have been laundered for a while.
“Mark?”
Finally, he looked up at them. “Yes?”
“I’m Herb Fisher, this is Bobby Bentley. Marshall Brennan sent us to see you.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re our new lawyers.”
“Can you give us a few minutes?”
“Sure,” Mark said, rising from his chair and taking his eyes reluctantly from the screen. He led them across the room to a beat-up picnic table, swept half a dozen empty foam cups off it, and offered them a bench. “This is our corporate dining room,” he said. “What can I tell you? I can’t tell you about our software, but anything else.”
“Tell us what your ambitions are,” Herbie said, “and we’ll see if we can help you get there.”
“My ambition is to get our software out of beta and on the market,” Mark said. “And frankly, I don’t have any idea how to do that. At some point after that I want to do an IPO and get impossibly rich, then write lots of new software.”
“Okay,” Herbie said, looking around the room. “How long have you been in this building?”
“Three weeks,” Mark replied.
“And how long have you been associated with Marshall Brennan?”
“Since day before yesterday,” Mark said.
“Okay, Mark, let’s run through some basics, then you can get back to work.”
“Love to,” Mark said.
15
Herbie looked around the room. “How’d you find this place?”
Mark Hayes shrugged. “My sister is going out with a guy, and his mother owns the place. His father used to manufacture dresses here.”
“What’s your rent?”
“Five grand a month for this floor.”
“How many floors?”
“Six.”
“What’s on the ground floor behind the big doors?”
“Used to be loading docks for trucks.”
“Would the lady sell the building?”
“Yeah, but she wants six million for it.”
“How much have you got in the bank?”
“Eighteen million, give or take, from Marshall’s investment.”
“Buy the building today. Offer her five million. Then budget another two million to get a couple of floors in shape. I can handle that for you, and I can recommend an architect.”
“Is that a good investment?”
“Mark, it’s a steal. If this company works, you’re going to need all six floors before you know it. And you can use that old loading dock area for a parking garage. That will be very attractive to your employees.”
“Yeah, I’ve been parking my car down there.”
“What sort of computer security system you got here?”
“The usual firewall. We unplug everything when nobody’s here.”
“There’s no physical security either, is there?”
“A lock on the door.”
“You need to get somebody in here fast to secure this place. Think of it as a storage facility for gold bullion. Let me make some calls.”
“Sure, I guess that’s a good idea.”
“The architect needs to design you an office layout, too, and you need to start making this place look more businesslike. You should all dress better, too. I don’t mean you should wear Brooks Brothers suits, just not jeans- and the clothes should be freshly laundered. The media are going to want to talk to you soon, and you should be ready for them. Think Steve Jobs.”
“Funny, that’s what my girlfriend says-all that stuff about the building, too.”
“Give me your landlord’s name, and go back to work, then I’ll get to work buying the building.”
Mark took a card from his wallet. “Mrs. Friedrich,” he said, handing Herbie the card. He went back to his desk.
Herbie picked up the phone on the picnic table and called the number.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Friedrich?”
“Yes.”
“Hi, my name is Herbert Fisher. I’m an attorney representing your tenant, Mark Hayes.”
“Uh-oh.”
“No, nothing like that. Mark has asked me to make you an offer of five million dollars for the building.”
“I told him I wanted six.”
“He’s a young man just getting started, but he can raise five million.”
“Oh, all right. When do you want to close?”
“Is the building entailed? Is there a mortgage?”
“No, I own it free and clear.”
Herbie gave her his office number and cell. “Have your attorney call me to set up the closing. I’ll get Mark to raise the money, and we can close in a few days.”
“All cash?”
“All cash.”
“You tell Mark he’s got a deal.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks, Mrs. Friedrich.” Herbie hung up and shouted across the room, “Mark, you’ve got the building!”
Mark gave him a thumbs-up without looking away from his monitor.
Herbie called Mike Freeman at Strategic Services.
“Good morning, Herb.”
“Good morning, Mike. I want to thank you for your advice and for your very kind offer. I was promoted to senior associate yesterday, and I got my first client this morning, a software start-up. I’ve just bought them a building, but it’s completely without any kind of security, physical or electronic. Can you get something done about that?”
“Give me the address and the name of the company.”
Herbie recited the information.
“I’ll have a team down there in two hours, maybe sooner.”
“I’ll be here to meet them.” Herbie thanked him, hung up, and called James Rutledge, an architect he’d met through Stone Barrington who had left Architectural Digest to start his own firm.
“How are you, Herbie?”
“I’m just great, Jim, and from now on, it’s Herb. I got promoted, so I need a grown-up name. How’s business?”
“I’ve got a couple of leads-nothing definite yet.”
“I’ve got something definite for you, Jim. Write down this information.”
“Got it. What’s the job?”
“A six-story industrial building to be transformed into the offices of a new software company, very promising, and very well financed by Marshall Brennan. Can you come over here right now?”
“Gee, let me check my schedule. I see that I’m free. I’ll try not to break my neck hurrying over there. Bye.”
