CHAPTER 2
Remy
The phone on my desk rang, snapping me out of the daydream I had been lost in. I had been staring out over the Manhattan skyline displayed so vividly through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my top-floor office.
I picked it up, and my personal assistant, Carly, was on the line.
“Yes, Carly?”
“Remy, Austin Phipps is on the line. He wants to talk about the old boxing gym.”
“Put him through.”
There was a beep as Carly transferred the call to my phone.
“Mr. Remington Bridgewater,” the voice on the other end of the line said, “this is Austin Phipps. It's good to finally be able to talk, even if not in person.”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Phipps. Yes, it is good to speak with you.”
“Please, call me Austin. Email is so… impersonal, I find,” he stated.
“It is, it is,” I agreed. “Always nice to be able to put a voice to the name I've been negotiating with.”
“And soon we will meet in person, but for the moment, I really do need to talk quite urgently to you about the acquisition of Mike's Gym, which is the reason for the phone call.”
“You're prepared to make a final offer, I assume?” I asked coolly.
“That's right. Seeing as you were going to close that deal with MacFey's firm at the end of today, I felt I had to make a move.”
I chuckled. “You really are confident that turning it into a yoga studio is going to work, aren’t you?”
“I've studied the market trends, and in light of the changing demographics of the area over the last decade, the redevelopment, and it becoming hip instead of working class… yes, I strongly believe it's in a prime location for a just such a studio.”
“Actually, I think it has a good chance of working out well for you,” I replied. “It's a bold move, branching out from developing restaurants to moving into the exercise, wellness, and fitness arena. But it’s a risk I think will pay off.”
“What can I say, Mr. Bridgewater? I'm a man who likes exploring unfamiliar territory, a sentiment I'm sure someone like you can appreciate.”
“I can, indeed. And please, call me Remington.”
“Of course, Remington.”
“Well, let's not waste any more time then. As you know, MacFey's firm made an offer, but he knew there was a chance another offer could come in before the end of today.”
“And that's exactly why I'm calling you now.”
“You like to cut it close, Austin. The business day ends in half an hour. So, what's your offer?”
“I'll up MacFey's offer by seventy-five thousand dollars. Is that enough for me to secure the deal?”
“Well, as a courtesy, I'll have to call MacFey and give him the option to negotiate. I have to give him preference. You do understand that, don't you?”
I could hear the urgency in his voice – he was trying to hide it, but I could tell it was there, and I was doing my best to capitalize on it.
“Fine. One hundred thousand.”
“I think he'll match that offer, Austin. I'm just telling you straight up because he really wants the property.”
“Damn it, Remington, what's it going to take?”
I smiled. “You tell me, Austin, you tell me. How badly do you want the place? Just give me the right amount, and we can close this deal right now, I promise you that.”
“One hundred and twenty-five thousand more than his offer. And that's my final offer. If you don't want that, then you can stick with MacFey's offer.”
“It's a deal. You can take the gym. Stay on the line, and I'll get my assistant to assist you with the paperwork. When they're ready, I'll courier the documents over for you to sign. Sound good?”
“Excellent.”
“Pleasure doing business!” I said with a smile. It always felt good to close a deal like this – especially since Austin's new offer had just upped my profit on this deal to over half a million dollars.
I pressed a button and put the call on hold, then called Carly's desk.
“Carly, I'm going to need you to prepare the sale documents for Mike's Gym right now,” I said as soon as she picked up.
“Now?! But we're closing in a few minutes.”
“I know, and I'll double your overtime pay for the work. But the documents have to be prepared right now and couriered over to Phipps.”
She sighed. “All right, all right, I'll get on it. But can you do me a favor, please?”
“Of course.”
“Anna is supposed to be at her dance class in twenty minutes. Could you pick her up and take her there? Pretty please?”
It wasn't something I really wanted to do, but Carly was practically family, and she was doing me a big favor by staying late to prepare the documents.
“All right, sure. I'll go get Anna now. Which dance studio is it?”
“The Hanover School of Dance over on Fifth.”
“Okay, I know where that is. I'll go pick her up right now.”
“Thanks, Remy. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Carly, and thanks again for doing this.”
I put the phone down, confirmed with Phipps that he’d be getting his documents within the hour, shut down my computer, and left my office.
It was a short drive over to the daycare center where Carly's six-year-old daughter was. I had picked her up once or twice before, so the staff knew me, and they went to fetch her.
“Hi, Anna,” I said as she ran over to give me a hug.
“Hey, Uncle Remy,” she said with a smile. “Yay, I get to ride in the fast-fast car today!”
“The fast-fast car,” I said with a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess it is! Come on.” I buckled her in, and we drove over to the dance studio while she told me about her day. I parked out front and took her inside.
“Well, here we are,” I said as we walked in, hand in hand.
“Good afternoon,” the lady at the desk said. “Are you here to enroll your daughter in a dance class?”
“Oh, she's already enrolled in a class here. Her name is Anna Adams. I'm just dropping her off.”
The woman stood and looked down over the counter at Anna.
“Oh, hi, Anna,” the woman said with a sweet smile. “Go on in, your teacher is waiting.”
“Bye, Anna,” I said as she turned toward the hallway.
“Bye, Uncle Remy. I like your car!” she replied over her shoulder. What wasn’t to like? It was an Aston Martin.
I turned around to leave, but was stopped in my tracks. There, sitting on a sofa across the room, was a woman who took my breath away. She had long, thick auburn hair that tumbled down over her shoulders, and her bright green eyes sparkled like jewels, her delicate features arranged in perfect symmetry. Her long, tanned, curvy legs were tantalizingly revealed by a short skirt, and I found my eyes lingering on them for a little too long. She looked my way, we made eye contact, and something I can’t explain passed between us.
I knew I had to go over and speak to her. I took a step in her direction, but as I did, a woman breezed past me and went over to her. The auburn beauty stood and they shook hands.
“Hi, I'm the manager,” the older woman said to her. “Come with me to my office and we'll talk about that job.”
She smiled at me as she walked past, following the manager. What happened was something I hadn’t felt since high school—my stomach knotted up. I knew that I had to find out more about this gorgeous woman... I absolutely had to.