Page 15 of Her Cadillac Cowboy
“Yes,” she smiled and stood. “I’m so glad you understand.”
He smiled back but didn’t rise.
“I’ll have Gene draw up the papers, and...”
“I understand, but I’m afraid I can’t oblige you.”
“Huh?”
He maintained a neutral expression, but inside he was crowing. He had her attention now. “You were right earlier when you said that the warehouse isn’t available. I have an unbreakable lease, and Carson’s will have to honor it.”
She frowned at his words. “You’re refusing?”
He nodded and drank.
She stared at him. Why couldn’t she do that because she wanted him, not because she wanted something from him?
“Why?”
“This is the best location in Luville.”
She plunked down on the chair she’d just vacated. “Be reasonable. Luville has several excellent warehouses available in the new industrial park.”
Hmph. The area she spoke of was a good ten miles from the business district that surrounded Carson’s prime location. “Sara, I do my homework. I know the options in Luville just as well as you do. The industrial park doesn’t suit my needs.”
He kept his soda can in motion, fascinated by the way her eyes followed it. Was she mesmerized?
“Perhaps I can sweeten the deal,” she murmured her gaze still on the swinging can. “Tell me what you need.”
Nope, not mesmerized, at least not enough to stop trying to get him out of the warehouse.
“You think you can provide what I need?” he huffed. He had to get through to her that he would keep the warehouse, come hell, high-water, or Carl Carson Sr.
“I need a large space, roughly the size of an airplane hangar, that can be subdivided and re-arranged easily, has multiple utility hook-ups, and is centrally located to all of Luville and the surrounding area.”
“The industrial park warehouses can provide all of that.”
“No, they’re too far out of town. People from three-quarters of the Luville area would have to travel extra miles. That would cut into my potential client base.”
The frown on her face said she was completely baffled. “You’re leasing a warehouse. How many people do you expect to come by on a daily basis?”
“Two to three hundred, eventually. Less to start.”
“You expect that many clients at a warehouse storage facility on a daily basis? What kind of loony-bin did you go to when you learned about business?”
Josh grinned.
She rubbed at her arms.
“I assure you I know what I’m doing.”
Sara stopped rubbing and crossed her arms over her chest. “All right, I give. What are you planning to store that makes Carson’s backlot warehouse the only one to suit you?”
“Kids.”
Sara’s jaw dropped open. “Kids?”
He got up and paced off the space between the chairs and the door. “I’m not going to store them, precisely. I’m going to give them a place to play, a safe place to come to when their folks are at work. We’ll have an indoor gym and basketball court, tables, an art area, and a stage. I’ve hired the best teaching and guidance staff I can find. I’ll even have infant and toddler rooms.” He gestured to the various empty and half-constructed spaces in the warehouse.
