Randy Buys His Dream House Pt. 02

Randy Buys His Dream House Part 2

Randy Doubles Down

It had been a long season at Owens and Hart, but a very profitable one. Patty Hart, co-owner of the real estate firm was the chief producer, something she'd already accomplished when she had bought into the Manistique, Michigan agency. Patty had stayed late to receive a phone call from a client who had bought a lakeside home the previous August. She'd called him earlier at work and had left a message for him to call her. The broker had good news.

The phone rang and she picked it up.

"Owens and Hart."

"Patty, it's Randy. What's up?"

"I think I have some good news for you."

"What news is that?"

"The contractor I recommended to fix-up your house on Manistique Lake is finally ready to start the job, but she wants very much to meet you to finalize approval of the work that she'll do. I know you're due to start your tour on the West coast next week but is there any chance you could come to Manistique to look at the plans and meet with her?"

"Could you do it for me, Patty?"

"Randy, it's your house. You need to meet the contractor."

"There's another matter, Randy, and this one's even more pressing."

"Is something wrong, Patty?"

"Oh no. This is something you're going to like."

"Tell me."

"When you bought your property, you asked me to get in touch if the abutter decided to sell."

"And...?"

"If you want true privacy, you may have just hit the motherlode. Remember the long winding road that led to your parcel? I explained to you that the land the road went through was owned by someone else and all you had was a right of way to get from the highway to your property."

"He's selling the whole thing Randy, eighty acres. That's all the woods surrounding your land and a few hundred additional feet of shoreline on either side of your shorefront. If you truly want privacy and you can afford it, I recommend making an offer and soon. The owner is leaving for Florida and he's highly motivated to sell."

"How much is he asking?"

"Half a million dollars, but that's a little high and I believe that he'll take less. He may accept a bid of $425,000, if you can deliver a cashier's check like the last time. Randy, if you can afford it, I highly recommend that you come up here and buy this land."

"Why do I have to come there? Can't you act as my agent?"

"Three reasons. The man's name is Michael Erickson and his family has lived around here for generations. He insists that when he sells his last parcel, that he meet the buyer face-to-face."

"Additionally, the combination of these properties will instantly improve the value of both parcels, substantially improve their value. A hundred acres with almost a half mile of shorefront on the big lake? Randy, I could sell that property tomorrow for well over a million, to the right buyer."

"And the third?"

"Because I'd like to see you again."

"OK, Patty, here's what I'd like you to do. It's Monday and I open at Harry's in Portland, Oregon on Friday night. I can be there Wednesday morning bright and early with a check. Offer him $425,000 but it's non-negotiable, take it or leave it. We shake on the deal at 11 AM. I'll meet with the contractor over lunch. How's that?"

"Works for me, but only if that means we're free for the rest of your visit."

"I'll book my flight to Portland for noon the next day. Are we all set?"

"I may have another surprise for you, but I'm not sure yet. If it happens, you'll like it, I promise. I'll give you a call if anything goes south."

"Thanks, Patty. See you Wednesday."

Randy sat at his mother's kitchen table and ruminated. He'd just spent $400,000 on lakefront property a couple of months back, and now he had just doubled down on his investment on the advice of his real estate agent. As he sipped a cup of coffee, he thought about the last time he had seen Patty. They had been lovers, but the master hypnotist had left her with only her memory of their lovemaking. She had witnessed his hypnotic powers in use and he could not allow her to retain those memories, so at the conclusion of their tryst he had commanded her to remember the lovemaking, but to forget ever seeing him use his hypnotic powers.

"Randy" was Randy Baumgardner, a professional stage hypnotist/comedian who had been performing on the supper club circuit under his stage name, "The Amazing Randy, The World's Greatest Stage Hypnotist," for the better part of a decade. Randy had restricted his annual national tour to mid-sized cities, eschewing the greater fame and exposure of larger venues in favor of a much lower key lifestyle.

Randy's act was wildly popular in those cities in which he chose to perform, selling out any venue in which he had performed previously. His popularity coupled with his hectic pace had him performing two hundred or more shows every year, at about $2,000 per show. Randy's expenses were miniscule. He was his own tour manager and publicist. He neither had nor needed an agent, relying instead on relationships with the club owners that he had forged over a decade of performance. His frugality and lack of ostentation had allowed him to accumulate a fortune valued in the millions of dollars. He could afford to buy the land.

Randy's performances were funny. He'd spent years and years studying the great comedians and the same amount of time integrating his hypnotic power into the act. It was an odd juxtaposition. On the one hand his act worked because the audience believed that he could hypnotize anyone, and he could. His hypnotic and mind-reading power was absolute. All Randy needed was direct skin-to-skin contact. A single touch and Randy could not only probe their innermost thoughts to any depth he chose, but he could command them to behave in any way, to do anything he wanted them to do.

Obviously, if the true extent of his powers ever became public knowledge his life, the kind of life that values simplicity and privacy enough to spend more than three quarters of a million dollars to get it, would be over.

So, people at his shows needed to believe he had hypnotic powers, but everyone else had to think that he didn't. He'd walked that line successfully every day since his powers had appeared during his senior year in high school.

He called his bank and then made reservations to fly to Sault Ste Marie.

Business is Business

Wednesday turned out to be unseasonably warm, almost Indian Summer-like. He walked through the door at Owens and Hart and he could see Patty and presumably the land owner talking together in her glass-lined office. She opened the door and motioned for Randy to join them.

"Randy, may I introduce Michael Erickson? He owns the property you want to buy. Michael, this is Randy Baumgardner. The two men shook hands. Instantly Randy knew that there was something wrong. The hypnotist held the handshake a few moments longer to make sure that he'd picked up everything he needed to know and then released his grip.

.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Erickson."

"Patty here tells me Mr. Baumgardner that you already own the lake house property surrounded by my land. If you buy it, do you intend to subdivide? It's a lot of land. If you carve off a piece here and a piece there you can triple your money."

"Maybe so, Mr. Erickson, but I'm sure that Patty has told you that it is my intention to do exactly the opposite. I value my privacy, there will be no subdivision."

Patty said "I have all the contracts drawn up. Randy, did you bring the check?"

"Right here. $425,000 as agreed, cashier's check drawn on my bank. If you'd like you can call them to make sure it's legitimate."

The elderly landowner turned to Patty and said, "I'm having second thoughts."

"Here it comes," thought Randy. "Here comes the hold-up."

Patty's face turned white as a sheet. "Mr. Erickson, I thought that we had agreed on the terms and the amount. Mr. Baumgardner has interrupted his busy schedule to fly all the way here specifically at your behest. Now you tell me that you've changed your mind."

"Folks do change their mind, Miss Hart" said the bearded native. "That's business."

Randy, whose mind-reading power had not only discovered the old man's intent to stand him up for another hundred grand under threat of subdivision, but also detected an antipathy towards "rich Hollywood types who thought they could come into his backyard and dictate terms to him," took hold of Patty's arm and said, "Patty, I think that you've done all you can do. Would you be offended if Mr. Erickson and I continued our negotiations between us? I mean no disrespect, but I think that, given some time we can re-negotiate our contract. Don't you think so, Mr. Erickson?"

"I'm willing to listen."

"Good. Patty, would it be too much to ask you for a cup of coffee? Mr. Erickson, are you thirsty?"

"I am," said the crusty old man, but not for coffee. I could use a drink."

"Let's do our business first and then see about that drink."

Patty left the two men alone as she went to put on a pot for coffee. Once the door closed behind her, The World's Greatest Stage Hypnotist turned and extended his hand once again. "Shall we shake again?"

"Sure," said the old man. He reached to take Randy's outstretched hand.

The moment their hands clasped, Randy said, "From this moment on, you will obey my every command. Nod if you understand." The old man moved his head up and down. "First of all, you will tell me the absolute truth when I ask you questions. Let's start with that. Mr. Erickson, are you in financial difficulty?"

"No, not at all."

"Why have you reneged on our deal?

"Because I can."

"We'll see about that."

"Roughly speaking, what is your net worth before you complete this deal?"

"Over ten million."

"Where'd that money come from?

"I owned a lot of land around here. My family can be traced back over a hundred and fifty years. This is the last of my holdings."

"What about family, does your family need the money for anything specific, bills, medical treatments or anything like that?

"No."

"So, would I be correct to say that you see nothing wrong with holding me up at the last minute like this?

"Yes, that's correct. Business is business."

"OK, then, Mr. Erickson, you wanted a new deal and now you're going to get one. You're going to like this."

"When we're done and I call Miss Hart back in you will tell her that you have changed your mind again and that you will sign the deal and accept my check as payment. You like that, don't you?"

Yes, I do."

Patty filled a mug of black coffee and stood outside the glass-lined office waiting for the occupants to reach a break in the conversation. To her it looked like a typical negotiation, give and take. Nobody seemed particularly animated. As she thought about it, sneaking a sip from the mug, it was a bit odd that there didn't seem to be any tension at all. She tapped the glass and then opened the door. "Here's your coffee, Randy. How's it going you two?"

"Great, isn't it Mike?"

"Yes, everything's fine."

"We'll be done soon. Just give us a minute or two, please."

"Certainly," she said as she handed her client the cup and left the office.

Randy took a sip and spoke. "Now, Mike, there's the small matter of your gift."

"What gift?"

"Your gift to the town, to Curtis. That's where the land is."

"Mike, three months after we conclude our deal, you will donate, anonymously, five million dollars to the town of Curtis to be used as the town sees fit. You don't need the money and they do. That seems fair after your family has literally lived off this land for so long, doesn't it?"

"Perfectly."

"Seems about right. Let's call Miss Hart back in so you can deliver the good news." He turned and motioned to Patty.

As soon as she entered, Mr. Erickson explained that Randy had been very convincing and that he was prepared to sign the contracts. The business concluded, Mr. Erickson excused himself and left.

"As she closed the agency door, she turned to Randy, who was still sipping his coffee, and said, "Wow. If you ever want to work in real estate, there's a job waiting for you here."

Re-united

"What time is it?" asked the hypnotist.

"Quarter to twelve."

"When do we meet with the contractor?"

"We're due for lunch at Dot's in Curtis at one. From there, if we choose, we can go to the property and have her explain her proposals on-site."

"Will she have her plans with her?"

"Certainly."

"Maybe we can do our business over lunch."

"If you want, I can call her and tell her that we're not going to the site."

"Why don't you?"

Patty picked up the office phone and dialed. "Erica? Patty. Look Erica, there's a slight change in plans. We won't be going to the site after lunch. The client wants to go over the plans at Dot's. OK, see you there."

"We're on for one o'clock, Randy."

Patty spent a few minutes cleaning up after the morning's meeting and then closed-up the office for the day. She climbed into the driver's seat, fastened her seatbelt, and the two set out for Dot's. "Randy, as of today, you're one of the largest landholders in the Manistique Lakes region. Care to tell me how you pulled off that turn-around back at the office?"

"Sure. It was a basic carrot and stick. On one hand I took advantage of Mr. Erickson's desire to keep the parcel intact. I stressed my desire for privacy and promised not to subdivide."

"And the stick?"

"I told him that unless he signed today at the agreed-on price that I would withdraw my offer and sell my parcel to a buyer who planned to build a lakeside hotel. That would substantially lower the value of his property."

Randy, who did not enjoy lying and rarely had to revert to it, did not disclose his use of his hypnotic power to the beautiful raven-haired real estate agent. The previous August when Randy had purchased his lakeside twenty-acre property, he and the thirty-two-year-old realtor had enjoyed a tryst and then he had selectively removed her memory of his hypnotic power, while leaving her memory of their love-making intact.

He knew that before he flew out the next day they would be lovers again.

"Patty, you said that you had a surprise in store for me. When do I get my surprise?"

The lovely realtor smiled and said "Ah ha. Don't tell me that I know something you don't know. I didn't think that was possible."

Randy pulled his ever-present pocket watch out of his pocket and swung it back and forth. "Don't make me resort to hypnosis," he laughed.

"Don't make me close my eyes; I'm driving."

Randy, of course, could discover her secret wordlessly with a single touch, but chose not to do so. "OK, but it better be a good one."

"Oh, it will be. You are literally going to love it. By the way, you've been here a couple of hours already. When are you going to kiss me?"

"Pull over."

Patty eased the company car to the side of the highway and turned to face her client/lover. Randy unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. "Not good enough," she said with a smile.

Randy used his hands to mimic the board used to start and stop filming on a movie set. "Snap! Re-united lovers' kiss take two," he said as he re-adjusted his body and took Patty's head in his hands. This time, their lips met full-on and the kiss was long and spoke volumes.

When it broke, Patty said "That was more like it," as she put the car back into gear and said, "Buckle-up for safety."

Patty and Randy eased into the booth at Dot's and ordered coffee. "So tell me about this contractor I'm going to meet," said the hypnotist.

"Sure. First and foremost, I have used her several times in the past and I've never had a complaint. Her company does excellent work and she's a hands-on builder who believes in a day's work for a day's pay. She pays her workers well and has a very low employee turnover. People that work for Erica stay working for Erica."

I have known her since grade school, same graduating class, 1969. We were on the Manistique Regional High School cheerleading squad together. She was head cheerleader, mostly because she was more athletic and was better at the stunts and formations than everybody else.

Randy's face lit up. "Do you... by any chance... still have your uniform?"

Patty grinned. "That's an odd question, but yes, I do have it and yes, it still fits. We both do. Randy, why all of a sudden, do I get the feeling that I can read your mind?"

"Even the pom poms?"

"Randy!" she said in mock amazement. "I do believe that you have a thing for cheerleaders."

"Patty, every guy in America has a thing for cheerleaders. I'm from America. It's my right to have a thing for cheerleaders and I'll fight to the death to defend that right."

They both laughed out loud.

Patty looked up and said, "Good, she's here."

Erica

Randy stood up and turned to greet his soon-to-be general contractor.

"I'm sorry to be a few minutes late but when you called, Patty, I thought we were heading into the woods. I was in my work clothes, but I changed into my 'civvies' for the meeting."

Erica Larson did not look like a construction worker. Like Patty, she was tall and fit. She wore a tight-fitting navy-blue sweater that accentuated her bust, which was full, larger even than Patti's. She wore a well-tailored pair of black slacks and modest heels. Her hair, again as long as Patti's, was ice blonde, almost white. Her face was attractive, angled, Nordic-looking. It was as if she and Patti were matching queens in a human chess set.

"We'll forgive you this one time," said Randy who offered her his seat before extending his hand to shake. "I'm Randy. Here," he said as he continued to hold her hand, "please take my seat."

"If you don't mind, I would like you to sit next to me. It will be easier to show you these." With her free hand Erica lifted a tubular canvas bag which obviously contained her plans for Randy's new home. "Patti's already seen them."

Randy was deep inside Erica's mind and he was liking what he was finding. Erica was self-assured. She was neither unbalanced nor angry. She had no husband nor could Randy detect a "steady" boyfriend. In other words, she was "fair game," should he decide to seduce her.

"Sure. Scoot over a bit. How do you want to do this, now or after lunch?"

"I'm a big fan of business before pleasure. Can I get a cup of coffee?" Randy motioned to the waitress while Erica spread her plans on the table, using a salt and pepper set, a sugar container, and a bottle of ketchup to hold down the edges. She looked up at her client and said "Ready?"

"Fire away," said Randy.

"As usual, there's good news and bad news. I'll give you both a little at a time. The home sits on a slab foundation. Whoever poured it knew what they were doing. It's rock solid, no cracks. Likewise, the basic construction of the house is solid, although there are a few minor problems with the cedar siding, especially on the north side of the house."

"You need a new roof, period. It makes no sense to do anything until you do that. I recommend increasing the pitch and putting on a metal roof. Metal roofs are fairly new for residential homes, but they are good for seasonal homes because snow just slides off. Other than the foundation, the roof is the most important part of the house. My dad used to say that 'The roof needs to last at least as long as the mortgage.' "

"Patty says you like the porch and the screened-in porch bedroom."

"I do."

"A few floor board repairs and extending the metal roof to include the porch and that part of the house is good to go."

"The windows, although inefficient, are fundamentally sound. If this house were going to be occupied year-round, I would recommend replacing them, but based on what Patty tells me, you really don't need to. Re-caulking ought to do it. The chimney looks good from the outside, but may need re-lining. I have a guy coming in next week and I'll know more then. I'm sorry not to have had that taken care of. Masons are like that. They work at their own pace. They're as much artist as they are builders, but mine's a good one so I cut him slack."