Chapter 4: A Sudden Windfall

I thought to myself, what are they doing up so early. I dragged myself out of bed and wandered into my on suite, hidden behind a full framed mirrored doorway. Freshened myself up, put on some morning clothes and went into my office. Checked my schedule for the day, but nothing important, I saw an email from Erica and another from Anita. Opening them in order of arrival, Erica’s was just an update on two other ongoing projects, as per normal, on time and budget she told me. It’s nice to be kept up to date.

Anita alerted me to a couple of properties likely to becoming on the market in the next month or so. Also, some interesting new development on the other side of the river, the 600 million dollar housing investment stage 1 was completed now and on the market. I picked up the phone and rang her.

A voice machine told me the office was closed and to contact Anita on her mobile number. I cursed under my breath and rang it and got surprised when a different but familiar voice answered the phone. “Anita Reynolds phone.”

“Hello you, what are you doing answering her phone this early in the morning?” I asked Erica. She laughed back at me.

“Your name came up on the screen so I knew it was safe to answer it.” She explained.

“That’s good you are there. Glad you patched everything up after the other day. Nothing like make-up sex to help heal a wounded ego.” I told her. She laughed

“It was rather nice.” She exclaimed.

“Ask her to give me a call when you two are finished with your morning duties OK.”

“I will, and we have. We both have a busy day ahead of us. So tell me, Kath, what’s with this business meeting at number 7. I thought we put that in the too hard basket?”

I quickly explained what was happening, and for us to see what the numbers look like. “I wouldn’t expect too much to come from it,” I told her.

“What does your brother think of the family owning an exclusive lesbian club?” She asked.

I replied that as long as we keep the word lesbians and sex on site out of any proposal and documents, we should be right. “Besides, how often does he attend our business meetings?”

“Sex on site!” She exclaimed almost yelling, I could hear the excitement in her voice. “What, don’t tell me you’re going into the bordello business now?” she wanted to know, as I heard Anita in the background, “Who is having sex on site?” She asked inquisitively. “Hey, that’s my phone, who are you talking to?

“It’s Kathy.” She explained.

I heard a mumbled conversation, a hand must have been put over the mouthpiece. Then Anita came onto the phone. “Good Morning Kathleen, sorry about my inexperienced office girl, you know how hard it is to get good staff these days.” I heard some other garbled comment that was indistinguishable coming from the background. Followed by some laughter.

“How are you, Anita?” I enquired, “All sated now are we?” I joked.

“She says way too much I think.” I could hear the smile in her voice. “But yes I am, thank you for asking.”

“That’s good then.” I told her, then asked, “So what’s the news on the River Front development that might interest me?”

“Remember when it was first announced you asked me to keep an eye on Ambrose Street, where the family slipway was.” She reminded me.

“Yes,” I replied,

She continued “Well there is a whisper they are going to auction off all of the old slipways. An announcement the first of next month, so I’ve been told.”

“Oh really, hmmm. We are definitely interested, so if they are looking for expressions of interest and you hear before I do, put the AFT down as an interested party, every site along the whole front.” I told her. All of a sudden I was wide awake and the nonsense and banter that went on before was all washed away.

“How good is the rumour?” I enquired

“HHHHMMMM pretty good, Premiers office, he talked to a few locals, last night. There is an election in the wind, and the Government wants to garner some goodwill with said locals, so I’m told.”

“Quid Pro Quo?” I asked, “What do they want in return?”

“They didn’t say, but I’m expecting they will be wanting ‘silence’ during their campaigning. Especially when it concerns certain wives and a certain schoolgirl caught in bed together.” She indicated.

“I’m good at saying nothing unless I’m screwed over, pardon the pun, do you think that message would get back to them?”

“I’m certain of it, Kathleen.” She replied. “But you rang me, so what’s on your mind?”

“I have had a little idea put to me, and I want to run it past you. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Erica last week, so tell me, what do you think of an exclusive club for gay women, a safe and secure place people can go to relax without being looked at, and talked about?”

“Sounds wonderful, but how would you make it pay?” she asked of me.

“Not sure yet,” I told her “I have a business proposal to be put to me in a couple of weeks. Why don’t you tag along with Erica? You can meet my grandniece and her girlfriend. They are putting together the whole show for me.”

“Alright, I will, where and when?”

“Erica has all the details, just check with her. Now I must go I have guests here and breakfast to arrange.” With that, we hung up after the normal goodbyes.

I wandered down to the kitchen to find the girls helping themselves. To my delight, Mia had started to cook up a feast, an omelette, with some fried bread and tomatoes, and perfectly brewed coffee, how she found everything was as much of a surprise as seeing them work together, around the kitchen, one cooking, one cleaning both singing quietly as I came in, it was a sight that made me smile and feel all warm inside.