"Really? How's it going to work?", I asked.
"I'll explain it next Wednesday." He hung up, leaving me mystified but hopeful.
I called Tusker and he wasn't completely sure either, but he did indicate that Jake had asked them if they would be willing to have me as a minority owner, at a 10% level. They had both said yes, which made me think I was providing some guarantees, using my credit in place of theirs.
The following Wednesday, after lunch, I drove over to Jake's office. I met Tusker and Tessa in the parking lot and I could tell that Tusker was nervous, being a long haired biker type meeting with businessmen. I told him to calm down, he'd be fine. Tessa had on a business suit, and Tusker was scrubbed free of all petroleum products, and had a suit on also. We went inside to find the entire brain trust inside I introduced them to Jake, Jake Junior, Melissa, and John. "I wasn't expecting everybody to be involved.", I commented.
John answered, "If we are doing this, we all need to be in the loop. Jake ran some of the numbers. I was in touch with Andrea, the seller, and Maryland National."
I nodded. "Jake Junior is setting up the paperwork and legal documentation I guess." He nodded in agreement, and I turned to face Melissa. "And you?"
"I ran numbers for John. It's been fascinating!"
"And we have a plan in place?"
"We do!", answered Jake Junior. He extended a hand to his father, who began the explanation.
Basically, I would invest $50,000 in Tusk Cycle in exchange for 10% of the business. This valued the firm at half a million, which was ludicrous, but that was discounting the value of the work that Tusker and Tessa were doing. I was never going to actually work there. Further, I would keep an interest bearing account at Maryland National for a few years. In turn, that account would act as collateral on a loan Maryland National would make to Tusk Cycle, providing them with the ability to buy the old grocery store and renovate it (three year lease with an option to buy) and move their operation. There were some other provisions in the paperwork about the length of the loan guarantee and certain covenants as to accounting standards, but nothing I hadn't run across before.
Tusker just sat there, his mouth open. Tessa was a bit more animated and happy. Tusker said towards the end, after all the terms had been reviewed, and a copy of the paperwork provided to them for their own lawyer's review, "I just don't know what to say. We've been talking about this for the last week, but it's just starting to sink in. We can really do this!"
Tessa leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "You are our hero! I promise we will pay everything back! This is tremendous!"
Some of the others chuckled when Tessa kissed me; I was embarrassed. I got over it by saying, "You bet you'll be paying back this loan! Remember Snidely Whiplash? I will really enjoy evicting widows and orphans! You'll think about Ebenezer Scrooge and wish I was that nice!"
We sent Tusker and Tessa on their way, with instructions to have their lawyer call John about any questions and to set up a date to close all the paperwork. Afterwards, we just sat around the table and smiled at each other. "So, we can really do this sort of thing?", I said in wonder.
"We really can.", agreed Jake Senior, grinning back at me.
"Well, let's get this Buckman Group thing all set up, and do a few more.", I answered, grinning.
It was the end of June before all the lawyers and outside people agreed on everything, and we all signed the papers. On June 30, we all sat down in John's office along with a couple of New York lawyers who had reviewed all the paperwork. They started passing around papers and we all started signing. Then everybody coughed up a check, although Jake Junior's face was a little strained as he handed it over. He had borrowed some money from his father, and some from the Buckman Group, to be paid back out of his salary. We ended up with the following structure.
John Steiner - Chairman of the Board - He was older, seasoned, and made a good impression as the 'grown-up' running this thing.
Carl Buckman - President and Chief Executive Officer - Left unsaid was that the vast majority of the company stock was in my hands.
Jake Eisenstein, Sr. - Treasurer - Well, he was an accountant, after all.
Jake Eisenstein, Jr. - Vice President of Operations - We had to give him a title, and he was pretty ambitious. I could see him actually running the daily operations when we got bigger - if he worked out!
Melissa Talmadge - Vice President of Investments - She had all the brokerage and SEC credentials, and would handle anything we needed to do in buying and selling stocks.
Jake Senior brought his secretary, Grace, from the accounting office with him; John's stayed with his practice as he began to unwind it. She had already told him she was going to retire soon, anyway. Jake Junior, as the head of operations, was told he was in charge of finding us some cheap office space. He was pretty excited about that; John, his father, and I just sort of rolled our eyes at this, but figured we could keep an eye on things. I was looking at him like one of my young but promising lieutenants. Everybody starts out somewhere.
Afterwards, I went home and told Marilyn. She wasn't very impressed, as she was putting Charlie in his crib for his nap. "Business, business, business! I've got important business here!"
"I'll give you some important business!"
Marilyn looked at me and smirked. "That's not all that important." She took Charlie's dirty diaper and carried it out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen, with me following and protesting.
"I think you need a good spanking, with that kind of attitude."
"Ha. Ha. Ha. You are so funny."
"What?!" I advanced on my wife.
"Oh, no you don't! You can behave!", I was told.
I moved closer, and Marilyn tried to get past me, but I trapped her in a corner of the kitchen. "I think you need a spanking!" I pulled her into my arms, and brought my hands down to smack her on the bottom. She was wearing tight jeans, and there was a loud 'SMACK!' sound as a result.
Marilyn's eyes popped open! "Don't you dare!" She struggled in my arms to get loose.
"You earned it with that attitude." I gave her another smack on the bottom. Marilyn continued to struggle. "You'd better behave, or you'll earn one on your bare bottom.", I told her.
That caused her to laugh. "That's no threat! As soon as you see my bare bottom, you think of things other than spanking me!"
I grinned at that. "Oh, really? Maybe I need to do an experiment!" I pulled my hands around to her front and began fumbling with her zipper.
"Oh, no, I don't think so!", protested my wife. She was really laughing hard now. She tried to keep her pants on, while I tried to reverse the decision. I think it all came down to motivation - I was very motivated to pull her pants down, and she wasn't really all that motivated to keep them pulled up. After a few minutes of laughing struggle, Marilyn's pants and panties were down around her knees.
"Okay, now, let's check!" I turned her around so that she was facing the counter, and knelt down behind her. I could see the faint marks her panties had left on her. I began to lick her butt, even as I tugged her clothes down and off her bare feet.
Marilyn murmured happily as I worshipped that perfect ass. Grinning, she looked back behind her and said, "I told you you wouldn't want to spank me when you saw it."