Page 35 of Another Last Call
I stared at her. Selling the business hadn’t even been on the table. “What?”
She tried to smile. “I had an interested investor. He’s going to take care of the repairs and help renovate the bar.”
“Who?”
“So now he owns half the business,” she continued. “Which is a good thing, hon. Because the business needs as much help as the building does.”
I could feel tension knotting my shoulders. “Who, Mom? Who’s the… the new owner?”
“Half-owner.”
“Mom!”
She paused, then sighed. “Caleb.”
I had wanted her to say Tiny Steve. Or maybe a regular tourist. Hell, I would have almost preferred she say my sperm donor’s name.
But no.
No.
“Caleb,” I repeated. “Caleb bought half the bar. Just… bought it.”
“Hear me out—”
“Because he’s just got that kind of money. To just… buy my life.” A giggle burst from my lips. “I guess I should be thankful.” Another giggle, though that one was a lot shakier. “Is this weird? Don’t you think this is weird, Mom?”
“You can get past your issues with his money. He’s a smart man, Maggie. He has a business degree and a soft spot for The Sea Glass.”
“He’s not a local. We’ve been working the ‘local charm’ angle this whole time and he’s not even from here. What if he changes everything?”
“He won’t. He only owns half the business.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, ‘only’ half. And now he’s my boss.”
“He’s not your boss.”
“He’s half my boss, then.”
“Maggie.” Mom’s voice was commanding, and I stopped my freak out. “He’s not your boss. He’s your business partner.”
“No, he’syourbusiness partner.”
She shook her head. “You’re taking over.”
I stared at her, my mouth half-open. “No. No way.”
“Should I sell him the whole business, then?”
“No!” The words screeched out of my throat. “What do you mean, I’m—Mom, I can’t! I’m… I don’t know how to run a business! I’m too young. And you… you—”
“You’ve been working at the bar since you were able to hold a tray. If you don’t know how to run the bar by now, there’s no hope for you. Anyways, Caleb will help with that side of it.”
“And what exactly are you going to do?”
“I’m going on a road trip.”
I’m not sure what the expression on my face looked like, but Mom laughed.
