Chapter 61

The asking price was $2 million, which I considered to be much too high, so I asked Stanley if he thought the owners would accept an offer that was about twenty-five percent lower and more closely in line with reality. He said he’d try but didn’t sound too sure of their probable response.

We returned to William’s office and went back to the conference room. Stanley produced a standard real estate contract and began to fill it out. I directed him to list the purchaser as Philip d’Autremont or nominee. He handed the document to me, and I looked it over, adding a few provisions concerning building codes, zoning, and other matters that I knew from experience were essential to a viable project.

Then I handed the contract to Charles and said, “Run your legal beagle eyes over this, and tell me what you think.”