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“Thanks, Ed. I really, really appreciate it. I owe you one.”
“Don’t thank me just yet. Alissa still needs to sign off on this plan, and even then, I don’t see how any of this takes place today. It’s going to be tomorrow morning at the earliest before I have that kind of cash.”
I close the door and jog down the alleyway to the truck. “Life or death, Ed. I need the money by closing time.”
Ed puffs another defeated sigh. “Then you’d better let me go so I can get busy.”
T H E I N T E R V I E W
Juanita: After that phone call from Jade, why wasn’t your first call to the police?
Cam: Because those were the marching orders. Bring home $734,296 by seven and don’t call the cops. Jade made it perfectly clear what would happen if I didn’t obey.
Juanita: Seven hundred, thirty-four thousand...
Cam: And two hundred ninety-six dollars.
Juanita: That’s an awfully big number.
Cam: Yeah, no kidding. And an hour before the banks were set to close.
Juanita: Almost like he wanted you to fail.
Cam: Or like he wanted to torture me, because I sure as hell didn’t have that kind of money lying around.
Juanita: How can that be? You owned five restaurants consistently named as the best restaurants in not just the city but the country. Before the fire, your Buckhead steak house had a six-week wait for a Saturday night table. You were featured in magazines and newspapers, and were a regular guest on the morning news shows. You even beat out Bobby Flay onIron Chef. You’re very successful.
Cam:Wasvery successful.Was. But afterIron Chef, investors were tossing me money like they’d just hit the jackpot in Vegas, more cash than I ever thought imaginable. Like a fool, I grabbed on with both hands, never stopping to think through the consequences of opening another shop before the one before it was paid off. Because here’s the thing about investors, Juanita—they really like you a whole lot better when you pay them back.
Juanita: What happens if you miss a payment?
Cam: Depends on the investor. Most were pretty reasonable. A thirty-day cure provision, meaning I had a month to get my act together and cough up the money. After that, it depends on the terms of the contract, how much I was willing to put up as collateral.
Juanita: What were your terms?
Cam: They were 50 percent interest in the shop, 50 percent of the profits and a personal guarantee.
Juanita: So, a lot.
Cam: Everything but the wife and kids.
Juanita: And the others? The ones who were less reasonable?
Cam: [smiles] They were the first to get paid back.
Juanita: Did you ever consider shuttering one or more of your restaurants?
Cam: Of course I thought about it. For about three seconds.
Juanita: Why so short?
Cam: Because in the restaurant world, closing your doors for any reason is equivalent to failing. Especially if people were ever to find out the truth, that I closed because of money problems. The Lasky brand would have suffered. The rest of my shops would have fallen like dominoes.
Juanita: And then there’s also the fact that Jade had no idea you were experiencing money problems.
Cam: [sighs] And then there’s that. The point is, I had no choice but to keep trying to dig myself out of the hole.
Juanita: What made you decide to keep your money issues from her?