never said that! With what intention?’ he asked.
‘What do you mean?’
‘With the intention of selling it on to make a profit, or with the intention of trying to make a living out of it? What is your reasoning behind it?’
‘A romantic notion,’ she answered, as thoughts of Ollie flooded her mind.
‘I’m not sure a romantic notion is going to pay the bills.’ Guy’s eyebrows lifted a notch and he jolted Nell back to the here and now.
‘Ollie and I always talked about putting something back into the community, working on a project together and I think this it is. He wouldn’t want to see the place bulldozed for houses. That old place has history. I loved spending quality family time there, happy memories. Do you think it would be flattened for houses?’
‘That’s where the money is.’ Guy admitted reluctantly thinking about all the times his granddad had scanned the paper looking for opportunities, to renovate spare land to build new properties.
‘I can imagine,’ she took a breath, ‘but I want to turn back time, I want everyone flocking back to the Old Picture House for their first dates and creating memories like I have.’
‘I think I said my granddad was in the building trade and in my experience a plot like that has loads of potential but there will already be numerous interested parties. Someone may have already put in an offer.’
‘According to the paper, it’s up for auction.’
‘Okay, so that’s a little different.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Auctions are all about ready cash. Once the auction is won you usually have about fourteen days to complete the transaction, and you’ll have to take the property in whatever state it’s in. The local builders will have the means to snap up projects like this quite easily and the workforce to carry out any work.’
‘What if I had the ready cash?’
He held her gaze and from the look in her eyes knew she meant business.
‘Then I would say if you held your nerve at auction you would be in with a good chance of winning, depending on the reserve, your budget and the money needed to actually furnish it too.’
‘So, you’re saying I need the money to win the auction and then a little bit more.’
‘A hell of a lot more. Okay, if your bid was successful and you renovate the Old Picture House, what are you going to do with it then? Are you going to run it as a business, film museum? What’s the plan? Are you in it to make a profit? A project like this could cost you even more in the long run. The place closed down for a reason.’
So many questions. Guy sounded just like her mum now and Nell had to admit she hadn’t really thought that far in advance, but one thing she did know, she had fire in her belly and something was telling her to do this. Nell sucked in a breath, ‘It sounds all very expensive now you are throwing these types of scenarios at me,’ she said.
Guy placed his cup down on the table, ‘Hey, I’m not trying to put a dampener on it all.’
‘Like my mother,’ she interrupted and couldn’t get her head round why her mum was so dismissive of the idea.
‘All I’m saying is don’t go into this with your eyes shut. It will be a hell of a lot of money to lose if it doesn’t go to plan and I’ve spent a lot of time with my granddad and have seen many a project unfinished due to lack of funds.’
Nell’s eyes began to prick with tears and she came over all emotional, ‘I think I was dreaming there for a minute,’ a tear rolled down her cheek.
‘Hey, don’t knock dreams. Anyone’s dreams can come true; you have to believe in yourself.’ Guy caught Nell’s eye. ‘You have to budget for costs that you may never have even thought of. Here,’ he fished inside his pocket and handed her a tissue.
‘Thank you,’ she said dabbing her eyes. ‘I just feel I have to do this. Something in Ollie’s memory.’
Nell hadn’t really thought about the whole project in that much depth. She’d on many occasions watched re-runs of Homes Under the Hammer on a Saturday afternoon and admired anyone who took on a mammoth task of knocking down and building houses. She cast her mind back to her childhood and remembered the stress of her parents replacing their kitchen. But surely this project would be different: she wouldn’t be living in it, she could manage everything from the safe haven of the ‘Nollie’.
Guy smiled then nodded encouragingly, ‘It’s definitely achievable, but do your homework first.’
Nell knew Guy was right. When Bea had taken over the deli everything had gone wrong initially. The boiler had packed in, the ovens were on their last legs, the roof had leaked and the whole place had needed bringing into this century. But she had done it, and she had an amazing business now.
‘So …’ she smiled over at Guy, ‘Your granddad, did he have his own construction business?’
Guy nodded, ‘He was a very successful, very reputable man over in Ireland. He never had to advertise, all his work came about by word of mouth. Back in the day, he gave me a Saturday job: I was his lackey, at his beck and call,’ he smiled, ‘the tea boy.’
‘You have to start at the bottom,’ Nell chipped in.
‘That’s exactly what he said! But I loved working alongside him and had visions of Cornish and Sons becoming a building phenomenon. I loved the dirt on my hands, the muck in my hair, working outside in the fresh air.’
‘But you became a suit? Stiff collars and ties.’
‘I did,’ he rolled his eyes, ‘but that’s a story for another day.’
Nell didn’t press him any further, but peered up at Guy through her fringe and grinned, ‘So you like getting your hands dirty?’
‘I do,’ his eyes danced playfully. ‘What is going on in that little mind of yours, Nell Andrews?’ he gave her a lopsided grin that sent her heart into a spin.
‘Maybe you could help me, guide me and point me in the right direction. If I decided to go ahead with the picture house?’
‘I suppose I could be your right-hand man.’
‘Would you? Are you absolutely sure?’ she spluttered happily.
‘One hundred per cent. I’m already quite excited about the project, but that auction needs to be won first. And you need to think seriously about your plans for the place.’
Nell didn’t know exactly what that entailed but she like the thought of Guy being her right- hand man, guiding her through the project. She liked the thought of spending more time with him, full stop.
‘The more I think about it the more excited I am about the whole thing.’
‘Have you any other plans for tonight? We could talk figures, come up with some ideas.’ He gave her a cheeky smile.
Nell
