I Do

“What about the wine?” she asked. “When it comes to wine, it is definitely a no brainer. I don’t think there is any way any vineyard will ever go out of business. Everyone loves wine. Even the non-alcoholics.”

“Yeah, that’s just grape juice in a fancy bottle,” Ethan pointed out. Josie stifled a laugh.

“Yeah, funky tasting grape juice.” She took a deep breath. “But seriously though, wine is good business. It is actually my ideal retirement plan. A nice vineyard off a Spanish coast would not be so bad.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow over the other.

“Your retirement plan is living on a Spanish coast?” he asked and she nodded.

“Well, they do have some relaxing scenery and their vineyards… Well, it is not like I have been to one but the pictures I have seen have done a lot to encourage my dream.”

Ethan smiled.

“That sounds like a really great dream,” he said in a soft voice.

He was looking right into her eyes as he said that and she was staring right back.

“My dream is similar to yours,” he started and she leaned forward.

Thoughts of her relaxing evening with her roommate were the farthest thing from her mind at that moment. All she wanted was to hear about his dream.

“I just want a place with a sea breeze. I don’t care what continent it is on really. White sandy beach, sea breeze and a cabin in the middle of it all. Maybe some coconut and mango trees to complete the whole picturesque look.”

“What about sustenance?” she asked. “What will you do for food?”

“I reckon I could live off the land. Get me a vegetable garden in my back yard I would also have a boat that goes to the mainland weekly for supplies and mail… I would have a satellite phone and maybe a dial-up modem for connection. You know, I don’t want to be completely off the grid.”

“Yeah, what’s the point of Netflix and chill when you only have half the equation, right?” she asked and he nodded.

“Exactly.”

The conversation became more heated as they both talked about their ideal futures. As Josie found out, she and Ethan were more alike than she had ever thought possible. It was not until an hour later that they got back to talking about business. Josie sent a text to Dani to tell her that she would be late. Dani did not mind.

Ethan ordered dinner as they laid out a plan of action for Luigi’s pizza and just as Josie had assumed, acquiring buildings was not a hard thing for Ethan. If anything, his acquisition of the buildings only helped the neighborhoods he was interested in. Rather than having a building torn down to put up expensive condos, he chose to renovate the buildings and offer a dignified living space at a considerable amount while offering Luigi exactly what he wanted: authenticity. However, Ethan reckoned there was going to be a lot of push back from the local real estate moguls.

“Well, it is simple really. None of the buildings you are looking at are in the ‘wrong side of town’ so to speak. So, the property value is only going to go up. The affordable housing only accounts for one of the properties.” She pointed to one of the documents. “The building is rent-controlled. So, getting the tenants out for renovation is going to be a nightmare.”

“What are you suggesting? Alternative housing for the duration of the renovation process?” he asked and she shook her head.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” She shrugged. “It is not the easiest thing dealing with rent-controlled buildings.”

“What are my alternatives?” Ethan asked.

“Paying top dollar for older buildings in town. They have the brickwork you need to install an old-school kitchen and besides, most of them already have the structure needed for a restaurant. I know of two buildings in San Diego alone that used to house restaurants on their ground floors which means that except for a little paint job, the shops are already set up for business.”

Ethan nodded.

“That is still a long shot, right?” he asked as Josie reached for her food.

“It is but that is your only option for now.”

Ethan took a bite of his mandarin chicken.

“I got it,” he said, excitedly. “Pop-ups.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and took a bite of her own chicken.

“I would need more than a couple of words to understand what you just said.”

“ A pop-up restaurants is something even Michelin star chefs are doing nowadays. Now, what is better than a perfect slice of Italian-style pizza that you can only have a couple of times a week?” he asked and she pointed at him with her chopsticks.

“That’s a great idea but you still have to tackle your old school kitchen situation and I doubt that a food truck can house a furnace.”

“That’s where this whole pop-up thing is such a great idea. The whole point is getting a site that can handle everything Luigi’s pizza needs.”

“Beaches and parks. Obviously,” Josie said, excitedly.

“Exactly.”

“This is genius.”

“You Josie Johnson are perhaps one of the best workers I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Ethan said in a soft voice. “Hiring you has to be the best decision I made in a long time. Remind me to thank my brother.”

Josie shook her head.

“Your brother? What does he have to do with me being hired?”

“He insisted on me getting help and I usually like handling my own workspace. I find it easier that way.”

“Your brother,” she started as she took another bite of her food. “He is the CFO but I have hardly seen him around since I came on board.”

Ethan took a long, deep breath.

“Yeah, he is usually my go-to guy but he’s had a tough time lately. Family crisis.”

Josie smiled.

“You do know that your family stories are a matter of public record, right?” she asked and he raised an eyebrow at her. “I know that he and his wife have hit a rough patch lately.”

“Well, that’s where the public record has it wrong. They have not hit a rough patch. They are going through a divorce and Noah has sole custody of the kids.”

“Thank God,” Josie said under her breath.

“What’s that?” Ethan asked.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to bad mouth my boss’ family or anything but Zoe Sanders was never really a favorite with the public. I am actually surprised that she had children. She did not look like the kind to deal with any kind of manual labor.”

Ethan laughed.

“Pun intended?” he asked and she shook her head.

“No, just a coincidence… but I shouldn’t talk about her like that. I don’t know her, you know.”