Storm picked up a newspaper at a sidewalk stand and found a cozy restaurant several blocks down from where Stella and Keiko had been. She ordered scrambled eggs, toast, and a big pot of coffee.
Two tables away, a man yakked into his mobile phone. “The hernia’s gone, but my balls are black and blue,” he said, oblivious that his sense of privacy was a fantasy.
Storm ordered, then slipped into the women’s room to phone a couple of clients and set up appointments. She got back to the table as her food arrived. She’d finished off her eggs and was salivating over the toasted homemade bread. Just as she took a giant bite, her mobile rang.
“Storm?” a familiar voice asked.
“Mmmph.”
“It’s Damon.”
Storm washed the toast down with the remains of her coffee mug. “Hey, it was nice seeing you again.”
“Yeah. Hey, you want to get together later and catch up on things?”
“Sure.” Storm was pleasantly surprised.
“I won’t get away until around six. Let’s meet at seven at The Fiddler Crab.”
“In Kihei?”
“Lahaina. You mind the drive?”
“No, see you then.” Storm dropped her phone into her purse.
She tucked the newspaper under her arm and went outside. Her rented car was still parked at Lara’s shop, but there was a cute bathing suit shop around the corner, and though buying a bikini after eating was a humbling prospect, the store was enticing.
It was about half the square footage of Lara’s shop and the walls were artfully hung with women’s beachwear. Storm picked out a handful of bathing suits and went into a dressing room. The first three were microscopic, and she took one look over her shoulder into the mirror and peeled them off with haste. The little pua‘a tattoo was supposed to be hidden. Storm suddenly felt old. She almost put on her clothes at that point, but decided to give the last one a try. This one looked good, and Storm headed for the cash register with a smile.
“You’re quick,” the clerk said. “Most women spend an hour or so in there.”
“That would be torture.” Storm handed over a charge card. “Have you been open long?”
“A month.”
“You’ve got great taste. All the teenage girls are going to come. But I bet the lease rent is high in this area.”
“It is, though it’s a great location. I’m getting a lot of tourist business.”
“My friend is opening a dive shop a few blocks from here. You mind my asking what you pay?”
“Four thousand a month. My step dad knows the realtor and got me a good deal.” The young woman nearly whispered, as if she couldn’t believe it herself.
No wonder the bikini was five dollars a square inch. “It’s what, about a thousand square feet?”
“Almost. But my accountant says I can make it work.”
“Sell sunscreen with those Brazilian thongs.”
The owner laughed. “Designer sunscreen.”
“In luscious scents. I’ll send some friends your way. Good luck.”
Storm walked back out into the hot sunlight. That woman was getting a discount, and her store was less than half the size of Lara’s. Plus, Lara’s shop was more centrally located, which would make the rent higher.
Storm headed down the street back toward Lara’s shop. On the way, her phone rang. “Where are you?” Lara asked.
“A couple blocks from your shop. I got a new bathing suit. You should check out this cute store.”
“I will. We could send customers to each other. Want to meet me at Dina’s for lunch?”
“I’ll be there soon.” That was the place Stella and Keiko had been. This might be interesting.
Lara’s employees were no longer there. The table Storm had eyed earlier was now in the sun, so Storm chose one inside. Lara got there two minutes after Storm sat down. She looked around the room, still wearing her big dark glasses, as if looking for someone.
“Is your fiancé coming?” Storm asked.
“Yes, but he’s running a few minutes late. That’s good, we can talk.” She pushed her glasses to the top of her head.
“You’re opening in a week?” Storm asked.
“Yes, but we’re already doing PR. We’ve planned a catered party for the afternoon and some important customers are invited for a special dive tomorrow.”
“Hotel managers, tour guides, and people like that?”
“You’ve got it.” Lara grinned, and leaned into the table. “People are calling to book dives already.”
“You still windsurf?”
“No, I just dive now, both snorkeling and scuba diving. I love it.”
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. “Ryan, this is Storm.”
“Ryan Tagama.” He shook Storm’s hand, then shrugged out of the jacket and sat down. “It’s good to meet you.”
“He and his father have a commercial real estate company.” Lara grinned widely and patted his hand. “Storm’s going to help us with the liability issues.”
“Good. We need that.” He put an arm around Lara and she leaned into him. “Her windsurfing fame has people lining up. We’ve got one dive boat booked solid for the next two months and we’re not yet officially open. We’re trying to find a captain for the second boat.”
“That’s wonderful. Though if you’re already taking people out on the boats, we need to get your liability insurance established. I’d like to take a look at the paperwork you’ve got so far.”
“We can show you that,” Lara said.
“Setting up a Limited Liability Company would be the best way to protect you if you’re sued by a client. We’ll need to discuss who the major shareholders are, and what their portions of the stock will be.”
Lara’s smile grew a little stiff. “We’ve already—”
Ryan patted her hand. “She’s right, Lara. I asked a friend about it when we first started renovating.” He glanced apologetically at Storm, who shrugged. She would have done the same in his position. “He told us the LLC would protect our personal assets if we’re sued.”
“Who holds the lease agreement on the property?” Storm asked. “The owner of the shopping center?”
“You don’t need to get into that,” Lara said.
“I do, though. The lease agreement can affect how I set up the business. It’s part of your overhead. For example, who’s 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.”
“Water—well, we’re putting in new copper pipes. New wiring, too. It’ll help the other stores,” Lara said.
Storm smiled at her. “Do you know if the utilities come from the street? Are they on public property?”
Lara looked at Ryan, who played with his water glass.
“I’ll check on that,” Lara said.
Storm wondered if they doubted her experience. “You can check with other attorneys if you like.”
“No, we trust you,” Ryan said. “You set up Steve O’Donnell’s restaurant and Riley Murakami’s tattoo parlor. You come highly recommended.”
“I’m glad you’re checking around,” Storm said. “But now I’m curious, are Steve and Riley friends of yours?”
“Riley and I knew each other in California. Steve’s a friend of Riley’s, and I called him.”
“Good. I wish more of my clients asked for references and did background checks.” She winced at a memory. “And checked employee records before hiring.”
Storm had recalled a specific—and unfortunate—incident, so it took her a moment to notice that Lara looked a shade paler than she had a moment before.
“Anything wrong?” Storm asked.
“No,” Lara said. “That’s good advice.”
A waitress appeared to take their order, and Storm figured since Damon’s phone call had kept her from finishing her breakfast toast, she’d have the warm chocolate brownie with vanilla-flecked ice cream. Lara ordered an avocado filled with crab salad and Ryan ordered katsu curry rice with chicken and four gyoza.
“You can share my gyoza,” he said, and looked first at Lara, then Storm.
“I just ate an hour ago,” Storm said, though the offer was tempting. Storm loved the little fried dumplings.
“I have to fit into my wedding dress,” Lara said.
While they ate, they discussed the upcoming wedding, which was in mid-July, three months away. Not long after his cup of coffee arrived, Ryan peeked at his gold watch.
“I’ve got to go.”
“You do?” Lara looked up at him and her voice took on a wry note. “Meeting your dad again?”
“And some business associates. We’re looking at a condominium in Kapalua.”
“Good hunting,” Lara said.
“It was great to meet you,” Storm said. “I’ll see you again soon.”
“Yes, let’s sit down tomorrow or the next day to set up details on the corporation.”
The women watched him leave, then Storm sprawled back in her chair with a sigh. “That brownie was wonderful.”
“I’m full too.” Lara thought for a brief moment. “Damon’s got the shop covered this afternoon. Are you busy? If you’re off the clock, would you like to go snorkeling? I’ll show you my favorite spots down by Makena, where we’re going to take some tours. Two of my favorite sightings are at Turtle Town and Bruce the shark.”
“Bruce the shark?” Storm straightened. “Do I want to see him?”
“Sure. Bruce is a four-foot, white-tipped reef shark. They’re harmless.” Lara cocked her head. “He’s accustomed to divers, plus the shark is my ‘aumakua.”
“It is?” Storm grimaced. “I’ll have to rely on you for protection, because my ‘aumakua is the pua‘a. I don’t think a pig will be much help in the water.”
“Pigs are known for their cleverness,” Lara said, though Storm picked up a note of condescension in her voice. People whose ‘aumakua were the manō tended to think other ‘aumakua didn’t measure up.
She’d have to check with Aunt Maile, who was well versed in Hawaiian lore, as to how the animal totems interacted. Maybe they practiced some kind of amnesty. If you believed in that stuff to begin with.
“You sure Bruce is safe?”
“You could hand-feed him, though we don’t, because he needs to hunt on his own. White-tips aren’t aggressive to people. And they don’t have very big teeth.” She grimaced. “Probably not as bad as getting bit by my mom’s toy poodle. In fact, I’d say Bruce has a better personality.”
“Ouch. You have to deal with the poodle often?”
“No, he died last year, at sixteen.”
“How’d your mom handle that?”
“Not too well.” Lara pushed back from the table. “But everyone else felt like celebrating.”
“Get her a replacement. A nice one.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Lara sounded like she’d rather change the subject. “Let’s gather some dive gear and go for a swim. You can see first hand what my clients are experiencing.”