Brains & Brawn

Katie sprinted back to the dorm. She found John just as she left him: sleeping peacefully in bed. Yanking off the covers, she jumped onto his naked prone body.

"John, get up! I think I found the perfect building for my Irish Pub; come on I'll show you!" she said grabbing his hands and pinning him to the bed as he struggled against his unknown assailant. Slowly he became aware of who was sitting on top of him and what she was saying to him.

"Katie, that's great, but don't you think I should get dressed first."

"OK, if you insist," she giggled as she began to gyrate her ass onto his growing erection.

An hour later, after they had showered after making love, they walked across campus in the direction of the building.

'How are we going to afford to buy a building; neither of us are working full time,' he thought, but he knew better than to say anything that would be contrary to anything that she set her mind on.

Soon they were standing in front of the building. It looked like a nice area; the building looked pretty good from the outside. The question was, where were they going to get the money?

Katie wrote down the name and number of the real estate agent, and taking John by the arm, led him back to their dorm.

"John, it would be just perfect for my pub. We could live in one of the four apartments upstairs. It would be within walking distance of the university for you. I could run the pub and be there to manage it full time. Once we were well-established, we could think about moving to our own house somewhere outside of the city. I'm going to call to find out more information."

John watched as Katie made the call. He watched her expression change from one of joy to one of total despair as she scribbled down numbers. After ending the call she looked up at John and said,

"They want a million dollars for the building and a 20% down payment. That means we would have to come up with at least $400,000; $200,000 for the down payment and $200,000 to cover the closing costs and renovations to the building before we could open. Where would we get that kind of money?"

"Well, I have some money put aside in stocks; maybe my parents have some money put away for my education that we could borrow."

"I could check with my mom; maybe she put aside a college fund that we could borrow. But I'm sure that we would need a whole lot more than that."

They sat pondering on their dilemma, as Katie started her computer.

"I've got to set up a business plan. We have to find out how much money we can get our hands on, and how much we are going to need to operate the business and the building. If we can raise $100,000 ourselves, and $300,000 by borrowing from third parties, I think we can make it work. Look, the rent on the four apartments at $1,000 month will pay for the mortgage and the building costs."

"Four apartments?"

"Yes; we would have to pay rent, too. The pub rent would be used to pay back the third party loans. The pub would have to do about $10,000 a week gross before we could see a profit. The work will be hard; I'll have to work seven days a week at the beginning, but I think we can make this happen.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to go see Tim; he gets in early on Sunday. I'll show him my numbers and ask him to review my plan. Maybe I can get him to come down one day next week and take a look at the building. He can tell me if I need to plan for any additional renovation costs."

She called Tim at the bar and set up a meeting for 9:00 AM the next day, which meant a very early morning for her. At 6:00 she was on the road heading north for her appointment. As she drove, the numbers kept rolling around in her head. She was sure it could be done.

"Katie, my dear, it's good to see you again. Come on in, let's sit over here. I'll get you a cup of coffee and we can go over this business plan of yours."

For the next hour Tim read her plan, asked a lot of questions, did some calculations and asked more questions. They finished the pot of coffee and had started on a second, when Tim pushed back from the table. After a long pause he began to speak.

"Katie, they've taught you well. Your numbers look good to me. If the building is in decent shape, I see no problems with your estimates. The only question I have is about your third party backers. Can you get the money? And, what happens if you need more?"

"Tim, to be honest with you, I don't know. That's my one area of concern. This has all happen so quickly that I haven't had time to explore my options as of yet."

"Katie, I'm really excited for you. I haven't had been this excited since I bought this place twenty-five years ago. Let me tell you what I can do for you. You know I'm a widower, with no family here; only a couple of distant relatives in the old country. I've got more money than I could ever spend, and some money that no one knows about. Ever since I've met you, I've thought of you as the daughter that I never had. Why don't we do this? I will be your third party, your backer. I will supply whatever money you need in order to set up the pub."

Katie sat there too stunned to speak. Tim was the answer to her prayers.

"This is what we'll do; you know that Thursday is my day off. Why don't I meet you in Tucson say around 11:00AM; we'll take a look at this building of yours. If it's as good as you think it is we'll put together an offer. I know several contractors who are slow right now, who owe me a few favors. We can get them to give us proposals. I also have an excellent accounting firm that specializes in the hospitality industry; they can help you set up the business properly. I also have a great lawyer; he'll do all the legal stuff."

"Tim, I don't know what to say. You've already done so much for me. I've gotten as much of an education from you as I have from school. Are you sure about this?"

"My dear, I'm as sure as I have ever been about anything in my life. I will want one thing in return however."

'Here it comes; I knew it was too good to be true.'

"When the time comes, say in about ten years or so, I want you to buy me and my partners out. I'm getting too old for this business and I would like to return to Ireland and live out the rest of my life in the beautiful countryside of the land of my birth. I know my partners feel the same way I do, and since they are older than I am and only own 49% of the business, I'm sure they will have no problem with my plan."

After a moment of silence, during which time she digested all that he was offering to her, Katie stood, reached over the table and hugged him, showering him with kisses.

"Easy, Katie, easy. I'm an old man; don't break anything"

"Then it's settled; I will meet you Thursday at 11:00. Call me when you have the appointment set up with the realtor. Now get out of here; I have work to do before we can open."

With tears in her eyes she left the bar and drove to her mother's house. After explaining why she was in Peoria, she explained everything that was going on. Margaret told her that she had set aside about $25,000 for Katie's education which she would give her.

"I wish it could be more, but on one income it was the best I could do."

"Mom, don't worry about it you've given me so much already. I'm sorry I can't stay any longer, but I can't wait to tell John the news."

Three and a half hours later, she was running up the stairs to their dorm room.

"John, John, you're not going to believe it!" she said as she rushed into the room.

John was lying on the bed, just beginning to come out of the nap he had been taking. Katie jumped on the bed and smothered him with kisses.

"Tim is going to back us on the building. He's coming down Thursday to see it. I can't believe it; this is really going to happen. Even my mom has $25,000 for us."

"That's wonderful Katie; let me tell you my good news. I spoke with my dad today. You know those stocks that I told you about, my dad told me that their worth over $100,000. I had no idea. We used to sit together when I was growing up and play the stock market. I would pick stocks to buy and sell and my

dad would track them for me. I always thought that we were just fooling around; he never told me that they were real investments."

"John, that's wonderful. With that money, the money my mom has for me, the money I've been able to save and Tim's money, we should be in good shape. The only stipulation is that Tim wants me to buy his bar when he's ready to retire, in about ten years from now."

John looked at her, "Katie, will we be able to do that? If we can, we should be set for life. We'll have a steady flow of income and with my work here at the university, we'll never have to worry about money. We can start a family someday, provide for their education, and plan for our retirement."

"We can start on that family right now if you want?"

"I thought you were on the pill," he said as he slipped off his shorts, his erection already becoming evident.

"I am," she said as she took off her clothes, "but that doesn't mean we can't practice."

Thursday morning at eleven, she met Tim and the real estate agent at the building. After introductions they did a walk though of the building. The upstairs apartments were reached by a staircase in the back of the building, which led to a central hallway running from the back to the front; two apartments were on each side of the hall. The real estate agent let them into one of the apartments, informing them that they were all the same size and layout. Katie felt that the apartments were of good size and that she and John would be more than happy living in one of them.

Tim was more interested in the retail space on the first floor. He noted that the deli had a small kitchen in the back which would provide the starting point for the Pub's kitchen. The entire space would have to be gutted and the load-bearing columns for the second floor would have to stay, but he was sure that a good architect could work them into the floor plan. Each unit in the building had a section of the basement directly below it. Once opened to each other, they would provide more than enough room for storage, walk-in coolers for the beer kegs, easy access for the tap lines, and space for a prep kitchen.

"If my niece and I were to put 25% down and we offered the owner his asking price would he consider holding the mortgage on the building?"

The realtor replied that he didn't know the answer to that, but that he would find out and get back to him.

They shook hands, Tim gave him his business card, and they parted company.

"Come on Katie, let's go have lunch."

They walked down the block in silence to a small pizzeria and waited for a table. Katie was dying to know what he thought of the building but held her questions until they were seated.

"Well, what do you think of it? Will it work? Is it worth the money?"

"Whoa, slow down, Katie. Let's order then we can talk."

They looked over the menu, ordered their lunch, and got down to business.

"Katie, I think the building is just perfect for what you want to do; and because of the depressed real estate market you're getting it at a great price. We won't be sure until we get it inspected, but it looks to be in good shape, it's unusual to have a mixed use building in this area, but I guess the builder felt that with its proximity to the campus that the apartments would be a good selling point."

"What was that about my being your niece?"

"Well Katie, even with a sizeable down payment, I think you may have trouble getting a banker to give you a mortgage because of your age and lack of business experience. If we can get the owner to take back the paper, we can avoid the banks altogether. It will be worth the extra money to stay away from that type of hassle. Besides, I'm sure we can negotiate better terms privately than with a bank. As to your being my niece, it gives them a lot more comfort knowing that family is involved"

Over lunch Tim did a quick sketch of a possible floor plan, always asking Katie for her opinions.

"With the bar in the middle of the floor, set up like mine with three sides... tall tables here in front along the windows, booths on either side against the wall... the dining room running along the entire back wall behind the bar from the kitchen to here, where the restrooms will be, with entrances from the bar and the dining room... flat screen TVs mounted here, here, and here in the bar...."

By the time they finished lunch, they had the interior of the Pub all laid out. Katie gave him a hug and a big kiss and hurried off to find John.

"John, this is really going to work! Tim loved the building; we even did a preliminary floor plan. I'm so excited! The agent is going to get back to the Tim, after he confers with his client."

John had never seen Katie so excited and so happy. He was truly happy for her. Silently, he hoped that there would be room enough in her life for him.

Chapter 16

Four weeks later, Katie graduated with a degree in Business Management; John graduated with an undergraduate degree and a masters in Physics; and they became the proud owners of the future home of Katie O'Hara's Irish Pub and Restaurant. The existing tenants on the first floor were given the option to be bought out of their leases and, since they each had less than a year to go before renewal, they all agreed. The tenants on the second floor were all on month-to-month leases. When Katie explained that she was the new owner and what she intended to do with the building, they lost all of the four tenants. This was to be expected and fit into their plans for the future. Katie and John took over one of the apartments and, after some cosmetic improvements to the three vacancies, listed them with the university as off-campus housing.

John, for the first time in three years, did not have classes. He spent much of the summer doing the renovations of the apartments. He impressed Katie with his ability to install new plumbing and light fixtures.

"Katie, it's not really that hard as long as you can follow instructions. I will never be as good as a contractor. It takes me twice as long to do something, but I eventually get it done. I spend a lot of time at the Home Depot asking questions; talking with the retired contractors, picking their brains."

By the end of the August, however, John was ready to assume his new role as instructor, teaching first and second year students in Physics and Astronomy. He would also begin his classes for his doctoral degree. Due to John's outstanding undergraduate and post-graduate academic achievements, he was accepted into a group doing research for a new NASA project. The purpose of the project was to rendezvous with an asteroid and return to earth with pristine samples of organic materials. Although he would be so low on totem pole that he would never receive any outside recognition for his contributions, it would serve him well in his quest for his Ph.D.

Katie was amazed as to how quickly she was spending the money that Tim had advanced to them.

"Don't worry about Katie, I've been looking over your budget and you're right in line. If anything you're actually under budget. I guess that's because of the recession. The contractors are giving you great prices because they want to keep their people busy."

"I just don't want to keep coming to you for more money."

"Katie, you only get to do this once, so do it right the first time. When do you think you will be ready to open?"

"If we don't run into any problems, I'm thinking we will open the doors right after Labor Day. I was hoping for two weeks earlier but that's not going to happen."

On the Saturday night before Labor Day, Katie, John and the staff of Katie O'Hara's hosted a private party for family, and invited friends and their dates as a final test before their grand opening. Just before the first guests arrived, Katie stood at the doorway and surveyed all that they had accomplished. The dark wood of the walls and bar, accented by highly polished brass rails; the beer taps featuring Guinness, Porterhouse, Harp, Smithwick's and O'Hara's, along with Sam Adams, Dos Equis and Coors; the center of the bar, displaying various bottles of Irish and Scotch whiskies and a variety of other adult beverages; all added to the welcoming atmosphere. Satisfied, she turned, gave John a big hug and a kiss, and opened the doors.

It was a wonderful trial run. Not that everything went perfectly, it never does; but those things that didn't were insignificant in nature and quickly resolved. Towards the end of the night she noticed Tim standing on a stool, reaching up to one of the wooden beams that crisscrossed the ceiling. He appeared to be pinning something to the beam.

"I thought this would be a nice touch; I saw it done in a bar in New York. They're insignia patches from first responders. You can start with these three and soon you'll have them coming in from all over the country."

Katie looked up at the patches; they were from the Tucson, Peoria, and Glendale police departments.

"I thought at one point it would be a good thing to put up University logos, but I nixed that idea when I realized that if the guys from the UA saw anything from anywhere else up there they would just rip it down."

Tim walked over to her, threw his arms around her and gave her a hug.

"Katie, you've done a wonder job here. You have remembered your lessons well; the Pub is going to be a huge success. I have to go now. If you ever need anything all you have to do is ask."

When the crowd had all gone home and the staff had done the lion's share of the clean up, Katie sent them each home with a full day's pay and a hundred dollar tip, while John finished up in the kitchen.

"Thank you everyone, I'll see you for the official grand opening on Tuesday."

She locked the front door, turned the lights down so that the bar was lit by only soft ambient light of the brewers' display signs. When John came out from the kitchen, he called out to her.

"Katie, are you OK? Where are you?"

"Right here, darling," she said as she slowly prowled out from around the far side of the bar. "I think it's time that we christened the bar properly."

It took a second or two before John realized that she was completely naked. Her body was back lit; he could see its curves but no details. It didn't matter, however; he knew and worshipped every square inch of her gloriously seductive body.

"Come here, John. Hurry, you're way over dressed and I'm horny as hell."

With little effort she lifted him onto the bar and began undressing him, his clothing dropping to the floor. When she had him naked, she eased him down until he was lying flat on the bar with his erection standing straight up. Although the wood was cold and hard, he was far too excited to care.

"John, tonight was the greatest night of my life; everything I've worked towards for the last four years came together tonight and I could have done none of it without you. Thank you for being you and for sharing this with me. I promise you that I will never let you down and that you will always be number one in my life. I love you."

She climbed up onto the bar and, straddling his hips, took him deep inside her; there was no need for foreplay.

"I've needed this all night," she said as she closed her eyes and rode him, slowly at first, then with increased urgency.

Reaching up he grabbed her breasts, lightly twisting and pulling at her extended nipples. Katie felt her first orgasm roar through her body; her grunts and moans were music to his ears. When she came down from her orgasmic high, she felt him begin to lift his hips slowly up off the bar. Katie tensed her internal muscles, intensifying John's pleasure. Soon a second, more powerful climax overpowered her.

"Oh God, I'm cumming again."