Starting Over

Mr. Thomas chimed in, saying, "Yes, we have a lot of rules and regulations here. A lot of them are to insure a building will stand up to hurricanes. A lot of the others are for the safety of our tourists and the environment. If you are serious I can give you some names but I can't guarantee they will be inexpensive to hire. In fact, I can almost guarantee the opposite. It's been years since I was in the building so I don't remember it well, but I think the condos are fairly small. You might be better off if you combine at least some of them to make the condos larger. I would be happy to look the building over with you if you want."

As everyone had calmed down the three visited for a short time. When Andy was leaving, Tiffany said, "I'm sorry, Andy. I really thought you were Harold. It was dark the night he uh, when we had our trouble, and I was really, really drunk. I only saw him a time or two and you really looked sort of like him and you were working over there."

"It's ok. I understand. Just do me a favor and don't make the same mistake again, ok?"

Andy worked several more days clearing up and cleaning up as well as tearing out most of the damaged parts of the building. Finally he called a couple of the contractors Mr. Thomas recommended. They came out and discussed what Andy wanted to do to the old building. They took measurements and went away to work up estimates for the renovations. He also visited with a pool maintenance service recommended by Mr. Thomas.

Andy knew it was foolish to spend money he might need elsewhere on his pool and hot tub but when he got their estimate on the repairs he immediately authorized them. He wanted to chill in his pool and he decided to go for it.

Andy took the day off after the pool and hot tub were finished. He didn't think much about where he was or the chance of getting caught, he just stripped off and dove in. Andy spent almost all day naked lying around his pool or swimming. One time he thought he heard rustling and some steps but when he looked toward the noise he didn't see anything. He was lying on his back floating in the pool and after checking for the noise he returned to his pastime. He was so relaxed he dozed in the warm water. All at once he was sloshed and almost drowned. He sank under the roiled water like a rock and came up spluttering. When he stood in the shoulder deep water and quit coughing he saw Tiffany standing beside him wearing a very small bikini laughing.

Tiffany looked at him, grinned and said, "Gotcha neighbor. Don't you know you can get in trouble running around like that?"

Andy turned his back on Tiffany and started for the ladder out of the pool. She began laughing and said, "Hey, what's the matter? You weren't shy a few minutes ago."

Andy stopped and all at once he jumped and turned toward Tiffany. He landed with a splash just short of her. She screamed and pushed her arms toward him trying to ward off his attack. He evaded her arms and caught her before she could get away. He picked her up and dropped her into the water making sure she went completely under. While she was spluttering he walked calmly out of the pool and put on his shorts. He turned back toward Tiffany and walked around the edge of the pool. When he was close to her he jumped into the water and landed beside her. As he landed he grabbed her and pulled her under once again. This time his hand got caught in her top and pulled it off her. When they both came up spluttering she shrieked and grabbed for her top. Andy stood staring at the most beautiful set of tits he had ever seen. He whispered, "Damn."

Tiffany quickly turned her back and put her top on. Andy moved toward her to help. She felt the waves as he neared her and started away. She said, "Andy, stop! I'm sorry but I don't want to play like this anymore."

"Hey, Tiff. I was just going to help fasten your top here. I'm sorry I got tangled up in it and tore it loose. Now just stand still and let me fasten it back for you. That's all I'll do, I promise."

Tiffany looked over her shoulder at Andy and bit her lower lip. She stood still and watched as Andy carefully fastened the strap across her back and around her neck. She stepped away from him, turned and looked at him then said, "Thanks. I guess I deserved that for what I did to you but I just couldn't resist. When I saw you floating there I just had to rush home and get into my suit so I could cannon ball you."

Tiffany looked around the pool area and said, "You sure have the pool looking great. Too bad the rest of the place isn't ready, yet."

"Yeah, thanks. I'm getting anxious for the bids to come in so we can get started. I want to get into my own condo and quit living out of the tent. I also really want to get some income coming in again. I should begin getting the bids in by the first of the week."

Tiffany and Andy splashed and played a while longer while they visited then they got out of the pool and sat in some new pool chairs to drip dry. They continued to visit and Andy continued to ogle the beautiful Tiffany.

When the estimates came in Andy was horrified. If he did all the work at once it would completely take all his savings and perhaps more. He really didn't want to borrow money for the renovations but he didn't want to spend all his savings either. Finally he talked one of the contractors into hiring him to work for him so he could learn how things were done in Florida. This not only gave Andy some income but he began learning how to do the work to Florida standards so he could get his certifications to be able to do work himself.

After Andy had worked for the contractor for two months he managed to talk him into letting him do some of the simpler work for himself then have a licensed journeyman check, approve and certify the work. Of course, some of the work Andy just plain could not do so he hired his employer to send a crew out and take care of those tasks.

Andy's building was built in a reverse "L" shape with the leg of the "L" on the north very near the north property line. The base of the "L" ran roughly north to south along the street, but well back. That put the inside of the "L" open to the southwest. The pool and hot tub were built in the protected area of the courtyard. The offices were in the bend of the "L". Andy opted to renovate one side of the "L" completely before working on the other side. He renovated the office and east west leg first. His apartment was on the ground floor, west end. He could barely see the gulf from his west windows. There were other condos between his and the office with three more upstairs. He ended up with three two-bedroom condos upstairs. Downstairs he had his own two-bedroom condo plus a two bedroom and two one-bedroom condos to rent.

As the work progressed on his building Andy also did a lot of work on the grounds in his spare time. He cleared back the growth and restored the grounds design to nearly what it once was. There was a large plot of empty ground to the south of his building between it and Tiffany's Father's place. The vegetation completely blocked the view of the other building. Andy restored the paths and secluded grottos and cleaned off the concrete benches that were still there for guests to sit on. As he found time and money he planted colorful vegetation to enhance the serenity and beauty of the grounds.

After the first phase was completed, Andy began renting. He placed the rentals with a local broker and to his surprise rented the three two bedroom condos upstairs almost immediately. Unfortunately, this put a stop to his nude swims and sunbathing. His condos were available for either short weekly rentals or longer term. The one bedroom condo's rented for $1000 a week and the two bedroom ones rented for $1500 per week. Longer-term rentals were slightly lower coming in at $2800 a month for one bedrooms and $4000 a month for the two bedroom condos. All furniture linen and cooking utensils provided. Surprisingly enough, his condos were rarely empty for more than a week at a time. He did not initially have any long-term renters. After the agent's fee he still averaged grossing $8000 a week on the property if he was fully rented which was rare. He usually had about an 80% occupancy rate average. Off-season he had about 50-60% and in prime tourist season he ran 90-100% occupancy.

In less than a year Andy would have enough money to renovate the remaining units. One afternoon after he began renting his renovated units he was sitting visiting with some of his guests around the pool when Tiffany came over. She sat and visited with them for a few minutes before saying, "Andy, could we go somewhere and talk business for a few minutes, please? We have a problem over at Gentle Breezes we thought you might be able to help us with."

"Sure, Tiff. Would you folks excuse me now?" Andy said.

He led Tiffany toward the office but she reached out and touched his arm as she said, "Could we just sit over there where we can see the gulf while we visit? It's a beautiful day and I think we can talk there without any problems."

When they took their seats at a secluded table Tiffany looked around a moment. She looked sort of embarrassed. Finally she turned her attention back to Andy and began talking. She said, "Before I get to what I really need to talk to you about I need to ask some questions if you don't mind. I assure you the questions have a bearing on what I need to discuss with you Andy."

"Fine."

"I've never seen what you did to the rooms here, but the outside of the old building looks really great. I love how you've done the pool and public areas here. It's so cozy and relaxing I almost think I would rather be here than our resort. The only thing you lack is a bar and snack bar. I understand you really don't have enough units to justify one but that would make it perfect. Have you ever considered putting in a small bar when you finish the renovation? Also, when do you plan to begin working on the other units and what will be the configuration?"

"I've had several guests ask about a bar and snack bar, but I don't have any immediate plans to put one in. I'm trying to run the place by myself, and, frankly, I'm as busy as I can be right now. I just can't work in a bar or snack bar and do all the maintenance, cleaning, and office work, too. I still work part time for the contractor and I will until I get my certifications. Besides, I'm not sure the small amount of liquor and food I sold would even pay for the licenses and help if I put in a bar. You know we're only talking about 20 or so guests right now if I'm completely full. Many of them would go out nights to eat or would fix their own meals in the units. My occupancy at most would about double when I finish the renovations. Again, I don't think the sales would pay for the overhead. As for the renovations, I plan to begin the next phase within another month or two. The contractors expect to finish in about four months from the start of the job."

Tiffany smiled and relaxed back into her chair. She looked at Andy and said, "What would you think about a business arrangement with us? We have 100 condos in our four buildings and a full service restaurant and bar. We have a large convention requesting to rent the entire complex a year from May. They initially requested a minimum of 125 rooms or 225 beds. We just don't have that. If you're empty during the month of May and would be willing to let us rent your rooms we could almost meet those requirements. It is only a very short walk from your place to ours so the guests here could use our dining and drinking facilities and visit back and forth with their friends. If you didn't mind we could maybe even have one or two of our employees serve liquor and sandwiches from your old bar during the convention."

"In principle I'm not opposed to that, but we need to talk more about it. For one, if you rent the units I need to know if you expect a management fee and I need to find out if I still have to pay my management company their fee. I also need to know if we can serve liquor and food over here using your licenses."

Tiffany looked slightly embarrassed and said, "Uh, Andy, before we get into that I need to tell you more about the convention. The good thing is we are asking twenty five percent more for our units during the convention than we normally get. They're paying a premium for the privacy we have from our fences and the vegetation. I know your property is fenced off, also, so that's a plus. We just need to make sure your gates are operable and put a guard on them as we will on ours. That is another reason your units will fit so well with ours. The other reason is we will probably need some security. This is a convention of swingers and they demand we allow optional nudity in all areas where legal. They demand discretion because there may be public sex. Apparently some of their members are movers and shakers and can't chance the public seeing them in compromising affairs."

Andy leaned back in his chair and said, "Whoooo. Wow. I don't have any moral reasons to refuse to rent to them, but is this a good idea business wise? Have you considered the impact on your business here?"

"We don't think it will be a problem. If we block out all the rooms for the period we won't have anyone here other than the swingers. In addition, we believe we can drastically increase our profits by offering daily replacement of linens, towels and, uh, hygiene items like soaps, lotions, and so forth. We'll charge extra for extra services at the request of our guests. We also plan to offer room service for the food and drinks which we don't normally do."

"Wow. I can't believe you can fill the whole place with people like that. Are you sure this is on the up and up? Do you really think they will pay those fees? And what will happen if we can't rent all the rooms to them? I would hate to have empty rooms I can't rent during the prime season here."

"Oh, that's not a problem, Andy. They'll guarantee up to 150 rooms and will pay the rent on them whether they fill or not. The club will take responsibility for any room that doesn't fill with members. That will be in the contract with the parent organization."

To his surprise Andy felt his cock twitch at the thought of the swingers running around his resort and even having public sex. He was smart enough to know he shouldn't join in, but he was young enough to be excited about the opportunity to watch. He had to adjust himself and was embarrassed when he caught Tiffany smiling as she watched him.

Tiffany said, "Now don't go getting any ideas here, stud. This has to be on the up and up. We have to be professional all the way. The promoters told us that if this works well for them they can schedule a couple of times a year with us. The last resort they contracted with had the contract for ten years. This could be a gold mine if we don't fuck it up."

"Tiff, I know that. I already knew I could look but not touch, but, damn, even if some of them howl at the moon that would be a sight to see. Tell your dad I'm in if we can work out the legal things and the money is right."

Tiffany smiled and stood. She moved over beside Andy, bent and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she rubbed her breast against his arm. She stood once more and said, "Somehow I didn't think you would turn this chance down. This may be the beginning of a great partnership here. We'll get back with you soon. You get those contractors to work. Daddy said if you needed a loan to come see him. He'll loan you the money if you don't need too much. He said you could work out payment from your rentals."

Andy sat and watched Tiffany's delectable rear sway from side to side as she disappeared into the foliage headed toward her parent's resort. He felt his hard cock straining against his constricting shorts and rearranged himself.

As soon as Tiffany was out of sight, Andy went into his office and called the contractors he used before. He made the same deal as he did before. He would do a lot of the work and they would send in a skeleton crew to check on him, do the things he couldn't do, and sign off on the work. He didn't mention he had been slowly doing the work already as he had spare time. He was well ahead of the game and glad he took the time before.

Over the course of the next three months Andy was almost too busy to visit with Tiff but they finally got the work completed. He was also almost tapped out, but he managed to get the rest of his units completed and ready for occupancy before the convention. He only had to borrow $17,000 from Mr. Thomas. He agreed to repay the loan using half of his net rentals until it was repaid. That would still give him as much to live on as he had before the renovation of the remaining units.

Andy kept his little resort at better than 70% occupancy until the first of May when he ended up with all his rooms empty. He only had three days before the convention to get the rooms cleaned and ready for the influx of the swingers. Two days before the check in Andy was still working at 8 p.m. when Tiffany came hunting him. Andy had 15 units he could rent. Six of those 15 units were two bedroom, the rest one bedroom units. For the week the swingers were in town he would make $18,000 gross on rentals and who knew how much on services and his share of the food and drink. He even had most of the units already rented for the time after the convention so money was a problem of the past for him.

Tiffany found Andy working cleaning the units that had been rented but vacated the day before or early that day. She bounced into the room he was working on and said, "Hey, Andy, what're you doing working this late?"

Andy was tired and a little pissed it was taking him so long to do the work. A couple of the renters that had just left were slobs of the first degree and he spent almost three times as long cleaning their units as he normally did. He said, "If I'm going to have these rooms ready the day after tomorrow I have to work long hours. I'm still not sure I'll get everything done that I want done. I had a couple of rooms of slobs last week and the cleaning is horrendous. I even had to make a couple of repairs for damaged items. Sure, I get to bill their cards but it took more time than normal."

"Andy, don't worry about it. If you want I can send some of our maids over tomorrow after they finish with their assigned rooms. I know a couple that want more hours. If you agree to pay them the same amount we do I'm sure they'll be willing to help you out. Besides, we have to send some of them over anyway to get the snack area and bar cleaned, stocked, and ready to go. I bet you make a killing on the booze and snacks in addition to the rentals."

Tiffany grabbed Andy's hand and pulled him toward the door. She said, "Now, come on. I want to catch a swim and relax for a while before we have to get up tomorrow and do the daily grind."

By the time the conventioneers began arriving Andy was exhausted. Thankfully he agreed check in would be handled by Thomas's resort, Ocean Breezes. They would direct the people assigned to his resort, which he had renamed Sea Breezes, to his lot. All he needed to do was be present to direct them to the proper unit and provide assistance as needed. After everyone was checked in they would enter their information in Andy's computer system so he could make necessary charges for items charged to the room or for damages. The snack bar and bar were to be opened at the official check in time of 3 p.m. Tiffany and her family agreed to fill Andy's units first if any of the guests asked. If any of his units remained unfilled after their own units were filled they would assign the remaining units to the overflow. Since the group agreed to rent all the units whether they filled them all or not the money would be the same excluding cleaning costs for units used. Of course, if Andy's units weren't completely filled, he might miss out on some of the income expected from providing extra services and from liquor and food sales.