Page 29 of The Last Goodbye

She groaned. “Don’t insult me. You will have final approval on all finishes. I will bring you samples based on what you tell me you want, and you can make your selections. This also isn’t our first rodeo.”

“And if it takes longer than three months, what does that mean?” I asked, wondering if she was going to try to pull a fast one on me.

My mind was reeling. What would it mean if she was going to be working on this project for the next three months—possibly even longer?

I should hate the idea. Why the fuck am I slightly charged by the thought?

“That falls on me. I’m responsible for the timeline. It has nothing to do with you, or with the budget—but just know that I’m equally invested in making sure this happens as quickly as possible. If that means bringing in more people to pull it off, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“You seem awfully determined,” I said.

“Well, that was your last hurdle, right? The one about how to keep your revenue flowing while renovating the new space? How to keep your employees on staff during that time period.”

For the first time today, she had my full attention. I didn’t speak, but my gaze locked with hers, and I waited for her to fill me in.

“I’ve talked it over with our team back in New York. If we can get the job done at this location in the specified timeline, then we’ll hold off on bulldozing your restaurant until we absolutely have to. We’ll work on everything else, from permits to final drawings from the architect to getting the surrounding lots leveled and prepped first for the new hotel. That buys us some time, but they aren’t going to agree to more than three months. So you won’t lose money by closing down the business, and I’ll make my father happy by pulling this renovation off in three months. If all goes the way I hope it does, you’ll close your doors at your current location about two weeks before we open the doors at the new location. Your staff gets a little vacation time, and you’ll be in your new restaurant when they return.”

I nodded. Damn, she’d thought of everything. “And your father agreed to this?”

“Yes. The contract is being written up now, as long as you agree to those terms.”

I ran my hand over my mouth and down my jaw. “You seem to have thought of everything.”

“It’s my job,” she said.

“Just make sure that ROD is listed on the contract, and that I have the final say over what finishes go in the place.”

“Within reason. I mean, you can’t put in diamond chandeliers or anything unreasonable, but we will go with finishes that are comparable to the restaurant you currently have. We can pull all your appliances from your kitchen and reuse a lot of things from the dining room, which is why we’ll need about two weeks between closing and opening in order to pull that off and move those items over.”

I cleared my throat and paced in a circle in front of her as I thought it over. “You can get all this in writing for my attorney to look over?”

“I’ll have it emailed to you by end of business day today. You’ll have forty-eight hours to accept it. Time is the most challenging piece of this equation, because we want to get the renovation done quickly so you can keep your doors open for as long as possible at your current location. We’re going to offer cash for this place and request a fast close. So, are we doing this or not?” She tipped her head back and looked up at me.

“Assuming your contract is consistent with what you just offered, I think you actually have yourself a deal.” I held out my hand to her. I couldn’t turn this down. I’d been worrying about what I’d do in two years when this situation came up again, and this would solve all of that. Financially, I’d be better off because this location was larger, and I’d own the land beneath the restaurant here, which I didn’t have at my current location.

She placed her hand in mine. “It will be exactly as promised.”

We shook on it, and her eyes met mine as a wide grin spread across her pretty face.

I didn’t let go of her hand. “If you actually pull this off, I’ll personally buy you a drink to celebrate.”

She looked surprised at the offer as she nodded. “Count on it. Let me just step outside so I can call our team and get that contract written up and emailed to you right away.”

“All right. I’m going to walk through one more time,” I said.

I sent a quick text to River, asking if I could send over the contract once I received it, and I included the basic details. He responded quickly, letting me know that it sounded like a perfect scenario for me, and that he’d look it over tonight and get it back to me right away.

I walked through the main dining room, taking a moment to imagine how it would look once we’d transformed the place.

Right now, it was a dusty mess that needed a lot of work. The plaster was cracked and uneven in places, wiring hung loose from the walls, and everything was coated in a film of dust like it hadn’t been touched in years. The windows were still covered in patches of old newspaper, and the paint was peeling back in strips along the walls.

I wasn’t sure how she thought they could pull this off as quickly as she did, but she seemed confident, and she was clearly good at her job.

I glanced out the window when I walked back into what would be the kitchen if this all went through, and I watched as Briar paced beside the large tree while she spoke on the phone. She was smiling and talking rapidly.

The woman had pulled off a miracle.

I never actually thought I’d be agreeing to any deal she offered me, and here I was eating my words.