Free Tiger Ragtime by Catrin Collier Page B

since it was repossessed, which means buyers aren’t queuing up. If you accept my offer, there’ll be a hundred pounds extra in it for you in cash, if the contracts are signed within a week.’ Geoff Arnold reddened and for all of Arnold’s mixture of sycophantic fawning and arrogance Aled wondered if he’d insulted him.
    ‘Nine hundred pounds is less than I hoped for, but you’re right, it has been on the market for some time,’ Geoff agreed.
    Aled looked at him carefully. ‘I’m sure we’ve met …’
    ‘And I’m sure we haven’t, Mr James. I’ve never done business with an American before.’
    Aled didn’t enlighten him but he made a mental note to ask Anna about Geoff Arnold when he saw her that evening. He walked to the window. ‘I’ll need a builder, a good one who can work quickly. Can you recommend one?’
    ‘But the building is in excellent condition,’ Geoff Arnold protested.
    ‘It’s not suitable for what I want.’
    ‘You don’t intend to reopen it as a hotel?’
    ‘You just told me the last owner went bankrupt.’
    ‘He did.’
    ‘In which case, wouldn’t it be rather foolish of me to repeat his mistake?’
    ‘If you intend to change the use of the building you’ll need the council’s permission,’ Geoff warned.
    ‘I didn’t expect things to be that different this side of the Atlantic,’ Aled said with a ghost of a smile.
    ‘May I ask what you intend to do with the place, Mr James?’ Geoff ventured.
    ‘Open a nightclub.’
    ‘I don’t know what it’s like in America, but you’ll not only need to get the council’s permission, you’ll also need a licence –’
    ‘That won’t be a problem, Mr Arnold.’ Aled wondered how much it would cost to ‘buy’ Geoff Arnold. It had cost him two thousand dollars to buy a New York estate agent. But it had been a worthwhile investment. He had made a fortune from the agent’s tip-offs about property people had been anxious to offload when they suddenly and unexpectedly found themselves on the verge of bankruptcy.
    Geoff Arnold watched Aled stride across the floor to the head of the staircase. ‘George Powell is just about the best builder around here.’
    ‘Where do I find him?’
    ‘Loudoun Square.’ Geoff Arnold took a notepad from his pocket and scribbled a note. ‘This is his address and telephone number.’
    ‘Thank you, Mr Arnold.’ Aled pocketed the piece of paper. ‘I’ll engage a solicitor tomorrow.’
    ‘May I suggest my own?’
    ‘You can suggest him, but I won’t engage him to act for me until I’ve met him and checked out his credentials.’ Aled looked around the first floor. ‘The sooner the contracts are exchanged and the alterations made, the sooner The Ragtime can open her doors.’
    ‘The Ragtime, Mr James?’
    ‘It was the name of my club in Harlem in New York. It did well enough for me to want to keep the name.’ Aled opened his cigar case and offered it to Geoff. ‘On second thoughts, Tiger Ragtime might be better in honour of the Bay. What do you think?’
    ‘I think both names sound well.’
    Aled made his way down to the ground floor and opened the doors to the largest room again. ‘You’ll be here six weeks from now, Mr Arnold, enjoying a drink and watching a first-class variety show. Wind up the paperwork within a week and I’ll throw in twenty pounds’ worth of chips with your invitation.’
    ‘Chips?’ The estate agent looked at him blankly.
    ‘Gambling chips, Mr Arnold. What do you favour, roulette, blackjack, poker?’
    ‘I’ve never gambled in my life.’
    ‘And you call yourself a businessman.’ Aled smiled coldly. ‘If buying up repossessed properties isn’t a gamble, I don’t know what is.’
    ‘The properties are investments.’
    ‘Which might not pay off, Mr Arnold.’
    ‘This one certainly didn’t,’ the estate agent agreed.
    ‘I doubt there’s a businessman alive who hasn’t lost money on a venture at least once in his lifetime.’
    ‘The council take