was the thing that was going to get the attention of people all over the state. And that's what he was banking on. He hoped other businesses would do the same thing. Repurposing old buildings was wonderful for the town.
Margot made the changes and printed off a new copy.
He scribbled his name and the date at the bottom.
She pulled the paperwork toward her, reached across the table, and shook his hand.
"Okay, let me go do my work. I'll be in touch as soon as I hear anything."
He grinned and nodded. "Thanks, Margot. I appreciate it. You're great at this."
She chuckled. "We'll see. You can tell me that after we make this deal come through. In the meantime, you can start gathering your financing. If they come back, it'll probably be a day or two before closing and we're not going to have a lot of time."
He shrugged. "Okay, we'll see when we get it. In the meantime, I’ll get everything ready. See you soon."
He left the Price Realty building feeling better than he'd felt in a long time. This was a big step forward.
As he walked outside, the humidity of the day was already at high levels. The sun was high in the sky and he was eager to get back and tell Jared that he'd placed the offer they discussed yesterday. He'd make Jared the sub-general on this. It would be the first time he managed a big project, and he was going to do it right alongside his dad. Quinn was excited about the opportunity to work this closely with Jared and give him a big start in the construction business. After all, he hoped one day the construction company would be Jared's. So no time like the present.
"Let's get this boy trained up right," he said out loud.
Hopping in his truck, he turned toward Sarge's Sandbar. He was excited to tell Jace the good news. Then he'd head to work.
He also wanted to check out how his party planning was shaping up. Parking the truck, he sauntered into the bar, sat at the end, and waited for his friend, who he knew was in the kitchen, directing traffic, getting things ready for the lunch crowd that was coming up in just about an hour, and whatever else he had to deal with back there. Before long, Jace stepped out into the bar.
"Well, hey. I didn't know you were here. Why didn't you say something?"
Quinn shrugged. "I know what it's like to own a business. I was just letting you do your thing back there. I figured you'd show up, eventually."
Jace threw his head back and laughed. "Ah, you know me well, friend. You know me well. So what's going on? You're normally not here during the day."
Quinn rapped his knuckles on the bar a couple times. "I just put an offer in on the old Army barracks."
"No shit! Awesome! What are you going to do with that?"
"I'm going to turn it into apartments. I think I can get twelve units out of each building. When we get inside and plan in earnest, I'll see. Maybe I can condo it out."
Jace nodded. "That would be perfect. Condo it. Then owners can Airbnb it, rent it out, or live in it. We're in need of short-term rentals here in town."
"Yeah, it's a thought. I'm going to think about it. I'd have to go to the town board for that. So no promises. But anyway, that's on the agenda for me. Now I'm just waiting to hear if they'll accept my offer. So, I figured I'd stop and check in with you about the party. What do you need from me?"
Jace laughed. "We're still on track, and I don't need anything from you. I've got food ordered. I've got everything I need. Staff has been informed about the party. All you need to do is see if Hart & the Hurricanes are in town and if they'll be playing. Because if so, I'm going to need to get a stage set up. Rather than renting one all the time, I've been thinking about building one.
“So I'm thinking I might have enough time, and I know this guy who owns Kurtz Construction Company, and thinking maybe he and his crew might have enough time to build me a nice stage. What do you think, bud? Can you get a new stage built before your party?"
Quinn laughed. "Well, we've got some projects going on right now, but I bet you I can spare a couple guys to get over here and start building a stage. Why don't we walk outside and see where, and how big you want it, and then I can have some guys come over and actually do the estimate for supplies and such? Deal?"
"Yup, that's a deal."
Quinn stood up just as the door opened. Backing into the door was the finest butt he'd seen since... yesterday actually. Cute, adorable, and squeeze-worthy. And then the rest of her appeared.
Hanna was backing in the door carrying a big box of bakery items and when she turned and saw him watching her, she froze.
He hurried toward her. "Hey, let me take those for you. "
She blushed, and it was adorable. But when he grabbed the boxes from her, she held kind of tight. "You don't have to, I can do this."
He nodded. "I'm sure you can. Just let me help you. Look, chivalry is not dead. Let me prove it to you."
Her shoulders relaxed a little bit and that beautiful smile he'd seen yesterday greeted him.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just trying not to rely on a lot of people right now and do things myself."
He shook his head. "I don't know why you'd do that when somebody's offering to help you. Let them help."
"Well, anyway, thank you," she said. She turned and stepped out to her van. "I have more things. I'll be right back in."
Quinn turned and saw Jace staring at him, a sly grin on his face, and he rolled his eyes.
"What?"
"Nothing. That was cute. I thought it was cute. You being chivalrous and all."
Quinn shook his head, "Fuck you."
Jace threw his head back and laughed again. "Yep, that's exactly what I thought." He walked over and took the boxes from Quinn.
"Freshly baked bread for my sandwiches at lunch and just in time. The chef in the back was complaining that he hadn't seen the bread yet."
Quinn shrugged. "Well, it's here now and it couldn't be any fresher. Tell him to stop complaining. Your customers are going to be thrilled."
Hanna's butt pushed the door open one more time, and he hurried once again to help her. This time, she only had one box, and it wasn't nearly as large .
She smiled again. "I've got this one. Thank you, though."
She breezed past him while the aroma of freshly baked bread and cinnamon rolls reached his nostrils. He followed her to the kitchen and watched as she set the baked goods on the metal table in the middle of the room. The chef had already pulled the bread from the other boxes and the kitchen staff was quickly putting away things that they didn't need immediately.
Jace walked over and looked at the last box that Hanna brought in and lifted the lid. His eyebrows went up into his hairline.
"Cinnamon rolls? I didn't order cinnamon rolls."
She laughed, "I know, but I'm so grateful for the business you've given me that I'm sharing these with you and your staff. So enjoy and thank you again for all the business you've given me."
Jace nodded. "Now that's the way to do business. Thank you, Hanna Valentine. I certainly appreciate that."
As soon as Hanna said they were for the kitchen staff, everybody in the kitchen within hearing distance descended on the box and there wasn't a roll left within three minutes.
Quinn stepped back and held his hands up in the air. "Wow, let me get out of the way."
Hanna chuckled. "I love seeing everybody so happy with my cinnamon rolls. You don't know what it does for me."
She turned to leave the kitchen, and glanced over her shoulder at Jace. "Same amount tomorrow?"
Jace nodded, "Yep, same amount please, but then heads-up for Saturday. We're going to need double. There's a fishing tournament in town. I'm expecting a bigger crowd for lunch."
"You got it." Hanna turned to leave and Quinn followed her.
"Your cinnamon rolls are going to rock this town, Hanna."
She turned her head as she walked. "Thank you. I hope so. It's what I'm going to used to make my mark on this town, I guess."
He chuckled. Hadn't he had the same sentiment about the old barracks? "Well, couldn't be a better way to make your mark than that. That's a fact."
He hustled in front of her and opened the door, and she stepped out into the sunlight. The sun shone on her dark hair and he could see little ribbons of auburn streaked through. It was pretty. She was pretty.
In the sunlight, he could see how blue her eyes were. She was stunning.
"So I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me."
It came out, and he was almost as surprised as she was.
Her eyes opened wide, and she stared for a minute.
"Well, I didn't expect that."
He chuckled. "Actually, I didn't either. But would you like to have dinner with me?"
"It's not that I'm not interested. It's that?—"
He finished for her. "You're not interested?"
"Well, it's just... it's not you."
"Oh," he said, "don't tell me. It's not you, it's me. Oh, don't give me that line. That is old and overused."
She chuckled. "I've just gotten out of an ugly divorce and I'm still dealing with junk, and I don't know what to say."
Quinn nodded. He swallowed the lump that was quickly forming in his throat. "Say yes. I've just finished paying off alimony and went through a wicked divorce myself. I'm not looking for anything other than some good conversation and to learn a little bit more about Hanna Valentine, cinnamon roll baker extraordinaire. Since you have my son hooked on your cinnamon rolls, the least I could do is get to know his dealer a little bit better."
She laughed, and he enjoyed watching the joy on her face and those dimples. Good Lord, those dimples.
She finished laughing. He saw her swallow before saying, "Okay, dinner."
He grinned. "How about if I pick you up at your place tonight, around seven?"
She ran her hand over the top of her head, pulling stray hairs back into her ponytail. "How about if you meet me at the bakery at seven? I'll likely be working to prepare for tomorrow, anyway."
He nodded. "I can do that. I'll see you at seven, Hanna."
"Yes, see you at seven."
She smiled, hesitated a moment, and then turned and climbed into her SUV.
He watched as she pulled away from the bar and then he heard laughing.
He turned to see his friend, Jace, leaning against the door jamb, holding the door open with his butt, staring at him. "I'll see you, Hanna," he teased.
Quinn shook his head, "Fuck you. Let's go out and look at where you want this stage built."
Jace laughed and strutted across the sand.
Quinn followed. He wasn't going to hear the end of this.