Page 9 of Sultry Nights

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."

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