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Authors: Joanne Fluke
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about my equity in the condo? Is that enough to get any money at all?”
“Not much. Your down payment was minimal and your loan is only two and a half years old. It’s a thirty-year and you’re paying mostly interest at this point.”
“So I’m dead in the water?”
“Pretty much,” Perry answered, and then there was a long silence. “You should drop it, Miss Swensen. Go to someone you know and ask for a loan. You sound like a nice person and I don’t want to offer you the high-interest loan from OneDay.”
“What high-interest loan?”
“When an applicant doesn’t qualify, we’re supposed to offer a loan that you can’t possibly pay off because the payments are too steep. Then, when you default. OneDay takes your property and you end up with nothing.”
“Thanks a lot for telling me,” Hannah said, and she meant it. Perry had gone out on a limb for her. “So tell me, Perry . . . is OneDay a good place to work? Or can’t you tell me?”
“It’s horrible. I can tell you that because I just decided to quit and go back to college.”
“Good for you!”
“It’ll mean moving back I with my parents to save on expenses, but it’ll be worth it. For the rest of the day, when anyone calls in, I’m going to tell them the secret of high finance.”
“What’s that?”
“If you really need a loan, you won’t qualify. And if you don’t need a loan, all the lenders will line up to give you money.”
Hannah tanked Perry and hung up the phone. She had the feeling she’d learned an important truth, but it didn’t help her in her current situation. Unless Shawna Lee curled up and died before the next week was out, or Vanessa decided to suddenly pull the plug on her sister’s financing, the Magnolia Blossom Bakery was going to drive The Cookie Jar out of business.
Chapter 6
Hannah was about to take the peaches out of the freezer when there was a knock at the front door. She ignored it. Everyone in town knew they were closed. But the knocking persisted and after a few more seconds of the noise, Hannah headed for the swinging door to the coffee shop to see who was pounding on the door.
The sight that greeted Hannah’s eyes made her smile. There was a deliveryman standing at the front door and he was holding a bouquet wrapped in gold paper. His bright blue truck had a familiar logo painted on the side and Hannah knew he was from Bouchard’s Bouquets, the florist based out at the Tri-County Mall.
As Hannah headed for the door to let him in, she wondered if she ought to tell him to move his truck. Main Street had nose-in parking and he was parked parallel with the curb, occupying three full spaces. Then she remembered that Mayor Bascomb and the Lake Eden city council had given Herb a full day off to get ready for the wedding and he wouldn’t be giving out traffic tickets today. Since they hadn’t hired anyone temporary to fill in for Herb, the deliveryman was safe.
Hannah made short work of opening the door. It wasn’t often that anyone sent her flowers. “Come in and warm up. Are those for me?”
“If you’re Hannah Swensen, they are.” The deliveryman stepped inside and handed her the bouquet. “The guy that called in the order said you were closed today, but you’d be here anyway.”
“Which guy was that?”
“Kingston. It’s on the card.”
Hannah’s smile grew wider as she reached for the card, but she didn’t open it. She’d wait until she didn’t have an audience. “How about a cup of coffee, Kyle?” she asked, reading the name that was embroidered over the florist’s logo on the breast pocket of his parka. ‘I’ve got a pot on in the kitchen.”
Once Kyle had been seated at the workstation and taken his first sip of coffee, he gazed around the kitchen. “Nice big place you’ve got here. My wife, Judy, would go crazy for ovens like that. She’s always saying hers is too small. You’re not baking?”
“Not today. I’ve got some cookies from yesterday if you
“Not much. Your down payment was minimal and your loan is only two and a half years old. It’s a thirty-year and you’re paying mostly interest at this point.”
“So I’m dead in the water?”
“Pretty much,” Perry answered, and then there was a long silence. “You should drop it, Miss Swensen. Go to someone you know and ask for a loan. You sound like a nice person and I don’t want to offer you the high-interest loan from OneDay.”
“What high-interest loan?”
“When an applicant doesn’t qualify, we’re supposed to offer a loan that you can’t possibly pay off because the payments are too steep. Then, when you default. OneDay takes your property and you end up with nothing.”
“Thanks a lot for telling me,” Hannah said, and she meant it. Perry had gone out on a limb for her. “So tell me, Perry . . . is OneDay a good place to work? Or can’t you tell me?”
“It’s horrible. I can tell you that because I just decided to quit and go back to college.”
“Good for you!”
“It’ll mean moving back I with my parents to save on expenses, but it’ll be worth it. For the rest of the day, when anyone calls in, I’m going to tell them the secret of high finance.”
“What’s that?”
“If you really need a loan, you won’t qualify. And if you don’t need a loan, all the lenders will line up to give you money.”
Hannah tanked Perry and hung up the phone. She had the feeling she’d learned an important truth, but it didn’t help her in her current situation. Unless Shawna Lee curled up and died before the next week was out, or Vanessa decided to suddenly pull the plug on her sister’s financing, the Magnolia Blossom Bakery was going to drive The Cookie Jar out of business.
Chapter 6
Hannah was about to take the peaches out of the freezer when there was a knock at the front door. She ignored it. Everyone in town knew they were closed. But the knocking persisted and after a few more seconds of the noise, Hannah headed for the swinging door to the coffee shop to see who was pounding on the door.
The sight that greeted Hannah’s eyes made her smile. There was a deliveryman standing at the front door and he was holding a bouquet wrapped in gold paper. His bright blue truck had a familiar logo painted on the side and Hannah knew he was from Bouchard’s Bouquets, the florist based out at the Tri-County Mall.
As Hannah headed for the door to let him in, she wondered if she ought to tell him to move his truck. Main Street had nose-in parking and he was parked parallel with the curb, occupying three full spaces. Then she remembered that Mayor Bascomb and the Lake Eden city council had given Herb a full day off to get ready for the wedding and he wouldn’t be giving out traffic tickets today. Since they hadn’t hired anyone temporary to fill in for Herb, the deliveryman was safe.
Hannah made short work of opening the door. It wasn’t often that anyone sent her flowers. “Come in and warm up. Are those for me?”
“If you’re Hannah Swensen, they are.” The deliveryman stepped inside and handed her the bouquet. “The guy that called in the order said you were closed today, but you’d be here anyway.”
“Which guy was that?”
“Kingston. It’s on the card.”
Hannah’s smile grew wider as she reached for the card, but she didn’t open it. She’d wait until she didn’t have an audience. “How about a cup of coffee, Kyle?” she asked, reading the name that was embroidered over the florist’s logo on the breast pocket of his parka. ‘I’ve got a pot on in the kitchen.”
Once Kyle had been seated at the workstation and taken his first sip of coffee, he gazed around the kitchen. “Nice big place you’ve got here. My wife, Judy, would go crazy for ovens like that. She’s always saying hers is too small. You’re not baking?”
“Not today. I’ve got some cookies from yesterday if you
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