New Quarters

by Tey Holden

  “Well, I came to deliver the deed. As you know, the three-year term has more than passed already. As it turns out, because you are the rightful owner of the property by birthright, there was actually no need to comply with the three year residency.” Karen’s jaw dropped, and Addy was very amused. “The three year requirement was imposed by Charlotte in order for you to have a taste of your homeland and hopefully to keep the property. This is the deed as you requested it.” He handed over to Karen an envelope. Since I knew Charlotte well, I will say that she would have been proud to see what you have done with the property, and the many benefits it’s brought the town.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Kimbell.” Karen opened the envelope and smiled. Addy was standing next to her and saw the document inside the envelope. The deed was in both their names. She looked to Karen but said nothing. Karen smiled but remained somewhat concerned at the silence. At Karen’s request, Mr. Kimbell and Phillip had done extensive research into the legal aspects of the title of the estate. As it turned out, nothing on the record prevented the land to be held in joint tenancy with the spouse of the rightful heir, as long as the property always passed to the eldest daughter of the heir.

  That night at the cottage, Addy was still quiet. Karen had been expecting a fiery blast on account of the title matter, but as nothing was heard from Addy. Karen decided to preempt by poking her. She tapped the title on the table with her fingers. “It’s my wedding gift.” Addy tried to conceal her smile by biting her lip, but still said nothing. “Why the silence?” Karen had the look of mischief that Addy adored.

  “I don’t see the point of saying anything. Looks like you got away with it.” Karen smiled triumphantly. “I’m just not arguing with you about it. It’s not worth it. So, I’m accepting your gift for all the money it’s worth. You do realize that you are giving me half of everything, right?” Addy was making her point and rubbing it in.

  “I’m not giving you half. I’m giving you everything.” The green eyes bore into her, leaving Addy speechless.

  “This is the most irrational thing you have ever done in your life, you know that, don’t you?”

  “Maybe, but if I was ever to be irrational, aren’t you glad I chose you to be irrational with?”

  Addy smiled when Karen pulled her close to her. She leaned her forehead against Karen’s chin and then looked up to her. “You are a very wise woman. I think you’ve finally figured out that I’m not going anywhere and that realization, Ms. Larsen, is your real gift.”

  Karen smiled and said nothing when Addy kissed her on the cheek and mouth. “No point arguing with you, Ms. Larsen. I give up.”

  Karen kissed her. “I thought you gave it up a long time ago, Ms. Marcos.”

  Addy grinned. “Hmm! But, not tonight.” She looked at Karen raising an eyebrow. “Tonight, it is you who is giving it up.”

  Karen beamed. “Ms. Adriana, there is a problem.”

  “Oh yeah? What might that problem be?”

  “The problem is that I am extremely turned on, and I don’t think I’m going to be able to roll over just yet, and as a matter of fact, I may have a request.”

  Addy smiled. “Is this one of those kinky marital right things you’ve mentioned?”

  Karen grinned. “Yes. Now, if you would, please, go upstairs and wait for me—.”

  Addy grinned, this was too cute, and she couldn’t wait to see what Karen was planning.

  “Where are you going? What are you up to?”

  Karen replied with a mischievous smile. “To the kitchen, to get whip cream.”

  ***

  In addition to the inns’ projects, and as if they didn’t have enough going on already, Addy and Isabella Ludwig had gotten into an arrangement about the land and the vineyards. The deal was simple. Because Isabella was going to plant her vines in land belonging to the McGill Estate, Addy proposed that they become partners in whatever wine resulted from the vines planted on that plot of land. Karen didn’t say a word. When it came to Addy’s crazy business plans, she tried to say the least unless there was a lot of money involved in the transaction. In this particular instance, there was no money involved, and the use of the land was inconsequential because that land was not used in any way by the inn, so Karen didn’t say a word.

  Isabella was shocked. “Addy, I cannot accept those terms! The land is worth much more than the vines. Besides, we don’t know how well they will grow and it might be years before we can get anything worthwhile from those vines, for all I know, I may not even be around!”

  “Well in that case, we will ask Mr. Kimbell to draft the necessary papers. That land is not being used, and I don’t think we’ll ever do anything out there. So, here’s the deal, we go 50/50 of the profit of whatever wine is produced from the grapes planted there. This arrangement will remain in effect as long as you are alive. If and when you are not around, the vines become the property of the winery, and rent will be paid to the McGill Estate for the use of the land according to the rental market at the time.”

  “Are you okay with this?” Isabella looked to Karen for approval. “You do realize that you are getting the short end of the stick if the wine from those vines turns out to be great, don’t you? I mean after I’m gone, you’d only be getting rent.” Karen just opened her eyes, nodded and pointed to Addy with her hand. “You heard her, that’s what she wants.”

  Addy continued. “It’s an investment, Isabella. You have a small winery of boutique wines. The wine from the new vines may not be good, but it could be a great wine.” Yeah, right! Karen continued to listen, not uttering a word. “That land has been resting for a long time. It gets sun year round and is protected from the wind by the hills. Who knows? Maybe that will be your best wine and then the stick wouldn’t be so short.” All Addy had said made sense. Even Karen was beginning to believe the story. Geez, she can sell milk to a cow.

  “Oh, Addy, I love you, my dear, you are such a dreamer! I was just like you when I started the winery. And you, Karen, you are the most nurturing person I’ve ever known. I mean the way you let her get away with whatever, it’s just too adorable. If you are both okay with those terms, we’ll sign the deal and let the dice fall where they may!”

  Karen was amused at the way the two women conducted business. She particularly loved the contract clause of ‘when you are no longer around.’ Did either one of them realized how crazy that agreement was? The contract was an atrocity in Karen’s financial mind. There was no business plan, no research, nothing! They were going on sun exposure, gut feeling, a handshake and good wishes. Yes, Isabella was right. Addy got away with whatever she wanted. There was no way to stop the woman. Who would? After all, she had an impeccable track record. Addy smiled lovingly when she saw Karen rolling her eyes and smiling. Good Lord, here we go again!

  It was fortunate that the land on those hills was not particularly good for anything. The hills were steep and there were rocks everywhere. This project was doomed to fail in Karen’s mind, but since it appeared that Isabella was the one to lose the most since the planting and harvesting was on her tab, Karen didn’t care at all. As her life had become a constant flow of wonderful unexpected events, she had already resigned to her fate and would dance to whatever tune was playing.

  In light of their business association, Addy and Isabella became very good friends. They would visit often and talk endlessly. Isabella was like a history book. She had lived there for a long time and knew just about everyone and everything, and she adored Addy, and Karen adored anyone who adored Addy, so the three of them had many good times. They met countless times under the trees in the vineyard, sipping wine and eating all the treats that both Isabella and Addy prepared for the different occasions. The conversation was always enriching and the three women had wonderful times.

  Isabella told them the story of her life and how the vineyards had come to be her dream and how her husband had helped her, even going against the odds. Up north, grapes were hard to grow. It was too cold. So the appropriate combi
nations of land, sun, and rain were hard to come by. They had many fowled attempts and lost a lot of money at first. This was one of the reasons why the winery was small. Quality required a lot of attention.

  In one of their private conversations, Karen had tried to hint a few things about the deal. “Addy, have you ever heard of a great Scottish wine?”

  “Smarty pants, I get your point.” Addy smiled. “I know the odds.”

  “And did you hear the part of her story about losing money being the reason for the winery being small?

  “Yes, I heard.”

  “Good I just wanted to make sure that we both heard the same thing, and that I’m not the one going crazy here.” Addy, was folding laundry and smiling as Karen spoke. “Because frankly, not only is the terminology of that contract the craziest thing I’ve ever heard, but the prospect of getting a good wine from grapes on that land is absolutely improbable. I mean, for starters, she’d have to hire a drilling company before putting down a single seedling because that land is like a minefield of rocks. In fact, a rock quarry might have been a better idea than any prospects of wine coming from those rocks!” Karen laughed as she spoke. Addy continued to fold the laundry grinning.

  “Ker, the land is worthless to us, and it’s her money she’s spending for her dream.”

  “A dream you fed by telling her that the land had been resting and all that rubbish.” She laughed. “It’s been resting because no one has ever dared to even think about doing anything there, that’s why it’s been resting!”

  “Well, like I said, we may have nothing to gain, but we also have nothing to lose. So why not let the woman have her dream?”

  Karen shook her head and pick up her tablet to read. “Fine with me.” She walked out of the bedroom leaving Addy still smiling. As negative as the facts were, Karen once again would let her have her way. When she finished folding the laundry she went downstairs to join Karen. When she passed by her, she stopped to kiss her. “Want some Scottish wine from the Ludwig’s vineyards?” Isabella always had them fully stocked.

  “Noooo! But I’ll take any other we might have.”

  As time passed, Isabella mentioned to Addy that she was getting too old to keep up with the business and that she was thinking of selling the vineyards and the winery. Her son and daughter lived in London, and did not care for the business. She even asked Addy and Karen, if they wanted to buy it.

  Addy would have liked to, but she didn’t think they should branch into other areas. This decision was one that had made the inns profitable. She had concentrated and focused on one thing and had made it work. She could not lose her focus and risk what they already had for a mere possibility. In that regard, Karen always gave her credit. She was committed and focused on their business.

  ***

  On a Thursday morning, there was a call from JP from the inn at the French Riviera. “Addy, I just got a call from International Hotels they want to talk to the owners of the Inns of Europe. I gave them your number. They didn’t say what it was about, but I thought to give you a heads up in case they do call you.”

  “Thanks, JP.” As she hung up she wondered. “Umm, that’s weird. What would International Hotels want with us?”

  Karen had overheard the conversation over the speakerphone and replied. “Maybe the Inns have sparked their interest. Maybe they are getting some tough competition. Let’s wait for their call.”

  “Good Lord, Ker, do you think they’d want to buy us out?”

  “Maybe. The Inns are very profitable. Let me ask you this, are we? Are we going to sell if they make us an offer?”

  “We better discuss this before they call. If they offer a ton of money, I think we should consider it seriously. We have a life to live and I can think of many more pleasurable things than figuring out how much toilet paper to buy for the inns. What do you think?”

  “I agree. Let’s not jump the gun, though. They may just want information, or God knows what! We also should be calm about any offer if they do make one. We don’t know the real value of the inns. If that were to happen, we would need to hire someone to appraise the business and its potential earnings.”

  Addy smiled. “You are impressive Ms. Larsen.” Addy got up and kissed her, leaving a very pleased Karen sitting at the table.

  The next day, International Hotels called. “We have a business interest in your hotel operation and would like to make you a business proposition. We would either fly you to our headquarters in Zurich or come to visit you.”

  They had agreed that they would talk to the International people and hear their business proposition. Addy took the call. “When were you thinking of doing this?”

  “At your earliest convenience.”

  “Can I get back to you on that? I need to talk to my partner and check our schedules.

  “Sure, you can call me back at this number, my name is Steven Kirck.”

  Two weeks later, they met with the International Hotels Group representatives in Zurich. They were flown there in a private jet for a three-day stay at one of their best properties. The meeting took place in the legal offices of Sparrow and Finch in Zurich. Karen had already spoken with the Sparrow and Finch staff to advise them of the possible scenario they would be facing.

  “International Hotels would like to buy the Inns of Europe, not just the inns but the concept also. This means that you would be selling the idea and you would sign off to starting any business of the same type to compete with the inns. This is our proposal. You can take it with you and peruse it at your convenience. We would like an answer as soon as possible.” Another one of the International Group representatives spoke. “This is the document setting forth the proposal.” When the women examined the paper work, neither one could believe the money that was being offered. They had seen that many zeros on clients’ accounts at the law firm, but never on any of their own.

  Although, they had suspected the meeting was about a possible buyout, and had agreed on keeping a cool head, they had no idea of the kind of money that would be on the table. Neither woman looked at each other.

  “This would be for all the inns, correct?” Karen asked.

  “Yes, that is correct.”

  Addy spoke immediately. “We had never considered selling. We are going to need some time to think about it. Just for the sake of knowing, what would be your offer, if we took off the table the property in Scotland?” Karen, who was the master of the poker face, looked at Addy in surprise. This time it was Addy who was leading the game.

  “I don’t know. We didn’t consider that possibility, any particular reason for your wanting to keep that property?”

  “Yes, it’s a family estate. It is also tied to very old English law requirements. In fact, we don’t even know if it can be sold. But most importantly because it’s our home also and it has sentimental value to us.”

  “Very well, give us a few minutes to caucus with our business team.”

  “Sure. We would like some time ourselves.” Before they could even get off their chairs, some of the International people were coming back in and handed Addy a piece of paper with a number written on it. The reduction of the amount was considerable, and held the caveat that they were not to start a competitive business.

  “Can I keep the inn operational locally with another name?”

  “No. It cannot be advertised as an inn, hotel, bed and breakfast, motel, guesthouse, or any other name in reference to any place offering sleeping accommodations of any sort.”

  “Very well. We are going to need some time. In the meantime, I would ask you to put this new proposal in writing, excluding the property in Scotland. That property would not be part of any deal. Addy made this determination without even looking at Karen. This was odd because they had never made a decision without consulting with the each other, especially not one of this magnitude. Karen, however, didn’t say a word.

  “Very well, we will be submitting that proposal to you by the end of the day.”

  “Thank you
.”

  Karen spoke to the financial team at Sparrow and Finch and asked them to do some research for her. They agreed to call her back as soon as they had everything she had requested. The women left. They had not talked to each other at all while the business deal was taking place. Out on the street they took a cab to their hotel. In the cab, silence still prevailed. They held hands. It was a very tight grip. Both their hands were as cold as ice. Addy’s hand was shaking. Karen brought it to her mouth and kissed it.

  When they got to their bedroom, they broke lose. “I cannot believe what just happened!” Karen exclaimed as Addy sat on the bed still in shock.

  “I’m still shaking, baby.” Karen rushed to her side kneeling in front of her and holding her hands. They both grinned like two idiots and began to kiss.

  Karen then exploded. “This is your doing, baby, you did all this! You turned eight million into hundreds of millions! Oh my God! I cannot believe it! You are a business whiz! Addy, you know what I find more unbelievable on top of the already unbelievable that they want to pay all that money?”

  “What?”

  “That you are willing to take a huge cut for the place in Scotland.”

  “Baby, I wouldn’t sell that place for all the money in the world, assuming that we could, and I don’t think we can, anyway. I never thought about selling it, or abandoning it after the three years passed. It’s your family’s legacy. It’s the place where we have been most happy. It’s our place, our home. How could we possibly even think of selling it?” Karen smiled lovingly, touched that Addy felt so strongly about their property. Yes, Addy turned her vision into a reality and it had indeed become their home.

  “I never looked into that aspect, but I’m inclined to think that I probably can’t sell it since it’s a Royal grant. I suppose the land belongs to the Crown in the end, and we just have it for our use as long as there is an heir.” Karen paused thinking, in the back of her mind, that the property would go Aunt Margaret, or her daughter if she were not around.