The Business Trip

This is part 2 in a series of related blog posts.  You may want to start at the beginning.

“What’s her name again?”, I asked Tyler, as our cab pulled to the side of the street next to her apartment building. I peered out the window and could see Shalauna’s face smiling energetically through the darkness. We’d taken a red-eye flight and arrived in the wee hours of the morning. I was exhausted, carsick, and a little nervous to meet who I considered to be a successful “real estate guru”.

For me, the business trip was an excellent excuse for a vacation in the big city. We arrived during the work week, so while Shalauna worked during the day, we toured the city. Then, in the evenings, she gave us a glimpse of what city life is really like. The city was breathtaking, and I was blown away by the sheer magnitude of it all. “Unbelievable that human beings built all this.”, I thought.

The deal was, we could stay at her apartment for free, but only if we helped paint her living room while we were there. Little did I know, it was a test. Shalauna said, “If we can paint an apartment together, we can be in business together!” I’m happy to report, we pulled it off.

One evening, we met for a few hours at her office to discuss business. Shalauna white-boarded the whole process and how her idea was the solution. I was impressed, albeit a little overwhelmed too. The vision was coming together, and I knew it was going to be a huge undertaking.

On the last day of our trip, I woke up to learn that Tyler had made plans with another friend for the day. It came as a surprise to me… and Shalauna. We were basically strangers, having spent a handful of supervised hours together talking business. And now, we were stuck together. For the whole day. I announced jokingly, and still a little irritated, “Welp Shalauna, it looks like you’re my date for the day.”

It turned out to be the most enjoyable day of the trip. We took a ferry ride across the Hudson to New Jersey and had lunch at PF Changs, her favorite restaurant. Then we went to Chinatown where I bought, what looked like, a genuine Rolex watch for pennies on the dollar. We spent the whole day together, and I remember thinking how easy it was to talk to her. There was never a dull moment. It just kinda clicked. Surely a good sign for business partners…

Continued here: It’s go time