Chapter 11

Tuesday, January 11th, 2022
Colorado Springs, Colorado

The 4 am alarm was as unwelcome as expected. Jan was out of bed first again. She headed for Meghan’s room and returned quickly. I soon joined her in the shower. I think that the day I shower with a woman and don’t bother to do any fondling is probably going to be a sign of nearing the end. This shower was no exception.

Meghan was already drinking coffee when we came out, wearing a huge sleep shirt with Tweety bird on the front. She said, “Good morning you two.” We both greeted her as we poured our own coffee and sat at the table.

Meghan asked, “Are you planning on coming in with us to watch the show?”

I said, “Sure, it sounds like fun. We can stop somewhere for breakfast on the way back.”

Meghan replied, “Actually, we’ll have time to eat there if you want. Brandon won’t make it in until some time after 6 am, but usually before 7. I’ll make sure you two have good seats to the drama. There is a corner booth right by his office that would be perfect.”

I said, “Okay, sounds like a plan.”

Meghan said, “You know what, I was thinking of actually working the start of the shift and then quitting. But now I think I might just give them a hand for one last early opening for old times sake and then just join you two for breakfast. I’m never putting on that uniform again. Brandon will come talk to us when he gets there, wondering why I’m not working, and you guys can have front row seats.”

We all got dressed and headed to Meghan’s restaurant. Someone was turning on the lights as we pulled into the parking lot. As we headed in, Meghan said, “Go ahead and pick any table you like. I’ll get the coffee going and be by as soon as I can.”

We opted for the booth by the office anyway and settled in to wait. Meghan soon brought us coffee and menus to look over. We weren’t in a big hurry so we just let them sit for a while and enjoyed our drinks.

About 30 minutes later Meghan stopped by with her own coffee and asked if we wanted to order yet. A few other diners had made their way in over the last few minutes, and I could see the kitchen working on their orders. Jan and I both wanted waffles with a side of sausage and Meghan got the order going. She got an omelet for herself and joined us for the meal. We had finished eating and another waitress topped off our cups and chatted for a minute before moving on to help another table. We were all enjoying our drinks when an irritated man walked up to the table and demanded to know what Meghan thought she was doing.

Meghan smiled and said, “I’m obviously drinking coffee you sanctimonious toad. Did you forget to take your meds again?”

I’ve seldom seen a face so red. He seemed to be struggling to control himself and I shifted my legs a bit so I would be more ready if I needed to get out of the booth in a hurry. I noticed a couple faces looking through the pass-through from the kitchen and the other two waitresses were keeping their eyes on us too.

Brandon said, “You are supposed to be working, not socializing with your friends. If you want to keep this job you need to check your attitude and go change.”

Meghan said, “Oh good, we’re all set then. I don’t want to keep this job. Fuck you, fuck working at this place, and you can mail my final paycheck because I won’t be back here ever again. Now, go away while we finish our breakfast, asshole.”

He started to reach for Meghan and I said, “Bad idea,” and started to stand up.

Brandon started to get in my face but he backed up as I kept getting taller while getting out of the booth. To try and save some face he said, “I want all three of you out of my restaurant right now.”

I said, “Sure thing, little man.” I reached into my pocket and dropped plenty of cash to cover our food, plus a tip, on the table. I stepped in front of him, backing him out of the way as I offered my hand to Meghan to help her stand. “Let’s go guys.”

When Jan made her way to the edge of the booth, I helped her stand too and we walked out without any further issues from him. Well, unless you count dirty looks. Meghan waved to her old co-workers on the way to the door.

Meghan said, “Oh, that was just about perfect. Thank you Paul, I can’t imagine it going any better unless you got to punch him.”

Jan said, “I just about lost it when you called him “little man.”

I said, “It seemed to fit the situation. Let’s head home and get you guys ready for your meeting.”

As we drove Jan said, “I wish you were coming. Just for moral support.”

Meghan added, “Me too,” and she pouted with puppy dog eyes from the back seat.

I laughed and said, “Quit with the pouty face, those sad eyes aren’t going to help. However, your request isn’t unreasonable. Just remember, I’m the boyfriend, not the angel investor. If you are being pressured to say something about him, what are you going to say?”

Jan said, “Nothing, except that he insists on anonymity. It is a mandatory part of the deal.”

I said, “Good answer. If that doesn’t work for some reason, we walk away.”

We arrived at the lawyer’s office a little early and were escorted into a small conference room by a receptionist who said Denise would be with us shortly. She offered us water or coffee, but we told her we were fine and thanked her for the offer. Denise joined us about five minutes later, saying, “Hi folks, I’m Denise Ayers. Thanks for coming in.”

Jan said, “Hi Denise, I’m Jan. We spoke on the phone yesterday. This is my friend and soon-to-be partner Meghan, and this is my boyfriend Paul, who wanted to offer moral support for us getting things started.”

Denise had a friendly smile on her face as she shook Jan’s and Meghan’s hands and then mine while Jan was speaking. She seemed to be a genuine, likable person so far.

She said, “It is nice to meet you all. Let’s have a seat and talk about what you are looking to do.”

Jan began with, “Well, let’s start with the fact that we have no idea what we are doing. That’s why we’ve come to you for guidance and advice. I am fortunate enough to have someone in my corner who wants to help Meghan and me get a business up and running. We have start-up money, and an idea for a business, but no pertinent education related to running one or performing the necessary accounting to keep the books. We both intend to take courses and correct that, but as of today, we are both out of work and we want to begin setting up the framework for our future.”

Denise said, “Wow, while I commend you on your spunk, I have to be honest and say that what you are doing sounds both brave and foolish at the same time. Forgive me for being blunt, but what you just described sounds more than a little reckless. Under normal circumstances, I would have strongly recommended keeping your jobs while finishing classes and putting together a solid plan.”

Jan nodded and said, “I understand, but things are not as dire as it first appears. I am fortunate enough to own my own home with no mortgage. Meghan is likely, I think, to be moving in with me as well. Our expenses are very low, and we both have sufficient savings to be out of work for more than six months. During that time we will be focused exclusively on getting our business up and running. My angel investor WILL be repaid for his investment in a reasonable time frame if I have anything to say about it, regardless of his wishes otherwise. In any case, we are considering it to be a no-interest indefinite loan for our purposes.”

Denise said, “Alright. To the specifics, then. How much was the loan, and can you summarize the business?”

Jan replied, “$50K and it will be a boutique crafts business. Think afghans and throw rugs, table lace, and tchotchkes. Cute homey decorations. We intend to have an online store as well as sell on Etsy and eBay. We are also planning to do a lot of resale of items purchased both online in bulk and through shopping trips to assorted local venues nationwide. Meghan and I are mildly crafty, but that’s not the main thrust of the business. We have plans to work with ‘subcontractors’ to create the crafts as well.”

Denise was nodding along as Jan elaborated, at the end, she said, “Well, I feel much better about this now. Your starting funds, while I know it sounds like a big number, the truth is it’s probably low for what you want to do if I’m envisioning it right. However, it is more than enough to get a workable business off the ground. It just might take a while to get as big as you might be envisioning.”

“Your living situation will no doubt help you focus in the beginning, but your long-term mileage may vary on that score. But that’s a personal decision for you to make of course. Now you mentioned a partnership, how do you see that working?”

Jan said, “Meghan is going to be working every bit as hard as I am. I see us as equal partners in this venture.”

Denise said, “That is laudable, however, the question needs to be raised. Is she bringing as much to the table as you are with your angel investor? Working these things out at the start saves a lot of hard feelings later.”

Jan said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I miss-spoke earlier when I called him “my angel investor”. He’s not just my investor, he is Meghan’s too. I was just speaking from my perspective. He suggested the partnership and fully supports both of us in this. We are coming into this on a completely equal footing and that’s how we want to proceed.”

She said, “I see. Sorry for the mixup there. Okay, do you have a name in mind for the business?”

Meghan chimed in, “We’re calling it Sarah’s Craft Room. As of last night, a business search for that name showed it as not taken on the Secretary of State’s website.”

Denise said, “Great, that can be one of the more challenging aspects of the process believe it or not. Did you have a chance to look at whether you wanted to act as your own registered agent or were you looking for me to perform that service?”

Meghan said, “I saw something about that but can’t claim to understand it.”

Denise said, “Essentially the registered agent is the point of contact that the world uses if they look up your business through official channels. You just have to decide if you want your name and address available to the public or if you want to have someone act as an intermediary. If you hired someone to do it they would work with you on handling correspondence. It’s not a very expensive service. Entirely your call. I think the rest of this is pretty straight forward and we can probably have all of it worked out before lunch.”

“I’ve got packets of information about everything and I want you to be assured that I’m focused on helping you succeed. For a business like this, a straight partnership and LLC filing, I operate on a flat fee basis, and I expect a few questions after the fact, so you don’t need to worry about me nickel and diming you to death, if you decide to go forward with me.”

Jan and Meghan shared a look and turned to me.

I said, “I have no concerns, not that I’m the one who needs to feel comfortable with it.”

They decided to go for it and Denise walked us through everything. We got the partnership paperwork filed, got the LLC registered with the state and applied for an EIN for tax purposes. We had to change the name to “Sara’s Craft Room LLC” but that was fine with us. Denise recommended an accounting firm that offered assistance getting the books set up and we were indeed out of there before noon. She had also given us a bank recommendation and a contact she had used for web design in case we were interested. Overall we were more than happy with her service.

We hit the bank she pointed us at and I stayed in the car while the girls took care of getting things started. They came back with temp debit cards, a bunch of ledger style checks to use until the real ones arrived, and they opted to deposit all $50K into the account as they were assured funds would be immediately available on the cards.

After the bank we headed back to the house. Jan and Meghan were very excited about having the business set up. They wanted to work on logos and investigate setting up a website.

Before they got too deep in it I said, “I do want to hit the mall to get some clothes for Roman to wear for his meetup. Can I borrow a car, or do one of you want to go with me?”