Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
“I’m not done,” I continued. “The board sold it out from under me, and that part is easy for you to see. What isn’t as easy is that they have exerted power they shouldn’t have really had for a long time. They have kept me from making upgrades and tackling some of the bigger problems the store has for a long time as well. They have put any hard or big decisions on the backburner, making it extremely difficult for me to address since any funds had to be approved by the board. As owner, I could have addressed them all by now, and I think I have paid my dues and deserve that chance.”
“And?” he asked.
“And I think there is a simple solution here that is staring us both in the face. You just wanted an investment, which I have no problem with, and even have no problem with you investing in my company. But having a bigger share than I do is crap, and you know it. So, my suggestion is to fix that imbalance.”
“Fix the imbalance?” he repeated.
“Yes,” I said, taking a deep breath. Here it was. All or nothing. The worst he could say was no. All the other options Carmela had given ran through my brain at lightning speed. “The easiest way possible would be for you to sell some or all of your shares to me.”
9
VICTOR
“Sell you, my stake?” I asked, making sure I’d heard her correctly. Rather than respond verbally, she simply nodded, a nervous smile on her face. Not for the first time, I found myself charmed by that smile. She really was a beautiful woman.
“Yes,” she finally eked out.
I glanced over at Mark, who was peeling at the label of his beer. He glanced up and met my gaze before looking back at the bottle and going back to work with his thumbnail, delicately getting under the paper.
“Look, I can understand your point of view,” I said. “I get it, really. I do. But selling my share of the company to you right now is simply not reasonable. I invested with good intentions. I invested because I believe there is a lot more that can be done to help the store and the community. I think we could work together to build something special here, to make the store as successful as possible. But I am not just willing to sell it to you.”
“Maybe,” Carmela said, interjecting herself back into the conversation as she came around the corner from the kitchen with a stack of plates, “you two should have dinner. Get to know each other a little bit before you talk business again.”
“I just remembered I have something I have to do tonight,” Melanie said. “So, I’m afraid I have to get going.”
“What about tomorrow?” Carmela asked, not missing a beat. “Perhaps you could go grab a bite to eat downtown. There are a couple of new places open down there.”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Vic, give it a shot,” Mark said. “You two have to figure out how to work together on this. Don’t you always talk about all these dinners you take your business partners to?”
Sighing with a bit of frustration, I looked at Mark, who was grinning. He was enjoying this. Whether it was to rib me or to entertain his wife, I wasn’t sure, but either way, it was getting annoying.
“Fine,” Melanie said, surprising me. “There’s a place down the street from the store I’ve been meaning to go to anyway.”
“Mero’s?” Carmela asked.
Melanie nodded.
“Really nice place,” Mark said. “What about it, Vic?”
I was being put on the spot, and I hated it. That said, the idea of being out for dinner with the woman was enticing, no matter what the circumstances. It had been almost a year since I was alone at a restaurant with anyone other than myself or my divorce lawyer. Considering he was seventy and resembled Andy Griffith in Matlock, this would have to be seen as a step up even if she hated my guts.
“All right,” I said. “Mero’s. Seven?”
“Eight,” she said. “I work at the store until six.”
“Eight it is. I’ll make the reservation,” I said.
“Good,” she said awkwardly. “Carmela, it’s been lovely, but I need to go. Mark, nice to see you. Kiss Cassie for me.” She turned to me, nodding curtly. “Victor.”
“Melanie,” I said, nodding at her.
As she left, I let out a big breath and turned to Mark.
“What?” he said defensively.
“She might be gone, but you owe me dinner after that,” I said.
“Why do you think I had Carmela make pasta?” he said. “Nobody can be mad at anyone after pasta.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
When I got back home from Mark and Carmela’s, I was still thinking about Melanie. She’d looked amazing and I couldn’t stop staring at her the entire time she talked. It was almost hard to concentrate on what she was saying she was so distracting. But the problem was what she was saying was ridiculous. Sure, I might have had an idea that possibly we could work something out down the road, but not right now. I hadn’t even begun yet.