Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [10]
“It looks like one to me. I guess this is Mr. Peabody coming toward us. He said his office was just a block away. He doesn’t look like a shark, does he?”
“All real-estate people are sharks. Stay alert. Go across the street and ask the music people how long this place has been empty.”
“Anna Clark, and you must be Mr. Peabody,” Annie said, holding out her hand. The Realtor’s hand was moist and clammy. Annie fought the urge to wipe her own hand on her chinos. Instead she jammed both her hands into her pockets.
Peabody was round like a melon. Even his face was round, with a goatee. He looked to Annie like a benevolent barracuda listing to the left. He removed his Panama hat with a flourish, revealing a shiny bald head that was wet with sweat. A massive ring of keys appeared in his hands. She watched as he fit key after key into the lock until finally he found the right one.
“Wonderful location. Right in the heart of things. You couldn’t want anything better. A little paint will work wonders. The other shopkeepers are just wonderful people. Neighborly, if you know what I mean. They help one another. You ladies aren’t from around here, are you?”
“You mean are we Yankees? Actually, Mr. Peabody, I am Anna Clark, and my friend is Jane. That’s who we are.”
“Lord love a duck. You young women today say the goldangest things.”
Jane returned to the shop holding up two fingers and then whacked the first finger at the second knuckle, meaning the store had been empty for two and a half years. Annie’s brain buzzed.
“How much is the rent, Mr. Peabody?” she asked.
“Seven hundred and fifty dollars.”
Annie laughed. Jane joined in. Annie’s brain continued to buzz as she tried to calculate rent for two and a half years. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $23,000.
Peabody’s voice was unctuous sounding. “Does the amount offend you ladies?”
Annie squared her shoulders. She was a business major. She should be able to handle this in a mature, professional manner. “Let’s cut the bullshit, Mr. Peabody. This store has been empty for two and a half years. At the price you quoted, you lost approximately twenty-three thousand dollars. My friend and I are willing to pay three hundred a month providing you do certain things. Mainly clean up this dump and take out all this trash. A paint job goes with the deal. We’re willing to sign a three-year lease and a renewal at the end of three years with a fifty-dollar increase. It won’t do to haggle. It’s all we can afford, so it’s a take-it-or-leave-it offer.”
Peabody mopped at his glistening bald head. “I need to think about this.”
“So think,” Annie said smartly. “When we walk out of here the deal is off the table. Don’t think about asking us for a security deposit because we can’t afford it. However, we can possibly work out something where we could pay something every month toward a month’s rent as security. Tell me, does the plumbing work in the bathroom and the sink behind the counter. If it doesn’t, it will have to be fixed. What was in this store before?”
“Homemade candies, crafts, gifts, that sort of thing. The Hobart ladies were here for eighteen years before they closed up.”
“Do you really expect me to believe the Hobart ladies paid you seven hundred and fifty dollars a month selling homemade candies, Mr. Peabody?” Annie asked, her voice ringing with disdain.
“My memory could be off a little. I’m not as young as I used to be,” Peabody said. His handkerchief was soaking wet.
“Does that mean we have a deal?”
Peabody hedged. “When would you want to take possession?”
“The minute this dump passes inspection. Electric, plumbing, paint job, trash removal. The cash register stays, as does the counter and those two round tables and chairs.”
“Now, I don’t know about that, Miss Clark.”
Annie was in the man’s face a moment later. “What don’t