Page 283 - James Caan - The Real Deal

28 · Back to School

I went back to London and couldn’t get the idea out of my head.
I talked the idea over with Aisha and used my free time really to
work out what I would need. After a couple of weeks, I had
thought about the kind of school I wanted to build and had
mapped out the logistics in my head. I called up my cousin and
told him I was coming back.
‘Am I staying with you or at the Pearl Continental?’
‘You are absolutely staying with us.’
This time Muneer met me at the airport and did a double take
because I had arrived in a suit: I was there for business and had
left my casual clothes at home. Actually, that’s not quite true: I
wasn’t there for business, I was on a mission.
I got the names of the best lawyer, accountant and architect and
told them I wanted to hire them for two weeks solid. ‘I want you
to be with me every day I’m here and we’re going to look at sites
together, because if I have to have a meeting with one of you one
day, and another of you the next day, it will take too long.’
We went together to look at sites, and at each one the architect
would take me through the construction options, the lawyer would
anticipate any legal implications and the accountant would talk me
through the impact these decisions would have on cost. It worked
brilliantly, and two weeks later I had bought the land, talked
through my vision for the school with the architect, decided how
many children it would be possible to teach, instructed builders
and drafted a management agreement with an organisation called
the Citizens Foundation to run the school when it opened.
As a well-connected local businessman my cousin was great at
suggesting people to work with, and when I got a quote for a piece
of work he was able to tell me if it was a reasonable price or not.
Before I left I asked the architect to take me to an electronics
shop and I bought him a digital camera.
‘Every Friday at midday I want to open my e-mail and see the
latest pictures of how you’re progressing, and when you reach the

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