Charles Miller ran a financial firm, Business First, in partnership with his friends James and David Parker. The firm provided loans to help people set up new businesses. BusinessFirst granted a loan of $50,000 to Sandra Thomas, for her to set up a cake shop. Sandra executed a note which stated, “For the value received, Sandra Thomas promises to pay to order of BusinessFirst the principal sum of $50,000, together with interest calculated as stated below, in two years from the date of executing the draft, or sooner.” Which of the following changes to the note would make the note nonnegotiable?
a. The removal of the words “or sooner” from the note
b. The inclusion of a clause that allows Sandra to prepay the instrument and thus avoid paying interest
c. The addition of a provision for payment of interest at a variable rate
d. The addition of the words “subject to Sandra’s business making a profit within the first two years” to the note