had big doings today. Do you remember my trip to Japan?”
“Last December? Of course.”
“Well, today was the culmination of that trip. About a year ago, Suzi was monitoring some online chatter about a resort development in the Philippines that was nearly finished when the builders ran out of money. They had tapped every resource they could find, but couldn’t get enough capital to button things up. All they had was an unfinished resort that was leveraged to the hilt and beyond. They went under, and the bank that had underwritten the bulk of the loans took ownership, but they didn’t want to carry such a big fixed asset on their books. And the last thing they wanted to do was open a resort subsidiary to finish the place and run it. The bank was ready to horse trade, if someone had the resources.”
Elizabeth nodded. I spend my days dusting and reading books written more than a century ago. He spends his days looking for deals that are worth millions or maybe billions. At night, though, when it’s just us, we’re the same.
“I knew it was too big for us. We didn’t have the kind of capital to swing a deal like that, so I reached out to some Japanese investors that I had met at a conference a few years ago, to see if they were interested. They were, and we’ve spent the last six months hammering out the terms and new financing with the bank. It’s the biggest deal we’ve ever done, by a factor of ten, and we closed on it today. I think that’s worth a celebratory meal, don’t you?”
“What do you do now? Are you going to try and operate a beachfront resort in the Philippines from here?”
“No, that would never work. That’s not my expertise. I put deals together, not operate resorts. We ended up paying about forty cents on the dollar. There’s a lot of meat on the bone for all of us when we sell it. We’ll put in the last few million that’s needed to finish it up, and then it will be attractive to a big buyer. Maybe one of the resort or timeshare chains. It’s a jewel of a setting, forty acres right on the ocean. Even with our investors, it’s stretched us thinner than we’ve ever been, but when we sell it, it will make more money for the firm than we’ve made in the last three years combined.”
Does it really matter that your company earns $200 million this year, instead of $50 million? I guess it does, to him.
“Congratulations, then.” She lifted her water glass and clinked it against his. “Let’s celebrate.”
“I believe I will. With some meatloaf and mashed potatoes.”
Chapter Sixteen
Three weeks later, Elizabeth was sitting in her normal spot behind the counter, enjoying the morning’s first cup of coffee, when Gail slammed through the door with above-normal exuberance. “I got a callback. A callback. That’s what they call it when they think you’re so wonderful that they want to see you again.”
"Oh, for Bed and Breakfast Bullies ?”
Gail put one hand on her hip and raised her eyebrows half an inch. “No, that’s not what it’s called and you know it. For Guest House Gestapo. There were about a thousand people at that tryout at the mall. They put us all in front of a video camera and asked us a lot of silly questions. The guy who was running the auditions said he was going to have to send a runner to buy more tape after my first answer. I think he was kidding. Anyway, they must have liked what I had to say because now they’re flying me out to Los Angeles to be interviewed by the executive producer. That’s what they call the woman who’s in charge of the whole thing."
Elizabeth hurried around the counter and hugged Gail. “That’s so exciting! Congratulations. I can’t think of anyone that deserves to be on television more than you.”
“Well, it’s not the same as having an old boyfriend turn up and sweep you off your feet and, oh, yeah, he’s a millionaire, but I’ll take my thrills where I can find them.”
Elizabeth smiled and shook her
“Last December? Of course.”
“Well, today was the culmination of that trip. About a year ago, Suzi was monitoring some online chatter about a resort development in the Philippines that was nearly finished when the builders ran out of money. They had tapped every resource they could find, but couldn’t get enough capital to button things up. All they had was an unfinished resort that was leveraged to the hilt and beyond. They went under, and the bank that had underwritten the bulk of the loans took ownership, but they didn’t want to carry such a big fixed asset on their books. And the last thing they wanted to do was open a resort subsidiary to finish the place and run it. The bank was ready to horse trade, if someone had the resources.”
Elizabeth nodded. I spend my days dusting and reading books written more than a century ago. He spends his days looking for deals that are worth millions or maybe billions. At night, though, when it’s just us, we’re the same.
“I knew it was too big for us. We didn’t have the kind of capital to swing a deal like that, so I reached out to some Japanese investors that I had met at a conference a few years ago, to see if they were interested. They were, and we’ve spent the last six months hammering out the terms and new financing with the bank. It’s the biggest deal we’ve ever done, by a factor of ten, and we closed on it today. I think that’s worth a celebratory meal, don’t you?”
“What do you do now? Are you going to try and operate a beachfront resort in the Philippines from here?”
“No, that would never work. That’s not my expertise. I put deals together, not operate resorts. We ended up paying about forty cents on the dollar. There’s a lot of meat on the bone for all of us when we sell it. We’ll put in the last few million that’s needed to finish it up, and then it will be attractive to a big buyer. Maybe one of the resort or timeshare chains. It’s a jewel of a setting, forty acres right on the ocean. Even with our investors, it’s stretched us thinner than we’ve ever been, but when we sell it, it will make more money for the firm than we’ve made in the last three years combined.”
Does it really matter that your company earns $200 million this year, instead of $50 million? I guess it does, to him.
“Congratulations, then.” She lifted her water glass and clinked it against his. “Let’s celebrate.”
“I believe I will. With some meatloaf and mashed potatoes.”
Chapter Sixteen
Three weeks later, Elizabeth was sitting in her normal spot behind the counter, enjoying the morning’s first cup of coffee, when Gail slammed through the door with above-normal exuberance. “I got a callback. A callback. That’s what they call it when they think you’re so wonderful that they want to see you again.”
"Oh, for Bed and Breakfast Bullies ?”
Gail put one hand on her hip and raised her eyebrows half an inch. “No, that’s not what it’s called and you know it. For Guest House Gestapo. There were about a thousand people at that tryout at the mall. They put us all in front of a video camera and asked us a lot of silly questions. The guy who was running the auditions said he was going to have to send a runner to buy more tape after my first answer. I think he was kidding. Anyway, they must have liked what I had to say because now they’re flying me out to Los Angeles to be interviewed by the executive producer. That’s what they call the woman who’s in charge of the whole thing."
Elizabeth hurried around the counter and hugged Gail. “That’s so exciting! Congratulations. I can’t think of anyone that deserves to be on television more than you.”
“Well, it’s not the same as having an old boyfriend turn up and sweep you off your feet and, oh, yeah, he’s a millionaire, but I’ll take my thrills where I can find them.”
Elizabeth smiled and shook her
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