Free Winner Takes It All by Karen Mason Page A

them,
and Alex felt just a little put out when he naturally headed
towards Jack.
    ‘ How do you
do?’ he said. ‘Roy Reid.’
    Jack shook his hand, then
pointed to Alex.
    ‘ Roy, this is
Alex Cusack who’ll be buying the place.’
    ‘ Pleased to
meet you Alex,’ Roy said, shaking her hand. ‘I hope we can find you
something suitable to buy. You know Liverpool really is the place
to invest these days.’
    ‘ I know,’ Alex
replied, flashing Jack a look. ‘I’ve been given the low down
already.’
    From the back of his car,
Roy fetched a box that contained hard hats and protective masks.
Alex thanked God she’d worn flat-heeled boots for this expedition
as she got the feeling her Jimmy Choo’s would have been snapped
within seconds.
    Roy Reid opened the door
with a hard shove and a cloud of dust blew out, making Alex realise
why they’d had to wear the masks. There was no electricity so the
only light came from Roy’s high powered torch. At first it seemed
as though it was just scruffy and covered in newspaper and bits of
wood – presumably used by the tramps who had slept there. But as
Alex looked closely she could see the whole place stood like some
sort of eery relic. On the walls hung posters for cosmetic
companies that had long since gone out of business. The counters
and other fittings were still there and she noticed that beside
where the escalator once stood was an ordinary staircase, the
banister made from ornate iron. Alex decided there and then that if
she decided to buy it, this feature could stay. She would create a
mezzanine floor with a restaurant and these stairs could lead up to
it.
    The shop was far larger than it
appeared on the outside. Alex decided that the cavernous ground
floor would make excellent conferencing space. Roy explained that
the upper floors were too unsafe for them to inspect so he could
only show them the plans. They went out into the old delivery yard
at the back for some air and Alex wondered if this was a wise
choice as the air wasn’t exactly fresh and Alex had a feeling the
tramps had used it as a toilet. She tried not to breathe as Roy
showed her the plans. The upper floors were laid out in the same
way as the ground. There had been toilets on each floor which meant
that there was plenty of plumbing, so each room could be en suite.
Even more exciting was the discovery of the roof garden. Roy
explained that in the early 1900s it had been used as a café for
the ladies of Cheshire who came here to shop but after the First
World War it had remained neglected. Alex was determined that
should she buy it, she would restore it to its Edwardian glory. Not
one to believe in love at first sight, Alex had to stop herself
from telling Roy there and then that she wanted to buy this place.
She convinced herself that it was illogical to have such a
knee-jerk reaction and she was only in such a hurry because she
didn’t know what she was doing.
    Sad at saying goodbye to
the shop, they climbed into Jack’s car and headed to Dale Street to
have a look round the Staples Hotel. Like Church Street, a few of
the buildings were derelict and The Staples Hotel was nestled
between a closed down bank and an off licence that looked as though
it was on its last legs. Paddy, the hotel’s owner was a a genial
old Irishman who had decided to sell up and move back to Dublin.
This made Alex think of Mick, her great-grandfather. He died long
before she was born, but Lou had been so full of stories about him
that Alex felt as if she knew him. Apparently he’d always dreamt of
the day he could return to Ireland, and the only time he did was
when his body was taken to Donegal to be buried, as was Lou’s and
so would Alex herself in many years to come.
    Paddy showed them round
the shabby little hotel. It was tall and narrow, the rooms garishly
decorated as if they hadn’t been repainted since the 1970s. There
were no en suite bathrooms, just a shared one on each of the
landings. Even so, it would be a