Walter’s bald spot gleamed like the chrome on the tables. George wore flannel, and Officer Connor sported his uniform, looking far more businesslike than the rest of them did. “Claire?” He gestured to the spot beside Walter and commandeered a chair from another table and set it at the end.
Jo arrived with a notepad and a pot of coffee. “The usuals all around?” Three heads nodded.
“Just a sticky bun and coffee for me and put this all on my bill.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll take a side of sausage.” Walter gruffed.
“A two by three for me – scrambled.”
“With cheese on both eggs and hash?” Jo drummed her pencil as she looked at Claire. He envied their easy rapport.
“You know it. Thanks.”
James took a long sip of coffee. He didn’t gulp because a burnt throat would be bad, but the coffee cup prop gave him moment to center his thoughts the same way popping an antacid did.
“I’m glad you were all able to attend. I have a proposition for you.”
George drummed his fingers on the table. “What do you want to cancel now?”
“Nothing.” Although Walter and Bob warmed to him, George remained adversarial. Probably because he worried what would happen if his wife’s soaping shenanigans became public.
“Word of Adena’s improvement is starting to leak.”
“Well congratulations to you, but I don’t see how this affects the police force or the city.”
“No. It doesn’t. Not directly, but you are one of the movers and shakers in this town. Adena has several potential suitors.”
“So, you sell the company to someone else. What more damage can they do?” Walter huffed.
“Plenty. They can keep the power production plant and dissolve everything else. They could sell the plant for parts and shutter it entirely.”
Worry crossed George’s face.
“There’s another route, but it won’t be cheap, at least not initially.”
“Of course not.”
“Adena becomes a public private partnership with increased reliance on renewable energy. Best case, I’ll work through Fordham to be the private component. You only need to buy fifty one percent.”
“Easier said than done. There are regulations not to mention the city’s empty coffers.” As he’d expected, George pushed back.
“You rallied around the train display to keep small businesses afloat. You can do this.” He reached into the bag at his feet and gave everyone a thick white three ring binder. “I’ve outlined a few possible ways to restructure corporate ownership ranking the costs, benefits, and challenges of each method. Have your lawyers and regulators go through this, find any flaws that we can fix. I have an additional ten copies available. The one thing we don’t have is time. I need to know which, if any path, Belkin will pursue within ten days. And even then, if I can’t convince the partners at Fordham, Fordham and Schmidt this is a good deal, they could still sell the company from under you. But I believe in you. I believe in all of you and your commitment to this town so strongly, that if you go the municipal bond route, I’m prepared to make a personal investment of $150,000.” A collective gasp rose.
“Do you have that kind of money, kid?”
“Even after paying my fines, Officer Connor, I have ways to access money for investments. I assure you, I don’t throw good money after bad.”
“But you said you were going back to New York. Who runs the show here?”
His heart drummed against his rib cage at Claire’s question. “As per the summary on page—let me see your binder for a minute—page 163, I stay on as a board member and consultant. It’s not running the show—I think there are stronger in-house candidates for that role—but staying local would allow me to keep travel costs to a minimum. I also want to point out that Adena would continue to provide a home for the holiday train display and any successors would be asked to guarantee the operation in perpetuity.” Claire smiled. The way her eyes twinkled, he couldn’t tear himself away to look at Walter, even though he wondered if he’d realized he was one of those in-house candidates.
“The Sunny Side goes here. Short stack, two by scramble, two by fried. I’d mortgage my house to buy a municipal bond if it would keep Adena open. I’ll be right back with the rest. More coffee?”
“Yes, please, Jo.”
As everyone dug in, James leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He’d set his thought train in motion. Only time would tell if anyone else wanted to share the controls.
CLAIRE GLANCED IN THE backseat of James’ car as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“You’re serious about all this?”
“Like a heart attack. Yes.”
“You should try to get Beverly Westman on your side. She was the last non-native Belkin to get a stable business going and she’s in the small business association. Evan and Kay O’Meara who run the tavern would be good. Mike Mitchell, the photographer you fired, his wife is an O’Meara and part owner. You might need to do some serious butt-kissing, or in-bar drinking, but he’s a good guy.”
“I have a formal meeting with George and the mayors of a couple of a neighboring towns scheduled Monday afternoon, and I have a time blocked out to call the other potential revenue sources and set up additional appointments. I wanted to meet with Belkin movers and shakers first.”
“You flatter me too much. My grandpa was the leader, organized, respected, not me.”
“Claire, you have the chief engineer bandana. You’re the heart of this town.”
“You exaggerate. But, yes, I’ll allow that you were right. People in Belkin see me as one of their own. They protected me when they saw you as a threat. I’m no leader though. I can direct my projects, but when it comes to seeing the forest beyond my tiny trees, I’m not organized. I’m utterly overwhelmed.” Confession lightened her soul. She waved her hand toward the backseat. “Why did you do this? It seems to me you can’t make partner and be here.”
He chewed
