The sound of knocking echoed through the silence, awaking the inhabitant of this dark space, not from slumber but from thoughts lost momentarily at the sound of her voice.
"Riven, it's Sera. Can I come in?"
"Yeah, come on in," He called out, his voice rougher than expected.
The door opened with a low creak, light slowly flowed in through the opening. "Is everything alright?" She asked, puzzled, why he was sitting in the dark.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just lost in thought." He replied, turning on his lamp.
Walking over to the desk, Sera leaned against it, facing the door. "Whatya thinking about?"
"It's nothing really, just the argument I had with Herta."
"Was it bad?" She asked quietly.
"No, we've had worse. This was simply just a difference in opinion."
"Well, knowing Herta, she's probably figuring out a way to apologize to you. Like, remember that one time she showed up at school ready to blow up that ridiculous statue just because Blake used it to make fun of you." She chuckled at the thought of what Herta would've done to Blake himself.
"And then my mom and all of law enforcement tried to stop her, but had no choice but to ask me to tell her to."
"Yep, so in no time, you two will be right back in your normal family dynamics."
"I hope so." He replied, smiling softly. "But enough about me. What can I help you with?"
"Oh, Tea shop." Sera stands up, turning to face him. "I've decided on a tea shop."
"Really? That's great, so what phase are you on?"
"I have a clear theme and atmosphere, and I have most of the menu complete. It's pretty clear what my targeted customers are."
"So I take it, it's going to be the same as what you showed me in those files, Amberleaf, a nice, relaxing cafe."
The files Sera had shown him for each of the businesses, she considered, held simple design concepts that encapsulated the different vibes she wanted to convey. For the cafe, she had three different designs in mind. Of the three, one catered to remote workers and students, one tea enjoyers, and finally, all three groups combined.
Out of them all, he and Sera believed the best one was the last one, as it was larger in size and would attract a larger consumer base, but would equally cost a lot more to maintain.
"Yep, I went with that design." Pulling a chair closer, she sat down in front of him.
"Then let's talk about the menu, you said you already know what you want to serve, but have you decided if you're going to do in-house or outsource it?" He questioned, grabbing a notepad and pen.
"Do take into consideration the cost of choosing in-house and the price differences when choosing a place to outsource from. Some places can and will charge you more, even if what you're making at most cost twenty dollars to make at home," he swiftly added.
"I hadn't thought about it completely, but talked to Serena about buying tea leaves from her. Her family owns a few tea farms around the globe."
Riven Nodded. "It's good to hear she's making good on her promise."
"Most of the day yesterday, when I was in my office, we were on call. She suggested it was a good idea to start with something simple like a tea shop, and work my way up."
"Great, with that settled, let's focus on this menu of yours. You already have everything you want on it, and I see no problem with it. The only thing I can say is that since most of it is pastries, you could try cooking it yourself."
"I get where you're going with this. A downside of getting it sourced is that if I run out during business hours, I'd have to place a new order, which could take a substantial amount of time to arrive. As opposed to making them myself, where I can make more while employees handle the customers."
"Not only that, but you're a great cook, Sera, so everything would taste better if you cooked it." He said while writing something down.
Sera sat there, her cheeks aglow with a warm flush, the vibrant color betraying the flurry of emotions swirling within her.
"I guess I could." She said, her voice low and soft, "But I would need to make some amends to the blueprint I have; a kitchen expansion is a must, but then the cost will go up and…"
Riven burst into laughter. "Don't worry, no matter the cost, it'll be covered."
"It's not about the money; I've just been relying on you too much. First, it was letting us live here and going shopping with the girls. Now, you're helping me start a business and letting the girls use your last name, without even knowing if you're truly their father."
"Sera."
"Nope, don't want to hear it." She replied, cutting him off.
"Fine, suit yourself, but let's focus back on your business, and we can worry about our dynamics later."
"Okay, what'd you want to ask next?"
"Did you research locations and get a firm idea of the market. How much foot traffic, what kind of neighborhood is it? Are there any competitors?"
"No, not yet. I have a location I'm interested in and plan to do more in-depth research. Of course, I also have backup locations."
"Good, then let's head to the location right now." Standing, Riven walked over to the door and grabbed a coat from the coat rack hanging off his door.
"Huh, right now?"
"Yep, let's go."
"Oh, Ok." Sera stood from her seat, following him out.
***
"This is the place?" Riven questioned, gazing out at the modestly populated street. On the surface, it appeared to be a nice place, but a few things stood out immediately.
A Lamppost flickering during the day, did it have a messed-up daylight sensor, or was there something else wrong with it? Nobody seemed to care, so it must've been like that for a while now, but that raised the question: Why had nobody informed the city?
No, maybe that wasn't the right question, he thought, watching the people walking around more closely. Their eyes darted around restlessly, their hands hovered over their possessions, twitching ever so slightly. Fear held them tightly in its grasp.
'So much for heavenly city, but I guess even the devil once lived there.' He scoffed mentally. "So, why'd you choose this place?"
"It's not far from Redhaven, so if the girls wanted to, they could walk here after school with friends and enjoy being teenagers a bit. Also, there is a mall within walking distance if you know which paths to take."
"Anything else?"
"This street might look sparsely populated right now, but when school is over for the day, it truly comes to life. Though I might have to double-check that information, since it's a few years old."
"I think a few is an understatement; it's obvious from your words, you often walked through here yourself when we were in school."
"Yeah." Sera laughed lightly. "But that's not all, the building itself is also another clear reason."
"Which one is it?"
"That one right over there, at the corner," Sera said, leading the way.
As they got closer, the building finally came into sight. He could tell it had been closed for a while, from the large panel windows smudged with dust and marked with condensation stains.
Faded curtains hung halfway, obscuring part of the inside, but what he could see were tables & chairs, old display cases, and the edge of what looked to be a counter. All covered in dust.
A single glass-pane door held a crooked "Closed" sign left hanging in its final hours.
Even the outside features looked worse for wear. Broken string lights still hung from the building and over the patio area. The patio area itself had lost itself to nature's grasp, its metal chairs and table had rusted over, while weeds stretched up through the cracks in the concrete, tightly wrapping their hands around the furniture.
"Not bad, right? It's in a little disarray, but not something we can't handle. Plus, it comes with a kitchen in the back."
"Hmm, just for the building itself, I'm estimating an asking price of two hundred fifty-five thousand, but this could rise due to proximity to multiple schools and businesses. "
Riven walked up to the building, rubbing his finger lightly over the paint, taking a small amount off. "Though looking at the condition of the building, we may be able to lower it down to two hundred ten thousand."
"We could take into consideration the annual sales, too; we might be able to go down to a hundred thousand," Sera added.
"You're right, but seeing as the place is very desolate, we might not be able to consider that due to the fluctuating market and the value of currency. Let's say the currency was of higher value during the last year of operation, and in the last quarter, the market just happened to rise."
"Ah, then the price we would have to pay could be more due to the changes in the economy."
"Lucky for us, there hasn't been any major fluctuation. Let's just hope the owners do try to highball us." He said, walking closer to the window to see as much as he could.
"But what about renovation costs? Just cleaning the place could be done by ourselves, or we could hire professionals."
Rivne instantly shook his head. "We can take cleaning the place out of the equation, if Dutch heard you mention hiring someone to do it, he would rush here and clean the whole place before you could even change your mind."
"That's right, you mentioned he handles all the businesses you owe related to health and wellness, I guess cleaning would fall under that."
"Yes, but looking at it, renovation should cost no more than maybe one hundred fifty thousand, that's without including new equipment, furnishings, Licenses, and permits. With all of that, maybe two hundred fifty-five thousand."
"Isn't that the price you originally quoted as the asking price?"
"Yep, so altogether it would be five hundred ten thousand as a rough estimate."
"That's not as much as I was expecting."
"Well, it's just a rough estimate. Once we talk to the owners, get a proper estimate, and check other locations for better deals, then we can finally include labor costs, the cost of materials, and ingredients. The transportation cost of the materials and ingredients, so on and so forth."
"And this is where having good connections comes into play. I don't have to worry about the cost of transporting the tea since it's grown locally, and I much rather go myself to check the overall quality."
"I'll still help you out, so you don't have to worry much. I promised I'd help get you back on your feet."
"I think I'm already on my feet. What you're effectively doing is lifting me up to the heavens."
"Well, who doesn't like a bit of godly intervention?" Riven said with a crooked grin, the kind he knew would draw a reaction.
"More like devilish." Sera shot back, though the corners of her mouth betrayed her amusement.
He leaned in his voice, dipping into mock-seriousness, "Devilishly handsome. Which I seem to recall someone liking."
"Psh, yeah, whatever, Mr. Devilishly handsome." Sera waved him off, laughter slipping through despite herself.
Their laughter spilled into the empty street, light and unguarded, cutting through the numbers-heavy air from before.
"Would you like to check out the other places too?" Sera asked once the laughter had settled.
"Hmm, yeah, let's go." Riven nodded, still wearing that half-smile, as they turned from the shopfront together.