In response to Noda's question I tried to sound intelligent, saying the ink coloring looked well preserved, or some such auction house mumbo jumbo. It wasn't my thing really, which the man surely knew. He seemed to know everything else about me. After he listened politely, they switched back to Japanese and finally settled on a bid. I watched as she marked it in the catalogue--low six figures.
Walton, I thought, you're dealing with a pair of heavyweights.
By then I'd decided not to bother bidding on anything. There were too many curious twists, not to mention the building deal. Surely the ritual had gone far enough, the samurai negotiating ploy of making your adversary be first to reveal his game plan.
Why not bring up why we were there, just for the hell of it?
When I did, Noda betrayed a fleeting smile. "But of course, the building." He made it sound like some kind of trivial annoyance, a nuisance to get out of the way so we could all get back to the serious work of admiring the pretty pictures.
_Touche_, I thought. Round one to Noda, on points. "I assume you've had a look at the package of materials I messengered up to your hotel yesterday?"
A broker friend had put together some listings for office buildings around midtown--it turned out the market was softening a touch due to the latest construction binge--and I'd hoped that maybe something would catch Noda's eye. Matter of fact, there were a couple of real bargains over near Sixth.
"My people have examined it in detail. We would like to move forward on the twenty-story building on Third Avenue."
For a second I thought he was joking. Sure we'd tossed in the write-up, because it fit his profile, but it was a crazy all- cash deal, and they wanted ninety million, firm.
"Did you read the terms on that one? It's all--"
"There is a vacant floor, is there not? Available immediately?"
"There may be a few items to clarify--we would like your legal opinion concerning the leases of the existing tenants--but nothing major. If the seller is prepared, I think we could even go to contract early next week, while I'm here. I would like very much to close as soon as possible. If some of my staff can meet with the seller's attorneys over the weekend, perhaps we can start work."