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Iwas going through the books in the office on Saturday morning when I heard Howard stomping up the steps. “Hey,” he said as he stepped in and pulled out the other chair. “How are things going?”
“Alright, good numbers this last week.”
“Well, that’s good. I will need good numbers if I want to sell this place.”
I looked at the envelope that contained the estimate and snatched it off the desk, handing it to Howard. “I had Candy Winston give you an estimate for the repairs to the building.”
He frowned as he opened it and skimmed the page. His jaw dropped. “Eighty thousand? I don’t have that kind of money to shell out.”
“Your only other choice is to knock your asking price down and let the buyer deal with it.”
“I don’t think this buyer is going to go for that. He’s looking for a quick moneymaker, and if he has to put a ton of money into it, that will not please him.”
I hesitated and then thought it was now or never. “You know, Howard, I’ve been trying to work on numbers, and I’m pretty close to being able to buy it. If you could drop your asking price by one-twenty, I could purchase it. Then I would take over the repairs.”
“You seriously want to buy the tavern?”
“Well, yeah. I’ve worked here in some fashion since I was sixteen. I’m out of the club now, and I want something to do that means something. I know everything about this place, so it only makes sense. I don’t think any of us want an outsider to come in here and change things. I wouldn’t do that. I have some ideas to clean the place up and a few changes to the menu, but nothing drastic.”
“Mike, I didn’t think you were serious.”
“I did mention it before.”
“I know you did, but I didn’t think you were serious.” He sighed. “Let me think about it and talk to my current buyer. I don’t think I can drop my price down that much, but let me think about it, okay?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
He stood and dropped the estimate onto the desk. “Eighty thousand. Damn, that’s a lot of money.”
“It would be more if you didn’t do it, and the place collapsed.”
“I can’t even imagine,” he said with a shake of the head. “Alright, let me give this guy a call and talk to him.”
“Let me know what he says.” Not that it would make a difference, but I wasn’t counting myself out until I had to.
Thirty minutes later, Howard returned to the office and said that the buyer said adios and good luck. For a few minutes, he stared out the window. “Are you seriously interested in buying this place, Mike?”
I turned in the chair and leaned back. “Yeah, Howie, I’m interested in buying this place. I’ve come here my entire life, worked almost every position available, and I know this place as well as my Harley.”
He laughed softly. “I know how much you love that bike.”
“I do.”
“You miss riding her as much as you used to?”
“Only on days that end withY.” We laughed together and heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
We figured it was an employee, so I froze when Candy poked her head in with a knock on the doorframe. What the hell was she doing here?
“Hey, Candy. That was fast. I appreciate you stopping by.”
“Morning, Howard. I was five minutes away, heading from one appointment to another, and have a few minutes.” She turned toward me and flashed a smile. “Morning, Bollard.”
She dismissed me almost immediately and turned her attention back to Howie. I wasn’t sure I liked that, not that I wanted her to get all clingy.
“Candy,” I replied as Howard handed her the estimate I had shown him.
“Mike was explaining some of this to me. Is this work comparable to the work of other companies? I know you work for them, but can you talk to me as a home inspector and not one of their employees?”
