For a time she simply stared up at the towers. They were a marvel of architecture and she found it difficult to do more than look at their intimidating facade. The taste of celery brought her eyes away from the towers. She hated celery and had been avoiding it. She swallowed the offending vegetable and took a drink of her water.
Now that her eyes had been torn away from the towers she began to look around. She saw a few storefronts with lease signs on them, but none of them spoke to her and so she passed them by. Then her eyes fell on a row of buildings, obviously not built at the same time as they were different sizes, heights, colors and materials, that sat in the shadow of the towers. 'I really need to find out the name of those things.'
The first store had a big lime green for sale/lease sign in the window. 'What a wonderful thing to teach my art in the shadow of those lovely buildings.' Wren put the lid on the vegetable container and picked up her briefcase and purse. She paused at a trash can and tossed out her garbage before continuing to the stop light.
She crossed when the little man appeared and paused in front of the little one storey building, tilting her head to take it in. She liked the look of it. It was a soft pinkish-red brick and had a covered porch that stretched the entire front of the building. 'I guess you call it a porch, even though it's on an office building.'
Wren ascended the two steps onto the porch and smiled. She could hang a couple of swings, put up little decorative collums, and a little railing all around, making it a great little place for her students to hang out before and after classes.
Hoping the inside matched the promise of the outside, she peered into one of the big plate glass windows. It was a big open space. The floors were some kind of ugly linoleum and scared from desks and a small cubicle farm. In the back quarter of the space were two enclosed spaces, separated by a little walk way. She assumed they were a bathroom/office/breakroom area.
She stepped back and scanned the sign in the window. It was within the square footage range she had determined she'd need. She'd called the only professor she'd been friendly with and asked him how large a dance studio space needed to be. He'd given her his ideal dimensions of a floor and she'd doubled it in order to have space for a lobby and dressing rooms.
She wanted to get inside the place and hoped it was on her realtor's agenda, otherwise they would be coming back later. She stepped back and glanced down at her watch. She had five minutes before the man would be there.
Eager to have a look inside the space, Wren turned and walked quickly back toward the light. She crossed and saw a familiar man in a navy suit standing by the bench she'd been sitting at. He glanced at his watch, then jammed the hand in his pocket to jingle keys or change, whatever it was he kept in that pocket to jingle.
She learned something about him then. He was a man that hated waiting, but in order to keep his clients from waiting he arrived early and was forced to wait, which added to his stress level and forced him to jingle his pocket and do a lot of fidgeting. She hurried toward him with a smile on her face.
"Ethan." He turned and offered her a white smile in his tan face.
"Wren. How are you?" They shook hands
"Wonderful. You?"
"Great, thank you." He made a sweeping gesture with his hand and his smile widened. "What do you think of the area?"
Finding a Studio
Wren stood in front of her full length mirror staring at her shoes. 'Pink, what the hell was I thinking?' Though she had to admit the lady had been right they looked much better than the soft gray she'd chosen first. The suit she was wearing was a soft gray wool with a thin petal pink pinstripe. She wore a matching pink camisole with lace edging under the jacket and pearls at her throat and ears. It was a very classic professional looking outfit.
She wore it in honor of her task for the day. She was meeting the fifth in a long line of rather stupid real estate agents. Her requirements were very specific and she had yet to see one place that met even half of them. She wondered how any of the agents made any money if they never showed what the client wanted.
Sighing once more at the pink pumps she left her room and went into the kitchen where the coffee was just finishing bubbling into her travel mug. She purchased a single cup maker when she discovered she'd be spending a large number of mornings up and away from the house before Drev even thought about waking up.
She put cream and sugar into the mug, scribbled out a brief note to Drev, and gathered her briefcase and purse, before heading out the door. Wren tossed her things into the passenger seat of her car and zipped out of the little parking lot and headed to the spot her realtor's very specific directions lead her. The radio was blasting Sting as the wind over the windshield blew her hair out behind her. She'd have to brush it when she got there, but driving with the top down was so worth the tangles.
She found the spot and decided she didn't want to leave her baby to the mercies of metered parking so she made a u-turn drove back three blocks to a patrolled, gated lot she'd passed. She was directed into a slot and gave the man her fifteen dollars. He put a ticket in her dashboard as she hit the switch to raise the top.
She tucked her keys in her purse and grabbed all of her things from the seat, leaving her half-empty coffee mug in the cup holder. Wren was excited to finally be out looking for a place. She'd talked to the realtor several times and he had finally found exactly what she was looking for.
As she was passing a small corner store, her stomach rumbled so she popped inside to see what they offered. She was delighted to find little containers with vegetable sticks and little cups of ranch dressing. She picked one up, along with a bottle of water and paid for her purchases. Now she would have something to do while she waited and soaked in the area.
She'd deliberately left much too early so that she could find a place to sit and watch the area, get a feel for the people and the surroundings. She didn't want to teach dance in a place she hated going to.
Three blocks found her in a busy area full of offices and stores, all of which were dominated by a set of towers, that were awe inspiring to say the least. Across the road and down half a block from the towers was a little park. It was really just a half block section of lawn with a fountain in the center and benches dotting a walk path around the perimeter. It was there she was to meet her reltor, so it was there she would take in the area. She found a two sided bench and sat on the side that faced the street. She set her things on the bench beside her and opened the container of vegetables.
((Meridian Towers used with permission. All following mentions of the towers are also done with permission.))
Wren
18 years ago
Wren
18 years ago
"I love it." She smiled as she too gave the area another look. "It has such a great vibe and energy."
Ethan pulled a small stack of papers from his briefcase and smiled at her again. "Is there anything you want to know about the area? Has anything caught your eye?"
Wren gave a small chuckle. "Yes to both. What are those towers called?"
She pointed at the structures that had occupied much of her attention for much of her time here.
"Oh those are the Meridian Towers. I really don't know much about Meridian. I think they actually have a different name for each of the towers, but I'd have to look that up for you. I think they do some research and development and seem to have their fingers in lots of pies. You know like when you watch a TV commercial and in the bottom corner it has little what print that says 'A Meridian Innovation' but they aren't ever overt about it. Actually I've only seen that once and I don't even remember the product."
Wren arched an eyebrow at the man. He was babbling and that was hardly professional and was quite unusual for him, at least in the few meetings they'd had.She shook her head and tried not to laugh at him.
"Thank you, I'll have to look them up on the internet and get a little bit of background information, just so that I can answer any questions posed to me. Now on to your second question." She offered him a smile and turned in the direction of the building she had been looking at.
"I'd like to take a look inside there, if we can."
It was Ethan's turn to smile. "That was actually going to be the first building I was going to show you. It seems to come closest to exactly what you want." He tucked the papers back into the case, and made a sweeping gesture toward the building.
"Shall we?"
Wren was just glad he hadn't offered his arm to her and had them skipping down the side walk. He seemed just a bit out of sorts to her and she wondered if her asking about the towers had done it. She could see how, but there it was.
Ethan used his realtor's magic and let them into the building. It was a bit stuffy and warm, but Wren could tell that the air had been left on low enough to keep it from being nightmarishly hot in there. It seemed bigger on the inside and she liked the open duct work of the ceiling, something she hadn't noticed from the window.
The flooring was not in the best condition, but she had plans to replace it anyway, and so was unconcerned for it's outward appearance. The true test would be when it was torn up and the foundations were revealed.
They walked back toward the enclosed spaces, all the while Ethan is babbling about the space itself, age, previous tenants, the pizzeria before the office would explain the subtle garlic smell that was just behind the old paper and stale coffee smell. New floors and fresh paint would help with that a lot, but she had a feeling she was going to need air freshener in the air at all times.
The area to the left was a small enclosed space that she assumed had been used as a manager's office. It would serve well as a dressing room. Opposite that was a bathroom and an employee breakroom. They entered the breakroom and Wren was pleasantly surprised to find what was probably a storage room. It would make a perfect office for her. She could make the breakroom the ladies dressing room, and the small office the men's dressing room.
None of the spaces was exceptionally large, but they would work well for her purposes. She came back out of the storage room to find Ethan leaning against the little counter with its little sink in the breakroom.
"So, what did you think, Wren?"
"I love it. I should probably see other places just to be fair, but I feel drawn to this space."
"I'd be more than happy to show you other spaces, Wren. Or we can go find a table at the coffee house three doors down and go over the particulars of the contract for this building and then you can decide if you want to see other spaces."
Wren smiled brightly at him and gave a decisive nod.
"Let's do that."
He lead her out of the front door and put the lock back into place, before heading to the afore mentioned coffee shop. Wren ordered an iced latte with non-fat milk when asked what she's like and then found a table near the back, that offered a little more privacy than the tables nestled beneath the big plate glass windows.
Ethan pulled a small stack of papers from his briefcase and smiled at her again. "Is there anything you want to know about the area? Has anything caught your eye?"
Wren gave a small chuckle. "Yes to both. What are those towers called?"
She pointed at the structures that had occupied much of her attention for much of her time here.
"Oh those are the Meridian Towers. I really don't know much about Meridian. I think they actually have a different name for each of the towers, but I'd have to look that up for you. I think they do some research and development and seem to have their fingers in lots of pies. You know like when you watch a TV commercial and in the bottom corner it has little what print that says 'A Meridian Innovation' but they aren't ever overt about it. Actually I've only seen that once and I don't even remember the product."
Wren arched an eyebrow at the man. He was babbling and that was hardly professional and was quite unusual for him, at least in the few meetings they'd had.She shook her head and tried not to laugh at him.
"Thank you, I'll have to look them up on the internet and get a little bit of background information, just so that I can answer any questions posed to me. Now on to your second question." She offered him a smile and turned in the direction of the building she had been looking at.
"I'd like to take a look inside there, if we can."
It was Ethan's turn to smile. "That was actually going to be the first building I was going to show you. It seems to come closest to exactly what you want." He tucked the papers back into the case, and made a sweeping gesture toward the building.
"Shall we?"
Wren was just glad he hadn't offered his arm to her and had them skipping down the side walk. He seemed just a bit out of sorts to her and she wondered if her asking about the towers had done it. She could see how, but there it was.
Ethan used his realtor's magic and let them into the building. It was a bit stuffy and warm, but Wren could tell that the air had been left on low enough to keep it from being nightmarishly hot in there. It seemed bigger on the inside and she liked the open duct work of the ceiling, something she hadn't noticed from the window.
The flooring was not in the best condition, but she had plans to replace it anyway, and so was unconcerned for it's outward appearance. The true test would be when it was torn up and the foundations were revealed.
They walked back toward the enclosed spaces, all the while Ethan is babbling about the space itself, age, previous tenants, the pizzeria before the office would explain the subtle garlic smell that was just behind the old paper and stale coffee smell. New floors and fresh paint would help with that a lot, but she had a feeling she was going to need air freshener in the air at all times.
The area to the left was a small enclosed space that she assumed had been used as a manager's office. It would serve well as a dressing room. Opposite that was a bathroom and an employee breakroom. They entered the breakroom and Wren was pleasantly surprised to find what was probably a storage room. It would make a perfect office for her. She could make the breakroom the ladies dressing room, and the small office the men's dressing room.
None of the spaces was exceptionally large, but they would work well for her purposes. She came back out of the storage room to find Ethan leaning against the little counter with its little sink in the breakroom.
"So, what did you think, Wren?"
"I love it. I should probably see other places just to be fair, but I feel drawn to this space."
"I'd be more than happy to show you other spaces, Wren. Or we can go find a table at the coffee house three doors down and go over the particulars of the contract for this building and then you can decide if you want to see other spaces."
Wren smiled brightly at him and gave a decisive nod.
"Let's do that."
He lead her out of the front door and put the lock back into place, before heading to the afore mentioned coffee shop. Wren ordered an iced latte with non-fat milk when asked what she's like and then found a table near the back, that offered a little more privacy than the tables nestled beneath the big plate glass windows.
Wren
18 years ago
Ethan joined her shortly with their drinks and after sitting down, he pulled a file folder from his briefcase. Curiosity very nearly had her looking in that briefcase to see if he had files for every property he had planned to show her or if he'd been arrogant in thinking she would fall for the first one. He'd have been right, but still she wanted to know.
"Wren, you have a couple of options with this space, but before we go over those, I want to talk about the restrictions imposed by the owners."
"Alright."
They spent about twenty minutes discussing all of the things the owners didn't want done to the property and they things that were allowed. She was surprised to find that these restrictions would hold even if she purchased the place as it was in the sale contract. Not that the restrictions were horrible. She couldn't change the outside color of the brick, she couldn't enclose the porch and she couldn't add on to the building. All interior construction had to be removable and all proper permits must be obtained.
What surprised her was the options she had. She could buy or lease or lease to own. Which meant all her lease payments would be applied toward her purchase of the building if she chose. Ethan recommended that option, as it it left both ends open for her. If her venture failed she wouldn't be stuck with selling a building and if it flourished she wouldn't be stuck in a lease for the rest of her business' life time. She wanted to sign the lease right then and there, but thought it prudent to take it to the lawyer Drev used and have everything looked over first. It might save her later on.
She and Ethan talk a little while longer as they finished their coffee. He left her with a file folder containing the lease agreement and several other documents she would need, along with applications for building permits and business licences. She found herself please at the extent he had gone to, and planned to give him as much business as she could.
She checked her watch and found that if she didn't get a move on she'd be late to the bank for her appointment with her loan officer.
Wren hurried to the lot the held her car and only when she was finally in the safety of the enclosed space did she let out a shout of joy and did a little squirming dance in her seat. She couldn't wait to tell Drev, but first she had a lot more stuff to take care of. She put the car into gear and took off toward the back on the other end of the Strip.
((OOC Lock up, please.))
"Wren, you have a couple of options with this space, but before we go over those, I want to talk about the restrictions imposed by the owners."
"Alright."
They spent about twenty minutes discussing all of the things the owners didn't want done to the property and they things that were allowed. She was surprised to find that these restrictions would hold even if she purchased the place as it was in the sale contract. Not that the restrictions were horrible. She couldn't change the outside color of the brick, she couldn't enclose the porch and she couldn't add on to the building. All interior construction had to be removable and all proper permits must be obtained.
What surprised her was the options she had. She could buy or lease or lease to own. Which meant all her lease payments would be applied toward her purchase of the building if she chose. Ethan recommended that option, as it it left both ends open for her. If her venture failed she wouldn't be stuck with selling a building and if it flourished she wouldn't be stuck in a lease for the rest of her business' life time. She wanted to sign the lease right then and there, but thought it prudent to take it to the lawyer Drev used and have everything looked over first. It might save her later on.
She and Ethan talk a little while longer as they finished their coffee. He left her with a file folder containing the lease agreement and several other documents she would need, along with applications for building permits and business licences. She found herself please at the extent he had gone to, and planned to give him as much business as she could.
She checked her watch and found that if she didn't get a move on she'd be late to the bank for her appointment with her loan officer.
Wren hurried to the lot the held her car and only when she was finally in the safety of the enclosed space did she let out a shout of joy and did a little squirming dance in her seat. She couldn't wait to tell Drev, but first she had a lot more stuff to take care of. She put the car into gear and took off toward the back on the other end of the Strip.
((OOC Lock up, please.))