Page 10 of New Day at the Beach House

“That’s all right. That’s all I wanted to know.”

“So you don’t want payment in exchange for signing the NDA?”

“Don’t be silly. I was that boy’s stepmother, even if it was in name only. I don’t want money from him.” She grinned. “But I would like two tickets to his show. Good seats. I’m old. I can’t see if I’m too far back.”

The lawyer exhaled. “I can make that happen. You realize that show won’t be live for another month or so.”

“That’s fine. My social calendar’s pretty full this month anyway. So you get me those tickets and send that indie thing and I’ll sign it.”

“Thank you, Ms. Pasternak. I’ll have that overnighted to you.”

“Great. You tell Zane I look forward to seeing him on stage.” After the lawyer confirmed her mailing address, she hung up, smiling.

Vegas might not be Puerto Rico but would still be a nice trip. And who didn’t love a little magic?

Six hundred thousand dollars. Just thinking about the amount made it easier to breathe. Claire sipped the water Danny had brought her while she waited for him to get his laptop and come back to the table.

“Here we go,” he said as he returned. He put the laptop down first then sat beside her.

He tapped a few keys, ran his finger over the touchpad, then brought up the spreadsheet he’d been telling her about. “This shows our initial outlay and where that money will be going. It’s not a small amount, as you can see, but we talked to the bank last year. It should be no problem to secure the financing.”

“Well, I want to be a part of it. As much as I can be with the money I’m about to get. Obviously, I can’t invest all of it, because I need something to live on until I start taking a salary but there has to be some amount I can put in.”

“You can put in whatever you feel comfortable with, but you don’t really need to supply that much cash. Actually, if you have that money in the bank, we could easily add you to the loan application. If you’re comfortable with that. It would mean you’d really and truly be one of the owners. But it would also mean you’d be on the hook for any debts.”

Was this really something she wanted to do? Yes. Even if it was a lot of responsibility. She nodded. “I want to be as much of a partner in this as I can be. As much as you’ll let me. It’s your business. Your idea. I know that. Just like I know it wouldn’t be happening without you and your dad.”

He smiled. “That might be true, but I fully believe your ideas, your recipes, and your skills are what’s going to make this place succeed. If you want to be a part of this, then I want to make that happen. It only seems fair.”

“So all I’d have to do is put the money in the bank?”

“Basically, yes. You’ll have to fill out all of the loan paperwork, too, which is more than you could possibly believe, but it’s a small price to pay for letting the bank do the heavy financial lifting.”

“Okay,” she said softly. “I want to do this.”

“Then we’ll make it happen. How soon will you have the money?”

“I’m not actually sure. Soon, I hope.” She should have asked Kinnerman that. She made a mental note to call him again when she got home. “Thank you for letting me be a part of this.”

He laughed. “You don’t have to thank me. It wouldn’t be happening if you hadn’t made me believe it was possible. Are you working on anything new?”

She smiled. “I’m about to. What’s your favorite cookie?”

“That’s a tough one, because you know I have a sweet tooth and I pretty much like them all. But if I really had to pick one, I’d go with the classic sugar cookie. You can’t go wrong with that. Not when it’s made right.”

“And that’s the trick,” Claire said. “When you have such a simple cookie as that, everything has to be perfect in order for it to be better than just okay.”

He tilted his head like he was trying to see her better. “What are you working on?”

She laughed. “I’m not telling you yet. I want to see if I can make it happen first. But you’ll be one of the first to know, I promise. Will you be home the rest of the day?”

“No, sorry. I have to stop by the new bakery to talk to Ethan about the fit out and then I’m off to the store to help out there for a while.”

“The fit out?”

He nodded. “Basically what it needs to look like inside. We’re using the same colors as the Mrs. Butter’s stores of black, white, and yellow, but adding bright pink. You okay with that?”

“Sounds great.”

---