365 Days That Count - Day 34 - Coming full circle.

This is a long and complicated story that I was in no way prepared to write it so I am going to keep it as short and simple as I can.

When I was 3 my father started a business called The River Club in Cape Town. Over the years it grew into an institution amongst locals and was inevitably the reason we moved here from England in 2002.

He had been made many offers to sell over the years, some more serious than others but for one reason or another they had never gone through, the common denominators were that a) he didn't really want to sell and b) he had a 70 year lease over the land which was owned by the government meaning selling involved a tripartite agreement.

As my dad got sicker it became evident that he wouldn't be able to go on running the place forever. By this stage it housed a double decker driving range, golf academy, 9 hole mashie course, conference centre, restaurant, chiropractor and a few smaller tenants renting the outbuildings.

When I was about 20 I got involved, I acted as my dad's legs and ended up starting a market which I ran in partnership with him. It had been my second home my whole life so helping was a natural progression.

In 2012 I was still working as an actress and was cast as Daisy in the Great Gatsby. At around the same time my dad was made an offer by a local and prominent developer who was
responsible for much of the upgrade to the nearby area, Woodstock.
They negotiated back and forth over the duration of our play and by the time we finished our run it was the new year and they were ready to start drafting the paper work.

I didn't realise at the time but something in me subconsciously knew this had to be it. I went into autopilot, I don't know how I did it - but I did.

I convinced my dad to let me drive him to the next meeting with Nick, he was already
struggling to walk even short distances and as the parking in Woodstock is a nightmare it wasn't hard to get him to agree. We arrived early and I asked if I could come in for a coffee, promising to leave by the time Nick arrived - I didn't and we immediately clicked.

The meeting went well but I could tell my dad was dragging his feet slightly and there was a part of him that understandably didn't want to let go. It's one thing to sell a business when you are moving on to another, but it was an unspoken understanding that this would mean he would retire.

Nick and he are both very strong characters and there was some clashing of egos. Another month or so went by with out much progress so again in autopilot I called Nick and asked if I could come to his office for a catch up. He assumed I was coming to talk about continuing with my market if he took over but instead we sat there for about an hour and a half talking about everything and then I asked him if he needed an assistant.

God knows where I got the balls to strut into this successful man's office and surrounded by his employees ask for a job - but I did. I knew the only way to make this deal happen was to keep both sides close so they couldn't give up or run away.

About a week later he called and took me up on my offer. I knew absolutely nothing about property management or building or excel or leasing or any of the other things my new job
involved but I grafted harder than I ever had, staying up at night teaching myself what I'd struggled with the day before.

Over the course of the next few months I got promoted twice and by about 8 months in I was managing his entire property portfolio.

I was working pretty much 24/7 but I'd achieved what I set out to, I'd managed to be the man in middle between him and my dad and smooth over the countless issues that had arisen from the frustration of waiting for the government to sign the agreement.

I'd also made myself indispensable to him which gave me a way of speaking my mind and challenging him on matters involving The River Club and my dad. I thoroughly enjoyed working for and with him, we have a special bond that has lasted to this day but it was a long two and a half years of trying to be objective on the most personal of matters until finally 2 and a half years later the deal went through.

My dad left and we took over, it was an incredibly difficult time but I had to stay focused, the deal involved a payment structure spanning over the next 3 years. I completed my biggest project so far by managing the renovation of The River Club which gave me an opportunity to do a few of the things dad hadn't had a chance to and when it was finished, I resigned.

I had given literally everything to the job, my dad and Nick and was well and truly burnt out. I found the tumour a few months later and I have no doubt the stress of those years played a role in it's creation but it was worth it to be able to give my family security.

It's been nearly 2 years since then and I knew we were coming up to the last payment. I've
always kept in touch with Nick and yesterday I had made a plan to go to The River Club to meet up with one of my old colleagues who became a very good friend. I called him on the way to organise our own catch up and as he answered he asked if I was calling him to say
congrats. What?

It turns out he made the last payment yesterday afternoon so I found out that the last nearly 5 years had come to an end as I was on the way to the place that had brought us together and been a part of my life since I was 3.

The universe works in the strangest of ways. It was emotional to think that we no longer have any attachment to it, especially after the effort I'd put into it for the last few years but I was also happy that my dad had finally been paid the total value of all his work.

I met Rox and we agreed it was strange we had made a plan for this day at this place not knowing the significance. And then as if it needed to get any stranger the band that I used to hire to play at my market's walked onto the stage.

http://48hours.co.za/2012/10/25/river-club-boutique-market-taking-it-to-the-next-new-level/

It's been an emotional journey and tonight was bitter sweet. It'll always hold a special place in our hearts and I will always support Nick in his endeavours with it. After 21 years he was the first person to stick around long enough to actually make it happen, I made it hard for him to walk away - but he could've and didn't and for that I'll be eternally grateful to him.