Life after the Lottery Ch. 64

"Sounds like the store will have a nice look."

We went up to the third floor.

"This is big," Walt said.

"We will use half of this. The rest will be for the designers and the tailors. That will give us 5,000 square feet."

"That is plenty, Dr. Smith."

"Walt, you may as well call me James."

"Ms. Williams asked me if I knew a tailor that could work for us. I told her I knew two that were ready to retire that would like to sell their houses and move someplace cheaper and warmer than New York."

"If they are interested, we will talk to them. I think you will find that you can buy a lot of house for much less than you will get for yours."

"That would be nice."

"The two ladies that will be running the lingerie and swimsuit part of the store know a good realtor they can hook you up with."

"Where do you live?" He asked.

"On the south side of town on 300 hundred acres."

"Wow. Wish I could afford something like that."

"Land out that way only runs about $10,000 an acre if you want to look and build."

"Maybe later."

"Walt, I can finance this project because the wife and I hit the lottery big several years ago."

"Great."

"But, I have no interest in being involved in the day to day operations of the store. That will be your job. I feel like having someone with your experience owning half will make a big difference in how it is run. This is going to be your show as long as it is profitable."

"Well, James, I have always wanted to have my own store. Doing that in New York would have been impossible. I think that with high quality clothes and a lower cost of living, we will be very profitable."

"I think it will do well here. Ms. Williams has some marketing people that have researched the ideas and think it is good. Linda plans on making this a regional attraction."

"That is what she said. I think it will be just that. You are centrally located in this part of the country."

We walked around and looked over the space for the store and discussed some ideas.

"Walt, Linda has everything for us to look at for fixtures and the interior design. The decision is yours on what you want. Considering the market, how much do you think it will cost for the initial inventory?"

"If we are going to go high-end...$500,000, or so. Ordering all of it at once will get us some nice discounts."

"Are you still planning on putting in $500,000?"

"I have that, maybe a little more if we need it."

"I have a friend that is going to split my half with me so that we will have another $500,000. We will get a huge break on rent, and Linda is covering the fixtures. One million won't be enough to get us started, so I need you to come up with how big of a line of credit we will need to begin operations."

"I'm thinking about two million, but I need to factor in the cost of living here and payroll."

"I think Linda's people can help you with that. We will hold the capitalization to a million, and use a credit line for everything else. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great."

"Walt, will half of the operation give you what you want?"

"Oh, yes. I think we will do very well."

"How long will it take to get the inventory?" I asked.

"We will have everything by mid-January at the latest."

"We have warehouse space. I have some guys that will need some nice dark suits. Can you add them to the order? I need nice but not real expensive suits for limo drivers."

"No problem."

We looked around some more and talked then headed back to Linda's office.

*****

"What did you think of the store?" Linda asked.

"Looks great," Walt replied. "It will work fine."

"My marketing people will be here shortly, and we will go over fixtures and the finish in the store. My plans are to have a nice and elegant looking building finished in nice wood and gold and glass fixtures."

"That sounds upscale."

"I want it upscale and elegant. I want people to realize we are high-end, and I want it to look that way. You work with the designers to finalize the layout. We will store everything then move it in after the fashion show," Linda said.

"Walt, how soon can you be in place to oversee everything?" I asked.

"The sooner, the better. I need to sell my house so I can buy a house here."

"Why don't you go ahead and look around at houses. You know what you will get for your house in New York. I'll float you the money to buy a house until you sell yours," Linda said.

"Great! Thanks! I know the wife is ready to get out of the cold winters. I'll send her to look around."

"If I do that, what will that do to your schedule?" Linda asked.

"Since it is the first week of October...I think I could be moved in by the end of the month or so."

"If you can do that, you can oversee the final build-out of the store and order inventory. Can we have all the inventory by the middle of February?"

"With the people I know, no problem."

"We want nice fashionable men's clothes as I saw in the store in New York," I said. "No, knock-offs."

"We will be first class all the way. Ms. Williams, what about custom tailoring? I know two excellent tailors that are ready to retire and get out of New York."

"Walt, if you want to do high-end custom tailoring, that is up to you. You have to make sure it sells," Linda said.

"Nice custom suits always sell. I think we could be set up for that by Summer."

"Okay, you work on that and keep us informed. James, does that sound good?"

"It does. I don't have much to choose from in this town for custom suits."

Linda's secretary came in and told us the marketing people and designers were here. We spent the rest of the afternoon going over floor plans and fixtures. Linda had Walt take the designs with him back to his hotel.

"Do you think he will work out?" Linda asked.

"I think so."

"I'll see you in a bit," Linda said as I left.

*****

I stopped at the mailbox when I pulled into the drive about 5:00. I saw what I was waiting on; it was our quarterly statement from our stockbroker. I walked into the house and went to get a glass of wine. Amy was in the kitchen.

"You have some mail," I said, handing Amy and envelop.

She laid it on the bar.

"You may want to open that," I told her.

She picked up the envelope and looked at it.

"It's from your stockbroker," Amy said.

"Open it."

Amy opened the envelope and pulled out some papers and unfolded them and read.

"James, what is this?"

"What does it say?"

"It's from your stockbroker, but it says $48,964 has been deposited into my account. What account?"

"Your checking account."

"What!"

"You do remember the trusts we set up for you and your sister?"

"Yes, but..."

"That is the interest for August and September. You will get a deposit at the end of every quarter."

"But...but..."

"We told you it would $300,000 or so a year."

"But..."

"That will be 70 or 80 thousand a quarter. Can you live on that?"

"Uhhh...sure..."

"Can Samantha live on that?"

"Of course..."

"Remember, we are going to help both of you with your money until you understand all of it."

"Okay..."

Amy sat and looked over the statement for a minute.

"Amy...med school tuition is about $50,000 a year...do you think your sister can figure out she can pay her own way now?"

Amy looked at me a moment, then smiled.

"You knew this was coming!"

"Yes, I did."

"This is what you were talking about! You want me to tell sis she can pay her own way to med school!"

"Do you think that will make her feel better?"

"I guess, but it is still your money."

"No, it's not. The money in the trusts is yours and your sister's. You do with it what you want."

Amy was still smiling.

"Wow!"

"I have Samantha's statement right here. What should I do with it?"

"Give it to me!"

Amy took the envelope, then grabbed her phone and was working on it.

"Fuck! All that money is in my checking account!" She exclaimed and laughed.

"Where is your sister?"

"She will be here soon."

We went to the den. Amy was happy and couldn't stop talking.

"You're supposed to be working on a paper," I reminded her.

"Oh...I am...

Amy grabbed her sister's mail and ran up the stairs with her computer.

Samantha came in a just after 5:30.

"How was your day?" I asked.

"Long. I have a study group on Friday. We are going to go over the MCAT book. Is that okay?"

"Of course."

"Dawn will be home, and I don't want to be gone."

"She won't be home until after 10:00."

"Oh, I thought she was coming in earlier."

"No, she said she would be back about 10:00."

"Okay, I will be home by then."

"You take your time and study. We want you to get a good score."

"I'll do okay."

"Good. Scoring well on the MCAT will help you out."

"I won't have a problem getting into the PA program."

"I know. Your sister is upstairs working on a paper."

"I'm going to change then."

Samantha went upstairs. I sat and read for about 15 minutes.

"James!!" I heard Samantha scream from upstairs, then footsteps running down them. "What is this!!"

"What?"

"This...this statement?" Samantha asked as Amy walked up behind her.

She sat next to me.

"That is your money from the trust."

"But it is almost $50,000!"

"Sounds about right."

"I don't need all this money."

"No, you don't, but you will figure out what to do with it."

"You didn't say it would be this much."

"We said it would be around $300,000 a year."

"I know...but...but..."

"Sam, that is your money. You and Amy can do what you want with it. We told you that."

"I know...but..."

"But, you didn't think about it, did you?"

"No..."

"Well, now you have to think about it. Figure out what you want to do with your money."

"But it's really your money."

"No, it isn't. That money is in what is called an irrevocable trust. When we put the money in the trust, we can't take it back. It is yours and your sister's, now and forever."

Samantha leaned over and wrapped her arms around me, and I heard her start crying. She held me for a few minutes. Amy sat next to her and held both of us.

"Thank you."

"Dawn and I are going to help you and your sister learn how to handle your money. But, I want you to sit down and figure out what you can do with $300,000 a year. I am sure you can do some good with it."

"We will."

"Put some ideas down on paper, and we will look at them."

"Okay."

"I have something else for you," I said.

"Not more money?" Samantha said.

"No. This is the last of the paperwork you two need to change your name. You need to fill it out, and there is a court date. You two have to go to court to finish the process."

Samantha got up looking at the paperwork, and she and Amy went back up the stairs.

*****

Just before 6:00, the gate buzzed. I listened and then heard Linda's Diablo pull up in front of the house. I got up and went to the door and waited as they got out.

"You made it."

"We finally got out."

Linda walked up and kissed me.

"James, are you sure this is okay with the girls?"

"You are the one that talked to them."

"I know, but I am sure they are enjoying having you to themselves."

"Linda, you are part of this family."

"Okay."

"Hi, Rachel." She gave me a kiss.

Linda and Rachel followed me in with their bags.

"Where are the girls?" Rachel asked.

"Upstairs."

"I'll take our things up to our room," Rachel said.

"You want some wine?" I asked.

"Please."

I poured three glasses of wine and took them to the den.

"What did you think about Walt? I told him we would pick him up in the morning and go over the final plans," Linda said.

"How are you going to pick him up in your car?"

"Rachel is taking my car, you and I will pick him up about 8:00."

"Rachel is going to trust you to me?"

"She will be waiting at the store."

We talked about Walt and his plans for a while. Rachel came down and sat with us and picked up her wine.

"What is Sam so excited about?" Rachel asked.

I explained the trust to them.

"Dawn and I are trying to get Samantha to go to med school. She told Amy she didn't want us spending all that money on her. Now, we hope she decides she can now pay for it herself."

"Has she?" Linda asked.

"We are waiting. She just realized how much money she is getting a year. She got her first statement today. I told her to make out a wish list. I'm hoping that it is on the list. Don't mention it to her."

The three of us talked until about 7:00.

"I think the two of them have forgotten about dinner," I said.

"Oh, let them have some fun. We can go get something," Linda said.

"Amy!!" I yelled.

"What!!"

"Come here!!"

"What?" She said from the balcony.

"We are going to get something for dinner, what do you two want?"

"Oh, shit! Sorry, we forgot."

"That's okay. What do you two want?"

"How about Chinese?"

"Is that okay with you two?" I asked.

"Sure."

"James..." Amy said quietly, and I looked up at her. "She is making a list."

"Has she thought of it yet?"

"Not yet."

"If she doesn't, you bring it up."

"I will."

Amy went back down the hall.

"Come on, I'll drive," Linda said.

"How about I drive," I said.

"I'll call it in," Rachel told us.

Linda and I went and got in her Diablo. I fired it up, and we headed to the restaurant.

"That is a lot of money for the two of them," Linda said.

"We told them that we would be helping them with their money."

"James, what happens if something happens to you and Dawn?"

"They get the house and plenty of money to take care of it."

"Do you need some people that can help you set that up?"

"We have it covered. Our stockbroker has helped us set it all up, and our attorneys have worked it all out."

"Good. I have had to rework some things recently."

"Does Rachel know?"

"Not yet."

I hit the interstate and floored it; we were only going up to the next exit. Just before I got off the interstate, I blew by a Sheriff's car on the shoulder.

Linda and I were getting out at the restaurant when the Sherrif's car pulled up.

"Hey, James. I thought it was Ms. Williams," he said from the car.

"Hey, Gregg. Are you going to be at the meeting on Saturday?" I asked.

"Yes. That is some list of cars."

"We added a few. I expect all of you to make sure they are rented."

"They will be. Take it easy."

Gregg drove off, and we went in and picked up the order. Linda had to set it all between her feet as I drove back.

"How many more cars did you add?" Linda asked.

"I added two executive Escalades and some plain 20 passenger buses."

"The Escalades will be nice. I have seen those."

"Lori will be happy to rent you one when you travel."

"Did you get an armored SUV?"

"Not yet. They are over 200 thousand, and I am not sure the demand will be enough."

"Don't write it off yet."

"Lori is going to make sure we have enough drivers and cars for the grand opening."

"Good. Since Valentine's Day is Sunday, the fashion show will be Friday and Saturday night. Then we will have a private store sale Sunday."

"What else do you have planned for that week?" I asked.

"We are going to have an open house for the press and invited guests Wednesday and Thursday. I'll be having a press conference and grand opening for the hotel the weekend before. We will work in a press conference for your limo company too."

"We will also have three big party buses we can use."

"Good, we can have some mobile cocktail parties."

"We can use them and the stretch Hummer and Escalade for tours around the city."

"I'll plan some events like that for some of the guests. Some of my parent's old friends are coming into town. They would get a kick out of that," Linda said.

"Any international guests?"

"Oh, yes. I plan on them spending a lot of money at the store."

"Linda, am I putting too much on you with the men's store?"

"No. I think Walt is going to work out well. We will get him moved as soon as we can and let him run with things. I have people that will take care of getting everything ready to go as soon as we can."

"Okay, we have warehouse space."

"Great."

I pulled up at the house, and we got out and took the food inside. The girls were setting up the table in the kitchen. We took all the food and set it out.

"Hi, Linda," Samantha said.

"Hi. How is school going?"

"Hard work."

"How about you, Amy?"

"I'm staying busy."

"Dr. John is letting me help during some of his surgeries," Samantha bragged.

"Be careful, or he may talk you into being a doctor," Linda replied.

We sat and spread out the food and ate while we talked. Linda wanted to hear the girls talk about school.

"Are you going to be at the self-defense class on Saturday?" Samantha asked Linda.

"Yes. Rachel and I will be there. I think your husband will come and get us if we don't show up."

"That's right," I said.

"James, how long have you been studying martial arts?" Rachel asked.

"Since I was about six-years-old."

"What about Dawn?"

"She started after we met in grad school."

"I'm going to start doing it," Samantha said.

"If you have time," I told her.

"I will."

We all talked until we had finished eating and were sitting and sipping wine. About 9:00, Rachel and the girls decided they wanted to go out and sit around the pool.

"What do you want for your birthday?" Linda asked as we sat in the den.

"Nothing! What have you heard?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to know."

"Dawn and the girls are planning something. I told them no party."

"They haven't said anything to me about a party."

I looked at Linda, not believing her.

"I swear!" She said, and laughed.

"If they do, will you please tell me."

"No!" Linda replied. "I'm not getting into trouble."

"Thanks a lot." Linda giggled. "Let's go to bed."

I took Linda's hand and walked her up to my bedroom.

"I feel weird about this with Dawn not here," Linda said as I walked her into my bedroom.

"Don't. Come with me, let's shower."

We got in the shower and slowly washed each other. Linda seemed to be happier when we were together like this now.

"This still feels weird with Dawn not here," Linda said.

"Linda, Dawn understands that you and I have more between us than just being close friends."

"I know, but I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around what I found out."

"Ever since Dawn showed me what she showed you...and then the dream...or ghosts...or whatever it was...everything has changed," I said.

"It's just hard for me to think that our ancestors were married at one time."

"Since the first time I saw you, I knew there something between us," I said.

"How would you know that?" Linda asked as she rinsed me off.

"It was sort of like the first time I saw Dawn in grad school. I guess I understand it more now, but the first time I saw her, I felt something deep inside of me stir."

"I don't know if I would be as understanding as Dawn has been."

We finished rinsing each other off and got out and dried off.

We got in bed, and Linda rolled to me and kissed me for a minute.

"James, is it okay that I...I want to kiss you?"

"Sure, it is."

We kissed for a while, then Linda climbed on top of me. She settled on my cock and was sitting there smiling as I looked at her long gorgeous body. I looked her over and smiled.

"What are you smiling at!" She asked.

"I like looking at you."

"I know you do! Have you talked to Dawn?"

"Not today."

"I was wondering if she and Diane had talked."

"Oh, I imagine her and Diane will do more than talk if Diane is okay with that."

"I'm sure she will be. What have you been doing while she is gone?"

"The girls have been taking care of me, and I fucked Mr. Dain's wife this morning."

"What? You didn't!"