Page 22 of Thor
“Me.It makes me happy when you follow rules, and you like it so much better when I’m happy.”
He straightened out the Jeep and reached over to settle one hand on my thigh.“I can think of lots of ways to keep you happy without following rules.”
I giggled despite myself.“You’re bad!”
“Me?”His innocent act wasn’t very believable.
“Yes, you.”
“You like me when I’m bad.”
“Only sometimes.Depends on how bad you are.”
“In that case it’s a good thing we’re here.”
He pulled into the parking lot of a building with aFor Salesign in the front window.A couple of bikes were already parked in front, along with a sporty looking red car.
I frowned.The building looked well maintained, the windows clean, and the parking lot free of the debris that inevitable gathers in abandoned lots.“Why are we here?”
Instead of answering, Thor got out and stalked around to my side of the Jeep.He opened my door with a flourish.I stepped out onto the pavement.
We entered the building through a side door that was conveniently unlocked and walked right into a beautifully open retail area.The front picture windows were currently covered in brown paper, but I could see how the natural daylight would stream in once that was removed.A wide window display area behind them would be perfect to display items to entice customers to come in and browse.I turned and saw a glass fronted display case behind the checkout counter.Good chance it was a cooler, meant to display perishable merchandise.
Speechless, I turned to Thor.
“What do you think?”He looked eager for an answer.
“It’s gorgeous, but why are we here?”It would make the perfect flower shop, but this place was for sale, not rent.I definitely could not afford to buy a building.
“You said you wanted to open a flower shop, but you just needed the right place.”
“To rent, not to buy.I can’t afford this.”
“But Riptide can.”Ace entered from a hallway behind the counter.“We’ve been looking for ways to diversify our income.We were looking for residential units, but this works too.It’s an estate sale.The owner passed away and it’s been vacant for almost a year now.The sellers are motivated.The cost of upkeep is eating away at the value of the asset so they’re eager to unload.”
“I’m confused.”I looked from Ace to Thor.“What does Riptide’s investment policy have to do with me?”
Deuce, the club treasurer, appeared behind Ace, along with a guy I didn’t recognize.Deuce glanced up, acknowledging me with a jut of his chin before turning to the stranger.I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they looked serious.
“Simple.”Ace stepped back, away from the two newcomers.“Sophia mentioned to Deuce that your dream is to open a flower store and get out of the hospital gig.Deuce tells me that interest rates on our passive investments suck.Solution that benefits both of us?Riptide pulls its money out of investments that are paying less than one percent interest and buys this place.We hire you to oversee the renovations it needs to become a viable flower store, which was not its original purpose.”He gestured at the cooler behind the counter.“Of course, Riptide will cough up for the renovations.When it’s ready to reopen, you can lease it from us at a reasonable rate with a buyout provision at the end of the lease.That gives you time to see if this is really what you want to do with your life.If you decide to bail, we have a viable business to sell, and we make a profit.If you decide to keep going, we negotiate a way for you to buy it from us.Everything will be in writing, nice and legal so we all know where we stand.It’s a win-win for both you and the club.”
It sounded too good to be true.I turned to Thor.“You arranged this?”
He shrugged.“I was part of it.I know you’re not thrilled with that Dr.Murphy guy chewing out your ass all the time, and you did tell me this was your plan.Seemed like a no-brainer when Deuce said we needed to change our investment strategy.”
“This doesn’t mean I’m going to agree to be your old lady.”I blurted it out, maybe because the thought was so tempting.
“I’m not trying to buy you.”He looked offended.“If you agree to be my old lady, I want it to be because you can’t imagine living the rest of your life without me in it.”
I nodded sheepishly.I knew he wasn’t that kind of guy.We weren’t there yet, though, and maybe we never would be.“What happens if we split up?”
“I said it would all be legal, and that stands,” Ace broke into the conversation.“It’s not contingent on the state of your relationship with Thor.If that becomes an issue and you don’t want to see him, I can order him to steer clear of the store.”
“Really?”I raised my brows, looking at Thor.“And you’d do it?”
Thor nodded.“I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I’d do it.”
My head was spinning.It was one thing to dream, quite another to have an opportunity like this land in your lap.
