Chapter 7

It was two days later when I was running in the park. I should stop here and say that I hate running. I’m happy to do push-ups, situps and mountain climbers at least five days a week but running is not fun for me. But running, walking or swimming by myself is when I get the most brain processing done. I can think through problems or situations and become clear and comfortable with my decisions.

It was two days later that I was running in the park and trying to decide if I wanted to sell the high end units or if I wanted to collect the income from the hotel rooms for a long time. I didn’t trip but had to slow to a walk when it hit me. I could time-share the condos and use the hotel to showcase the rooms. If a small apartment on the beach was worth a ten thousand dollar investment, how much would a luxury apartment in Manhattan be worth? There’s a lot of maintenance at the beach with pools, salt water and wind but very little in the big city. Taxes need to be paid but they’re also very predictable.

The more I tried not to like it, the more I liked it because I couldn’t find any Gotchas. By the time I walked my sweaty body back into my apartment, I had come to like the idea and wanted to explore it some more. I don’t know what Ron would say about it but I owned the floors that I owned.

The next step was a long talk with Amy. I flew her to New York and put her up at a nice hotel after the first of the year and we sat down to discuss the idea. She liked it and also had the contacts for the travel agents so she could start pushing the hotel for those looking to come to New York City. She started to rattle off some other ideas and concepts that I hadn’t thought about. When she paused due to the quiet from my side she asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Amy, have you trained your team in Florida to get along without you?”

“We have a good team in Florida and I’m comfortable taking off like I did this week.”

“I want to promote you to some new projects like the timeshare on the beach and getting the hotel and timeshare up and running here in New York. I’m young and new to all this. I’ve been lucky to have people around me that have had the knowledge and experience in buying, building and selling property. You were a godsend down in Florida.

“There also seems to be a lot of opportunities out there for people that have money to spend. I’ve been very lucky that the investments I’ve made so far in real estate have paid off quickly and with a great return which means that now I have a lot to spend. Most banks like a bird in the hand over the two in the bush so they give me the two for the one they can hold today.”

“Would I have to move to New York?”

“I really don’t care where you live. We have telephones and airplanes. I think we would want to have more regular meetings and you would have to decide how big of a staff you would need to do the job. You may have someone here if you decide to work from Florida.”

She seemed to be rolling the ideas around in her head so I took a sip of coffee and waited. She finally asked, “Will I get a raise?”

“I thought you already got one or two of those this year. How much more do you want and how do you want it?”

“You did give me a raise this year and offered me 2% of the project down in Florida. If I make a couple more million, I could just take the money and do this for myself.”

It wasn’t really a threat but she was doing most of the work. She could quit and leave me in a bind. I said, “Why don’t we set up a partnership. I’ll put up the money and you will take care of the management. You’ll get 10% of the profits for the first two projects in Florida and here in NY. After that you will get 10% of the entire deal. You’ll have to sign a non-compete agreement in return for the ownership of the company. Is that fair?”

“So I have to give up my bonus and lock myself to you and in return I get more money than I could ever spend? That does sound fair to me.” She stuck out her hand and we shook on the deal. I took her to the club for dinner. The next day we met with the attorney to draw up the partnership even though we wouldn’t be a New York based company for tax reasons. We went over to look at Ron’s building and ran into him there.

After introducing him to Amy we found a quiet place and I told him about the plans for my part of the building. At first he seemed upset that his building full of quiet condos would be a place where new people would be coming and going. When I explained that we could have separate elevators so that it was almost like having two or even three separate buildings in one, he was more receptive. When I mentioned the math of doing it this way, he saw that I would be getting double for my normal units what he would get for his Penthouses and that they would still pay me rent in the form of management fees for the other amenities.

He asked, “Can I put some of my units in the timeshare program?”

Amy said, “You would get the fifty-two weeks of sales per unit but we would get the monthly management for managing the check-in, check-out, cleaning, valet and other services. If it goes over well, we can have butlers, cooks and other staff on call to take care of the customers’ needs.”

Ron was nodding that he liked the idea but wished he could cash in on the management. He would have to find another building to set up on his own. I already had the bottom three residential floors for check in and meeting spaces.

Before I knew it, Amy was on her way back to Florida to start building out the programs and hiring staff. I was moving into my new space by the University. When I showed up, I was looking at a beautifully renovated building but the bottom floor was empty. I should have listened to Mandy and started earlier. I moved into my rooftop apartment. The building took up half of a block and had a bank of elevators that serviced all the floors.

If you went all the way to the roof, there was a small lobby and off to one side was a door to the roof. The other side was a door to my apartment. It was big with twelve foot ceilings. I had my own rooftop garden that was walled off from the rest of the building. I loved it. With the money I was making, I figured out that I didn’t need to be bringing my one off furniture into the space.

There were a few referrals from Ron and Mandy as to who to use as an interior designer. As I was setting up the interviews I wondered who had furnished the condos that I was renting out by the club. I spoke with three people. Two were women and one was the most totally gay guy I’d ever met. His name was Fredrick. Not Fred but Fredrick. He fit every stereotype there was for gay interior designers with all the drama and arrogance to back up his massive ego. I found myself laughing at him until he would calm down and we’d continue the interview.

They all seemed a little miffed at working with me since almost all of their customers were women or a couple where the woman was in charge of the look and feel of the home. They all had portfolios of some of their other projects and I ended up picking Frederick because he was fun and could laugh at himself and not miss a beat.

I wanted something masculine for the place but with all the windows and big views, I didn’t want everything dark and heavy. After all, I came from a boating background where white is everywhere. When we stepped off the elevator, he loved the open rooftop for the girls and when I opened the door to my place he squealed like Tina and Kari.

“Oh, MY GOD, How did you find this place? It’s fabulous. Look at those views. Look at the outside space, look at these ceilings. It’s so big. I feel like I’m in Paris overlooking the Seine and not some little studio flat overlooking the Hudson. This is going to be AMAZING!”

He ranted and skipped and danced from room to room as I stood and let him go. When he finally came back to the main living area he said, “I wish you would have hired me before they put up all the walls but I’ll make this a home you’re proud to bring any girl or guy home to.”

“You can start on my next place before the walls are up. I promise. I think that any guys I bring here will be more interested in how cold the beer is or if the girls are sunbathing topless and less interested in the decorating.”

“You’d be surprised how the look of a room will change how people feel and react. There have been studies done and I have read them all. I think this room will be leather. Not the black and white like most guys do but a rich cognac color with light maple floors. I think the white walls will go well here but we will splash color in the bedrooms and office. I’ll want a separate budget for art and we can wait until after you embrace the furnished space. We can do prints or originals. There is a lot of great art here in the city that we can explore and make you feel at home with.”

“I’ve never really studied art but I can look at something and like it or hate it pretty quick. I went to the Louvre once thinking I was going to be there for a week staring at great works of art. I didn’t care for most of it at all and glanced at it as I walked by.”

“PARIS. I love the Louvre. I do agree that most of the work is old and dark. If you don’t want all the stories of the Bible on your wall you can scrap half of the museum. There are many new methods and subjects out there today. We’ll make you stop and look as you walk from the kitchen to the dining room and pause to smile. Your days will be happier.”

He did make me smile with the emotions he shared in everything he did. He gave me an estimated budget and was waiting for my answer. I looked at him and asked, “Of the last ten jobs you did, when you gave the estimate like you just did, how many times were you over, under, right on the money and how far off were you?”

“Ha ha ha. I’m always over by ten percent and then apologize but it just had to be done.”

“Well, I think I like your idea of art but I’m not a big fan of ten pillows I have to throw on the floor before I can lay down. I grew up on boats and have learned that if it doesn’t have a use or purpose, I don’t want to waste the money and the space.”

He frowned at that comment but we were negotiating and it was just business. “I’m not sure what you mean. I don’t buy stuff just to buy stuff.”

“Meet me down at the yacht club tomorrow and we can look at some boats and I’ll show you.”

We met down at the club and I had spoken to a couple members the night before to get permission to go aboard their boats. We toured them and then went back to the club. I asked him to bring some of the pictures from his last projects and then we talked about the statue of the dog on the little shelf. I said, “I don’t want to dust the shelf or look at the dog. If that’s part of the art budget then I won’t worry about it but if that were you helping to shape the feel of the room I don’t want to be felt that way.”

He grinned at the innuendo. “I actually learned some things today and I understand what you’re saying. You want things to have a purpose or be more minimalist. It isn’t about money, it’s about taking care of stuff for no reason. I may have a couple pillows to make it look better but having twelve is overkill. Is that your point?”

“Yes and I don’t mean to sound cheap but I want to be able to take back anything I don’t like so don’t shop the clearance aisle.”

“Yes, Sir. I’ll have it ready for you to move into in three months.”

“No, you have three weeks for flooring and paint. I’ll move in two weeks after that or five weeks from now. If you have something that can’t be delivered by then we can talk about it and either have it delivered later, find an alternative or drop it from the project. I wanted to move this week but I dropped the ball. I can give you five weeks.”

“Six weeks?”

“Five and I’ll cover the rush fees.”

“Deal. Now sign the contract so I can get to work. You are going to kill me with this schedule.”

“I already promised to give you more time on the next one.”

“You haven’t even moved in yet.”

“But my next one is being built as we speak.”

“Where is it?”

“5th and 62nd. It will be on the 120th floor overlooking the park.”

“What will you do with this place?”

“It’s guaranteed to be surrounded by three hundred college girls for the next ten years. I think I’ll hang on to it for now.”

“You little horn dog. You must do well to afford two places and a membership at the club. I wanted to do the design work there but they hired someone else.”

“I do alright and will have other places that need designing as well. Let’s focus on getting this one done first.”

Everything seemed to be moving along and I had calls or short meetings most days with Amy, Ron and Fredrick. My accountant and Heather called every week or two to discuss finances and Sin called whenever she was in town. Lucy would call from time to time but when Jamie split with Ashley, she got stuck in the middle and things cooled off considerably. The good news was that I was now 18 and old enough to legally drink, go to clubs and have sex with adults. I had a few phone numbers tucked away from my visits to the club. It was a Friday night and I went up to Harlem. Cathy was there but was doing her job as the hostess for the night. I was alone and in a good mood. I ordered an old fashioned and settled in on the couch.

The crowd is normally very eclectic with old black couples coming in for a drink and the music. There are the young white people just there to have fun and drink while they listen to the music. Date nights, friends hanging out. People looking to hook up. Tonight was all those things. I showed up early and sipped on my drink and watched the people come in and the band warm up and tune their instruments. I made a point to say hi to the owner and bartender and Cathy stopped by while it was still slow.

I was off to the side on a couch but noticed a couple of ladies at one of the tables. After taking a closer look I figured out that they were transvestites. In reality it was just some guys wearing girls clothes. Then two more came in to join them. A pretty girl came in with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was talking to Cathy and I saw that they were watching me watch the dudes in dresses.

One of the “Ladies” had gone to the bar to buy some drinks and almost took a tumble when her high heel went the wrong way. I had to bite my hand to keep from laughing and Cathy and the blonde almost lost it watching me. I don’t care what people do as long as it isn’t hurting me. These guys in dresses weren’t hurting me. Cathy walked over and introduced her friend as Jennifer. I stood up and said hello.

Cathy said, “Jen, is a friend from work. She came alone. You don’t mind if she sits with you, do you?”

I stood and gestured to the couch, I said, “It would be my pleasure.”

As she sat down, she said, “I hope I’m not getting in the way of you hitting on those four ladies at the table.”

“I’m an animal lover but don’t date women that wear fur coats.”

It took a second for her to figure out that the women just needed to shave better but the liquid did come out her nose when she laughed. I handed her a napkin and apologized for making her laugh. I bought another round of drinks and the music started. We would talk between songs and found out that she was in accounting and worked in the school finance department. She lived in the city and shared a place with two other girls but they didn’t want to go out.

The band took a break and I got another round. Crystal was singing and came over to say hi. I introduced her to Jennifer and then went to buy her a drink. I wanted the place to make money so it would stay open.

I got back to the table with the drink and the girls were talking and laughing about the guys and making fun of me. Cathy had joined them and I sat and took the humiliation. I did mention that I was now legal and moving next to the school. This stirred some more giggles and they all told me that I was just a young pup.

Cathy knew better but she just played along and as she got up to check on the rest of the guests she gave a parting shot. “He may be a young man but I wouldn’t call him a pup. Maybe a pony.” She was holding her hands about a foot apart as she walked off and the other two sat with their mouths open.