Right after Syn left this morning, Furi went to wait across the street for Doug to pick him up for the meeting with their new property manager. Both of them were buzzing with the anticipation of finally being able to make their dream a reality.
They’d found Jase’s Auto Shop almost six months ago. Anytime Furi needed specialty parts for his school assignments, that’s where he’d end up. Furi really liked the guys who worked there; they were friendly and talented as hell. It reminded him of his dad’s place. When Jase said he was retiring and selling the place the following year, Furi and Doug immediately jumped on it. Jase’s was a great location in a prime area of Atlanta with very loyal customers. The work the man did was nothing short of phenomenal. Definitely some of the best auto repair and customizations in the state. The seventy-five hundred square foot space had a decent size waiting/reception area, a detailing space, two offices, a fully equipped garage with five bays, four of them with lifts. Although it’d taken them an extra nine months to save the deposit needed for the lease, they knew it’d be worth it. The great news was Jase was willing to offer them an excellent price on his entire inventory, too.
They’d been at IHOP for the past three hours since they’d signed their lease. The garage was theirs, jointly owned, fifty-fifty. Now they were hashing out important details with their new manager and two assistant managers on grand opening ideas, staffing needs, inventory, permits, customers, etc. They’d decided to open in thirty days. The garage was already fully functional, so all they required were the new licenses, setup of some of their newer tools, and enough time to run a two-week grand opening ad. During the last week, they’d have the place professionally cleaned by industrial specialist, all the new furniture brought in, including Furi’s father’s bike, which would sit on a raised platform in the window – it was sure to intrigue passersby. Furi and his dad had completely rebuilt and tricked out the bike before he passed. It was the last project they worked on together. Furi was having it shipped all the way from his grandmother's in Florida, the only place he knew it would’ve been safe.
“Furi, this place is going to be fuckin’ awesome man. I already got people lined up. Are you sure you don’t want to open up the auto detailing portion?” Doug asked taking another sip of his third cup of coffee.
“I think it’s a good idea to open it, Furi, since it was the most popular service Jase offered. We don’t want to lose his client base,” Roderick, one of the assistant managers spoke up. The older man was a brilliant business major from Morris Brown College. There wasn’t a business related problem he couldn’t solve.
“Alright,” Furi agreed. “We can give it a try. But that means hiring a few more guys.”
“Let’s hire two experienced detailers and get some senior year interns from the Vo-Tech school," Roderick suggested. "I can start the paperwork on that immediately. They could do it for the experience and we’ll get a tax break for participating in a non-profit educational program.”
Doug smiled, “Nice thinking, brainiac.”
“Well, I think that about raps up this meeting. Let’s meet at the shop tom–” Furi stopped midsentence, when he noticed two uniformed police officers staring at him. Doug turned and looked.
“Are they looking at you, Roderick?” Doug asked.
Roderick dropped his pen down on the table, throwing his hands in the air exaggeratedly. “Why the hell would they be looking at me, Doug? Because I’m the only one in here with a damn record? Nice, man, real nice. That really hurts.”
“Jesus, Rod. Ain’t’ no one trying to hurt your sensitive-ass feelings. Tell me, how’s your vagina feel, did that get hurt too, you fuckin’ wimp?” Doug rolled his eyes, looking back at the cops that were still staring in their direction.
“Calm down guys, it looks like they’re looking at me.” Furi began to gather his papers, keeping an eye on the officers, one of them talking on a cell phone now. “Let’s just go.”
“Something you need to tell us, Furi?” Roderick asked while gathering his own belongings.
“No, Rod. Look, I’ll meet you guys tomorrow at nine.” Furi got up, tossing the rest of his papers in his book bag. He was hoping that the cops weren’t there to question him about his ex getting the shit beaten out of him. He wondered how much damage Syn did. He’d assumed the man had used some restraint since he was a police officer. Furi pulled out his phone and turned it back on.
“I’ll drive you home, Furi.” Doug stood beside Furi openly glaring at the cops. “You think this has anything to do with Illustra?”