Page 26 of The Last Goodbye

“He’s just trying to milk us for more money,” my father interrupted. “He probably doesn’t even give a shit about his restaurant—it’s all about the money.”

“That’s actually not true,” I insisted. “He doesn’t want to move, and he doesn’t care about the money. But these are the barriers that are standing in our way whenever I’ve discussed things with him. And they’re actually fair things to bring up. Not everyone has the overhead to cover being out of business for months at a time. Not to mention he’s concerned about making sure his employees keep their jobs during the transition.”

“So what are you suggesting?” Denton asked, his lips turning up the slightest bit in the corners, as if he was impressed that I actually had a solution to offer. Whether they went for it or not was out of my control, but I was going to try. And I was grateful that he was interested in hearing more and not shutting me down the way our father tended to do.

“Well, Steven’s going to take some time to finish the final plans, and the other lots will need to be prepped and leveled.” I exhaled, preparing to pitch the plan I’d spent days trying to come up with. “If Bass Bennett agrees to the space I’m showing him today, and we agree to cover the cost of the renovations, I would like to offer him the option to keep the current restaurant open for three months while we renovate the new space. We won’t have him close the doors until it’s time to move all the restaurant equipment from the old space to the new location. That way he can remain open for as long as possible, and I think we could pull off just a two-week period where his doors are shut. We can get to work on everything else in the meantime, and I think it’s a very fair solution. Financially, it’s still a huge win by getting in so much sooner with this option.”

“Why the hell would we do him this favor when he’s being a pain in the ass? Fuck this guy.” My father’s voice boomed, and I jumped in my seat. He was a hothead, which I’d learned early on, but it still caught me off guard most of the time.

“Because he has something that we want.” Denton raised an eyebrow, voice remaining completely calm and even. “You don’t have to bully him to get what you want, Dad. And she’s right—it’ll take a good month for Steven to get the plans ready, and we can absolutely start with the other spaces first and buy him a few months. I think the only challenge that I see is keeping the renovation on track. Three months can turn into eight months if we’re not paying attention. We know how that goes, so we need boots on the ground in Blue Sky Bay.”

“Agreed. Briar, this is your baby, so you will oversee the renovation. That means hiring whoever you need, and if you can’t find locals who can stay within this timeline, we’ll fly out our own team.” My father did not look pleased. “Take him to the space and make the offer. If he doesn’t take this, then we’re done kissing his ass.”

Denton chuckled. “Is it that difficult for you to admit when someone has a really good idea? One that you didn’t come up with, by the way, Dad. Well done, Briar. I think he’s going to go for it. This is a deal that makes sense for everyone.”

Denton’s praise meant a lot to me. It was the validation and encouragement I craved—something I’d never received from our father.

“I didn’t come up with it, because I don’t coddle the people I’m handing money to. To me, they’re lucky to get what I’m offering. I don’t owe them more than that.” He huffed out a breath. Obviously I was still not going to get that validation from him. Not yet, at least. “And since this is your project, plan on staying for three months to oversee the renovation. You will be the project manager, and if this goes over the time we’ve allotted, then that will fall on your shoulders, Briar.”

“I won’t be doing this remotely? You want me to stay in Blue Sky Bay for three months?” I asked, not hiding my surprise. I thought I was going to be here for a short time, and he’d just casually changed the plan, without any consideration for how I’d feel about it.

“Yes. If I’m paying for the renovation, you will make sure every dime spent is reasonable and stay on top of the project to get it done quickly.”

“It’ll save us a lot of money in the long run,” Denton added. “I’ve had to do it before as well, and having someone there to push things along will be the best plan for the bottom line. And you did find this town and pitch this project, so this is your first big one, sis. You’ll feel a lot of pride watching it come together.”

I nodded. “Sure. I just want to make it work, and this seems like a way that everyone wins.”

“You worry me a bit, Briar,” my father said as his tongue pushed against his cheek, something I’d noticed he did whenever he was annoyed but trying to control himself from blowing up.

“How so?” I asked, mentally preparing for an insult, because that was usually how things went with this man. Every interaction felt transactional in a way. He reduced people to business assets, from what I’d observed, dismissing any consideration of feelings. My entire body tensed as I waited for what would follow.

“Because you shouldn’t care if everyone wins. All that matters is that we win. It’s not our job to hold anyone’s hand or care about their feelings. Our job is to make sure that it’s in our best interest. End of story.”

“Maybe she’s onto something,” Denton said. “It’s okay if we aren’t the only ones who win, Dad. She found a way to make this deal happen—otherwise we’d be sitting on the project for two years. Think of the revenue that we’ll bring in doing this now versus later.”

My father shrugged. “Well, the stubborn ass hasn’t even agreed to any of this yet. So let’s see if she can even pull it off. We’ve got bigger things going on here, and we need to get to work. Keep us posted, Briar.”

The boxes disappeared before my eyes, and the call was over.

My father was a very abrupt man. He always said what he thought without any hesitation, and he didn’t let go of an argument until his opponent had ended up on his side. I was still navigating all of that, even though I’d been with the company for two years. Every call with him left me a little more tense than before it had started, like I’d been reaching for something that was just out of my grasp and came away with nothing but that familiar, sinking feeling.

My phone vibrated, and I opened it to a text from Denton.

Denton

Sorry about that ending. You know how he is.

It’s okay. Thanks for having my back.

Denton

Well, it’s easy to do when you make good points. I think it’s a very wise plan.

I appreciate it. You know how important it is for me that this all happens.

Denton

I know you want to be treated like a partner, and you’ve earned it. Get one big project under your belt, and it’ll happen.