customers are invited for a special dive tomorrow.â
âHotel managers, tour guides, and people like that?â
âYouâve got it.â Lara grinned, and leaned into the table. âPeople are calling to book dives already.â
âYou still windsurf?â
âNo, I just dive now, both snorkeling and scuba diving. I love it.â
A handsome young man in a navy linen sports jacket appeared at the table.
Lara took his hand and steered him toward the seat next to her. âRyan, this is Storm.â
âRyan Tagama.â He shook Stormâs hand, then shrugged out of the jacket and sat down. âItâs good to meet you.â
âHe and his father have a commercial real estate company.â Lara grinned widely and patted his hand. âStormâs going to help us with the liability issues.â
âGood. We need that.â He put an arm around Lara and she leaned into him. âHer windsurfing fame has people lining up. Weâve got one dive boat booked solid for the next two months and weâre not yet officially open. Weâre trying to find a captain for the second boat.â
âThatâs wonderful. Though if youâre already taking people out on the boats, we need to get your liability insurance established. Iâd like to take a look at the paperwork youâve got so far.â
âWe can show you that,â Lara said.
âSetting up a Limited Liability Company would be the best way to protect you if youâre sued by a client. Weâll need to discuss who the major shareholders are, and what their portions of the stock will be.â
Laraâs smile grew a little stiff. âWeâve alreadyââ
Ryan patted her hand. âSheâs right, Lara. I asked a friend about it when we first started renovating.â He glanced apologetically at Storm, who shrugged. She would have done the same in his position. âHe told us the LLC would protect our personal assets if weâre sued.â
âWho holds the lease agreement on the property?â Storm asked. âThe owner of the shopping center?â
âYou donât need to get into that,â Lara said.
âI do, though. The lease agreement can affect how I set up the business. Itâs part of your overhead. For example, whoâs responsible for water and electricity? Is that divided among the tenants of the property? I noticed two other tenants, but your store is the biggest in the shopping center.â
âWaterâwell, weâre putting in new copper pipes. New wiring, too. Itâll help the other stores,â Lara said.
Storm smiled at her. âDo you know if the utilities come from the street? Are they on public property?â
Lara looked at Ryan, who played with his water glass.
âIâll check on that,â Lara said.
Storm wondered if they doubted her experience. âYou can check with other attorneys if you like.â
âNo, we trust you,â Ryan said. âYou set up Steve OâDonnellâs restaurant and Riley Murakamiâs tattoo parlor. You come highly recommended.â
âIâm glad youâre checking around,â Storm said. âBut now Iâm curious, are Steve and Riley friends of yours?â
âRiley and I knew each other in California. Steveâs a friend of Rileyâs, and I called him.â
âGood. I wish more of my clients asked for references and did background checks.â She winced at a memory. âAnd checked employee records before hiring.â
Storm had recalled a specificâand unfortunateâincident, so it took her a moment to notice that Lara looked a shade paler than she had a moment before.
âAnything wrong?â Storm asked.
âNo,â Lara said. âThatâs good advice.â
A waitress appeared to take their order, and Storm figured since Damonâs phone call had kept her from finishing her breakfast toast,