Romeow and Juliet Read Online Free PDF Page A

the walls on these two sides,” she announced. “Hold the tape measure so I can get an accurate distance between the storage room and the space where we plan to put the seating area.”
    I held the tape measure while Tara measured and remeasured several times. Each time she completed a measurement she’d jot down a note in her little book.
    “I thought we could put the wall to divide the two areas about here.” She indicated a location in the large room. “We can put the coffee bar on that wall and then put tables and chairs roughly in front of it.” She turned and considered the rest of the space. “I want to have a cute display near the entrance from the wharf, and then we can build shelves in this larger space.” She waved her arm in a sweeping gesture.
    “And the cat lounge?”
    Tara walked to the far end of the building, which hung out over the water.
    “We’ll set up sofas near the old stone fireplace and comfortable chairs in the center of the room. This will be a good area to glass off and use as a reading room,” Tara commented as I followed her around. “Chances are people will strike up conversations in the less formal seating area, so those who want quiet to study can sit at one of the individual tables in the reading room.”
    Tara walked across the space toward the far wall. “I think we should replace all of this siding with windows looking out into the harbor.”
    The view really was spectacular. To the east was the marina, filled with boats both large and small, and to the west was unobstructed shoreline.
    “Are you sure we can afford this?” I asked as Max trotted over to sniff at whatever had scurried under a long counter, which, like the rest of the building, was in pretty bad shape.
    “It’s going to be tight,” she admitted. “And we’ll need to get the full amount of the loan I applied for, but I’ve gone over the numbers and I think we can make it work. The terms of the purchase of the property are reasonable, but there’s one small problem.”
    “Problem?” I asked as I watched the ferry pull in across the way.
    “We need to not only fill out the loan application but complete an interview with a representative from the district office.”
    “Not Camden Bradford?”
    “I’m afraid so.”
    “There’s no way I’m going to have a meeting with Camden Bradford. You know what happened last time.”
    “I do.” Tara sighed. She walked across the room in her pink and purple flip-flops and looped her arm through mine. “I know that you were embarrassed by what happened, but it was several months ago and I doubt he remembers.”
    “Oh, he remembers all right.”
    “How do you know? He’s a busy man with a lot of contacts.”
    I leaned against the window. The room was filled with old equipment but not a single place to sit. “I ran into Mr. Bradford on the ferry,” I said.
    “Really? When?”
    “Saturday. I was going to tell you about it, but this is the first time I’ve seen you since it happened.”
    “Tell me exactly what happened.”
    I turned so that I was looking out the window and my back was to Tara. “He snuck up on me from behind. I was already jittery because I’d seen him earlier, and when he stuck his head into the van and said hi I screamed and dumped my soda all over the front of his very expensive white shirt. It was grape soda. I’m sure he had to throw the shirt away.”
    “Oh, Cait, you didn’t.” Tara groaned.
    “’Fraid so.”
    “Was he mad?”
    I thought about it. “Actually, he was surprisingly not mad. He laughed and apologized for sneaking up on me.”
    “And then?”
    “And then the ferry docked, and he told me that next time he would make more noise if he was going to approach me from behind. He even suggested that he might take up whistling when I was in the area. Then he went to his car, which, by the way, probably cost more than a bank manager makes in a year. You don’t think maybe he launders money for the mob, do