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“You are?” I asked him in surprise. “I didn’t know that.”
“I thought I wanted to open a restaurant, so my dad made me work in a couple of kitchens to ensure that was something I really enjoyed. I also took some classes at a culinary institute.” He shrugged modestly. “So yes, I can whip up some eggs or whatever you want.”
“I had no idea.” I knew I was almost gawking at him. “I thought your mom did everything for you.”
“I’m not Jacob.” He shook his head, and I groaned. That should have been my first sign that Jacob was bad news. His mom still did all his laundry and cooked his meals and delivered them to him.
“Well, I’m glad to hear it.” I got off of the bed as well. “I’m craving crepes or omelet, please?”
“Why not both?” He winked at me. “Savory omelet and sweet crepe with some freshly brewed coffee, with some Ethiopian beans I got last week that are to die for.”
“That sounds amazing. How can I help?”
“No need to do anything.” He grinned. “Why don’t you come with me to the kitchen and tell me more about your idea for your store?”
“Really?” I asked him, surprised he was so interested. “I don’t want to bore you.”
“It doesn’t bore me,” he said as he walked toward the door. “Come on.” He grinned as he held the door open, and I followed him out of the room. He led me down a long corridor toward a large living room. Now that it was daylight, I was able to see how magnificent the home really was. The floors were a light oak wood color, but they looked like porcelain tile. The walls were cream and covered with bright and beautiful paintings. I noticed that there were two guitars hanging up on the wall in the living room, and I suddenly remembered that Chandler loved to play the guitar. If I remembered correctly, he had been in a band in his high school days. We made our way into the expensive kitchen, and I was impressed to see a double gas stove, along with state-of-the-art cooking appliances. He hadn’t been joking that he was somewhat of a chef. I watched as he opened the doors to the fridge and took out a tray full of eggs, some milk, red onions, bacon, cheese, and green peppers. I could feel my mouth watering at the food, and I hoped that his cooking skills were going to be as good as he had made them out to be. I thought it was quite funny that it was likely that he was a better cook than my sisters and me combined.
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?” I asked as I took a seat on one of the high chairs next to the island.
“I’m sure.” He nodded as he opened a cupboard and took out a green mixing bowl. “So I was doing some research on rents for different retail properties in town?”
“Oh yeah?” I was surprised that he’d already started looking. I hadn’t even started looking yet. “What’s the damage? Or do I not want to know?” Chandler cracked four eggs into a bowl and added a pinch of salt and pepper before looking up.
“So the bad news is that rents range from three thousand to seven thousand dollars a month for the sort of space you’re looking for…in an area that gets foot traffic.”
“Ugh, that’s more than my rent.” Disappointment coursed through me. So the dream was dead before it had even started. I couldn’t believe how dejected I felt at the news.
“It’s high.” He nodded as he diced the red onions. “We’ve seen a huge resurgence of tourists in Port Sunshine. Word has gotten out that we have an awesome little beach town here, and now rents have gone crazy.” It was ironic to me that Port Sunshine was now a hotspot for so many people around the world. Having grown up in the small town, I had always wanted to leave, and now that I wanted to stay, it seemed like it might not be possible. A surge of frustration filled me, and I wondered how people who did not have parents to give them a leg up ever moved ahead in life. I had not grown up in poverty, but my parents never had much money. Granted, my father did now have a nest egg, but I did not want to borrow any money from them seeing as I didn’t know if my project would succeed or not.
“Well, great for Port Sunshine, not so great for me.” I sighed and looked down at the countertop.
“Hold up. I do have some good news,” he said cheerfully, and I looked back over at him in surprise.
“Go ahead?”
“You can buy retail locations with a special interest rate from the City of Port Sunshine from a fund that a few local successful businessmen have established. I’ve run the numbers, and essentially the rent from the other stores would cover all your costs for your own storefront.”
“What?” I blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed we still have a lot of land and a lot of construction. If you purchase a commercial space with about eight storefronts, you can have one of the storefronts yourself and collect the rent.” I burst out laughing at his comment. Was he crazy? If I couldn’t even afford rent, how was I going to purchase an entire strip mall? “What’s so funny, Chelsea?”
“I just don’t see that happening. I don’t have money. I mean, my parents did open a trust for me, but I can’t dip into it until twenty-five and—”
“You have two business partners, right?” He cut me off and grabbed a frying pan.
“I mean, my sisters are interested in opening the store with me.” I nodded. “But they don’t have money, either. And before you suggest it, I am not letting them ask their partners for financial contributions.”
“I wasn’t going to say that.” He shook his head as he placed the pan on the stove and added a tablespoon of olive oil and added the onions and green pepper. “You can get a small business loan. Isn’t that why you signed up for my class?”
“Yeah, so I could get a few grand to buy inventory.” I rolled my eyes. “Not hundreds of thousands to buy a retail space.”
“Actually, you’re looking at one-point-two million.” He laughed, and my jaw dropped. One-point-two million dollars? Was he out of his mind? No one in their right mind would lend me that much money. I wouldn’t even lend me that much money. And I truly loved and believed in myself.
“Yeah, okay, that’s not going to happen, Chandler.”
“Hear me out,” he said, holding his hand up before adding the beaten eggs to the pan. “Let’s look at the numbers. Say you have a monthly repayment of ten thousand dollars. But you’re collecting more than that from the other tenants.” He paused. “Which you would. I say, conservatively, you can collect about twenty-one thousand dollars from the other stores each month. You do have to think about insurance, electricity, maintenance, etcetera, but you’ll put all your profits from the first two years into an emergency fund.” He grinned as I tilted my head to the side. “Okay, maybe not all, but at least niety percent.”
