Page 28 of The Dating Prohibition
“Of course, people can own landmark buildings privately, though some are owned by the government.”
“But how does that work?”
“That’s a long drawn-out story that we don’t have time for,” he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Shall we continue?”
She nodded eagerly.
Dean wanted to show them one last piece of the property—a small carriage house behind the main building. “It’s kind of junkyback here because the owner hasn’t completely cleared out all of his equipment yet, but this space could be perfect as anoffice or for storage. I would imagine that you might have a need for either or both of those utilities.”
They ascended a short flight of steps and waited while the real estate agent unlocked the door and pushed it open.
“Please forgive the mess, it’s a bit dusty because no one’s been working back here for a while. No one’s taken the time toair out the space.” He smiled at Kendra and BJ.
Kendra returned the smile as she stepped inside. The frame of the one-room space was the size of a small studio, built mostlyof brick and wooden finishes. There were large windows that provided a good deal of natural light, and while currently therewere pieces of machinery all around, with tools and boxes scattered, she could picture a large desk on one side of the room,with space for some storage racks and bookcases for her cookbooks and recipes, along with places for some file cabinets andother necessities.
“Oh, this is perfect,” she gushed.
“You know you’re saying that word a lot.” BJ said, smiling.
“Well, it’s true. I can’t even deny that this is exactly what I’m looking for.”
Just then her phone rang and her heart skipped a beat. She looked up at BJ. “It’s the bank,” she whispered, her heart beginningto pound in her chest.
“Well, answer it!”
She stepped outside and accepted the call. “Hello?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“Ms. Porter, hi! This is Duke. I just wanted to get back to you about your business loan request. I think that this is suchan ambitious project, and I sincerely hope that it comes to fruition, but—”
“But?” she asked quietly, a feeling of dread balling up in the pit of her stomach.
“I’m afraid we don’t see enough in the financial projections to support it. You have a sizable sum that you’re putting upyourself, which we appreciate, but without additional collateral, the bank sees this as too big of a risk. Maybe you couldfind a property on a short sale that fits within the amount you have currently to get you started. Having the location solidifiedand making more overt efforts to get the business off the ground might help for future consideration.
“If you have any questions about how the process works, I’d be happy to meet with you to talk about it. There are pieces ofyour proposal that make a lot of sense, but there’s not anything that really can document for us with confidence that you’regoing to be making enough money to pay this loan back.”
“But I—”
“I’m sorry that I’m not calling you with better news.”
“I understand.” Her shoulders slumped and a dull ache began to spread behind her eyes. “Thank you for letting me know, andI would definitely like to take you up on your offer to talk through more of the bank’s process. I’ll reach out soon to geton your calendar.” As she disconnected the call, she breathed a heavy sigh, looking around the neighborhood surrounding thesite they were visiting—the building of her dreams. She returned her gaze to the main space and swallowed hard. “You wouldhave been just right,” she muttered, shaking her head.
“Would have been?” BJ stepped out of the carriage house and descended the stairs to stand beside her. “What happened?”
“That was the bank,” she said quietly. “They declined the loan.”
BJ rubbed the side of his neck. “Damn, I’m sorry.”
“Well, it’s not your fault.” She smiled wistfully. Her stomach twisted in knots as she stared hard at the ground.
“No, but that delays your plans, right? What are the alternatives?”
She blew out a heavy breath. “I’m not sure there are any alternatives right now, to be honest. Maybe a short sale, but thenthat depletes the savings that the bank wants to see. If I can magically inherit property and still have the same savingsamount to fold into the build-out and equipment and inventory, then we might actually get somewhere.” Pressure continued tobuild behind her eyes as she stifled a sob. “It’s like I can’t catch a break. My family doesn’t get it, and the ones who couldhelp don’t really believe I can do this. The bank won’t support me. What am I gonna do? Do I have to give up my dream, BJ?”She looked at him as the first tears began to fall.
“Hey.” He stepped closer to her, his tone gentle against her hair. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him.“It’s gonna be okay.”
“How do you know?” She sniffled, clinging to his jacket.
His cheek rested on the crown of her head. “Sometimes it’s just about faith. I don’t know how I know, I just know that itwill. I believe it, and I want you to do the same. We gotta put that good out into the universe and manifest those thingsthat you want to happen.”
