shouldn’t have been since he’d provided the figures for the equipment himself, he’d been shocked by just how expensive the start-up was likely to be.
Ronnie had been the first to notice his stunned reaction. “Elliott, are you having second thoughts?”
He had shaken his head, though that response had obviously been belied by his expression.
“You know the rest of us can pick up the difference between our original projections and these figures,” Travis McDonald had said.
“That’s right,” his cousin Tom had agreed. “It’s a solid investment, Elliott. We’re all going to get our money back and then some. Just look at how profitable The Corner Spa has been.”
“But it filled a niche for women,” Elliott said, playing devil’s advocate. “Dexter’s was no competition. And the services they offered couldn’t be matched anywhere in the region outside of Charleston or Columbia, and they were more expensive there. Do you really think men will abandon Dexter’s, dump that it is, just because we’re cleaner and our equipment is newer?”
“Absolutely,” Cal said at once.
“Even though we’re going to have to charge more for a membership?” Elliott persisted. “It’s still a tough economy out there, guys. Women will always squeeze a little out of the budget to pamper themselves. Men may figure they can get by with going for a run. The high school track and the path around the lake are free.”
“I hate to say it, but he has a point,” Ronnie said. “Maybe we’re the only men in town desperate for this.”
Cal shook his head. “I did an informal survey as part of the business plan, remember? I talked to the dads of all the kids I coach, and eighty percent of them said they’d use a facility like this if it were convenient and memberships were reasonably priced. Come on, Elliott. Why are you getting nervous now? You know this is going to work.”
“I want to believe it will,” Elliott admitted. “But then I see the look on Karen’s face when she realized I planned to invest our baby fund to make it happen.”
Shock had spread across his friends’ faces.
“Your baby fund?” Ronnie echoed.
Elliott nodded. “We’ve been saving to make sure we can afford to have a child together. Karen insisted we needed to be financially prepared for all the expenses that come with a new baby, and I really get where she’s coming from.”
“Oh, boy,” Tom murmured. “I get it, too. I had no idea how much paraphernalia one tiny little person could need till Jeanette started stocking our nursery.”
The others agreed.
“Then we’ll just pick up the slack, all of it,” Travis said. “I have investments from my baseball salary that aren’t earning diddly these days. I might as well put that money into something I believe in.”
“I can come up with more, too,” Tom offered.
Elliott frowned at them. “I appreciate the offers, guys. I really do, but absolutely not. I need to pull my own weight financially if we’re going forward. Otherwise, I’ll never feel as if I’ve earned a stake in the business.”
“But you’re talking about taking money out of your savings for a baby,” Travis protested. “That’s no good.”
“It’ll just postpone things a little longer,” Elliott insisted, knowing that Karen wouldn’t see it that way. She was going to be furious, but what could he do? He couldn’t be the charity partner. Pride wouldn’t allow it. He’d find some way to make her see reason.
Unfortunately, right this second, even after pondering it for the entire drive home, he still had no idea what kind of valid argument he could offer that would keep her from blowing a gasket.
* * *
Adelia had gotten her wish. Ernesto hadn’t been home for four days now. Ever since he’d stormed out Saturday with her words warning him not to come back ringing in his ears, he’d stayed away. The kids were beside themselves, and she was all out of explanations. The only one she had wasn’t something she
Ronnie had been the first to notice his stunned reaction. “Elliott, are you having second thoughts?”
He had shaken his head, though that response had obviously been belied by his expression.
“You know the rest of us can pick up the difference between our original projections and these figures,” Travis McDonald had said.
“That’s right,” his cousin Tom had agreed. “It’s a solid investment, Elliott. We’re all going to get our money back and then some. Just look at how profitable The Corner Spa has been.”
“But it filled a niche for women,” Elliott said, playing devil’s advocate. “Dexter’s was no competition. And the services they offered couldn’t be matched anywhere in the region outside of Charleston or Columbia, and they were more expensive there. Do you really think men will abandon Dexter’s, dump that it is, just because we’re cleaner and our equipment is newer?”
“Absolutely,” Cal said at once.
“Even though we’re going to have to charge more for a membership?” Elliott persisted. “It’s still a tough economy out there, guys. Women will always squeeze a little out of the budget to pamper themselves. Men may figure they can get by with going for a run. The high school track and the path around the lake are free.”
“I hate to say it, but he has a point,” Ronnie said. “Maybe we’re the only men in town desperate for this.”
Cal shook his head. “I did an informal survey as part of the business plan, remember? I talked to the dads of all the kids I coach, and eighty percent of them said they’d use a facility like this if it were convenient and memberships were reasonably priced. Come on, Elliott. Why are you getting nervous now? You know this is going to work.”
“I want to believe it will,” Elliott admitted. “But then I see the look on Karen’s face when she realized I planned to invest our baby fund to make it happen.”
Shock had spread across his friends’ faces.
“Your baby fund?” Ronnie echoed.
Elliott nodded. “We’ve been saving to make sure we can afford to have a child together. Karen insisted we needed to be financially prepared for all the expenses that come with a new baby, and I really get where she’s coming from.”
“Oh, boy,” Tom murmured. “I get it, too. I had no idea how much paraphernalia one tiny little person could need till Jeanette started stocking our nursery.”
The others agreed.
“Then we’ll just pick up the slack, all of it,” Travis said. “I have investments from my baseball salary that aren’t earning diddly these days. I might as well put that money into something I believe in.”
“I can come up with more, too,” Tom offered.
Elliott frowned at them. “I appreciate the offers, guys. I really do, but absolutely not. I need to pull my own weight financially if we’re going forward. Otherwise, I’ll never feel as if I’ve earned a stake in the business.”
“But you’re talking about taking money out of your savings for a baby,” Travis protested. “That’s no good.”
“It’ll just postpone things a little longer,” Elliott insisted, knowing that Karen wouldn’t see it that way. She was going to be furious, but what could he do? He couldn’t be the charity partner. Pride wouldn’t allow it. He’d find some way to make her see reason.
Unfortunately, right this second, even after pondering it for the entire drive home, he still had no idea what kind of valid argument he could offer that would keep her from blowing a gasket.
* * *
Adelia had gotten her wish. Ernesto hadn’t been home for four days now. Ever since he’d stormed out Saturday with her words warning him not to come back ringing in his ears, he’d stayed away. The kids were beside themselves, and she was all out of explanations. The only one she had wasn’t something she
Similar Books
