Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“But they won’t,” I said, leaning forward. “Resorts like this one put everyone else out of business! They bring in fancy shops and restaurants that drive property values up until even we can’t live here anymore. Don’t you see? There’s a happy medium here, and McBride needs the Sea Sprite to be the one to lead the revitalization.”
Greg shook his head, appearing almost regretful. “Because there’s no money for the kind of renovation you want to do. That’s what it comes down to. In order to turn this place around, we’d need hundreds of thousands of dollars we don’t have. You know as well as I do that half my legal clients pay in trade these days, and it’s not like Mark’s plumbing business is raking in the money. Hell, Brian’s probably doing the best of all of us, and he’s one bad tourist season away from closing down. Money, son. It makes the world go round, and we don’t have it to spare.”
He was right that money was an issue. But he was wrong in thinking it was an insurmountable one. “I can get it,” I insisted. “I have a plan.”
Greg and Mark exchanged a glance. Neither of them rolled their eyes, but they may as well have. I ground my teeth together to keep myself from saying something disrespectful. The last thing I wanted was for this disagreement to tear my family apart. It would have killed my grandparents to think that what they’d intended as their legacy—the Sea Sprite Inn—was actually their family’s undoing.
Uncle Brian reached out to pat my shoulder the way he always had when I’d caught fish too small to be anything other than bait.
Better luck next time, keep trying.
“Wishes and dreams don’t pay the bills, Junior. Four million pays a boatload of them. Greg is right. Your father would kick our asses if we didn’t force you to take this money and provide for your future.”
“My dad isn’t here,” I said though clenched teeth. “I am. And I know what’s best for my future.”
“Unfortunately, you’re not the only one whose future is a stake.” Brian said it with kindness, but the truth of it still stung.
I tried to determine if it was even worth my breath to pitch them my plan. Even if it was, the plan itself wasn’t quite ready yet.
My brain scrambled to come up with a stopgap measure to at least give my plan a chance, but James’s offer of a rush bonus had made it damned near impossible.
I looked around at my three uncles. Their faces showed a mix of determination, relief, and continued worry. I knew this wasn’t as easy of a decision as they made it seem. They loved this place as much as I did. They simply didn’t see an alternate path forward the way I did.
“Give me some time,” I begged. “Let me pull my plan together and finish renovating one of the rooms so you can see my vision. At least give me a chance to convince you.”
Mark sighed, but I could tell by the look on Greg’s face he was at least willing to humor me.
Brian glanced over at his two brothers. “Technically this deal won’t be final until the paperwork is signed in three weeks, right? What do we have to lose by listening to Sawyer’s plan?”
“Our time,” Mark muttered under his breath.
“Uh, four million bucks,” Greg said.
Brian sighed. “Look, all four of us have equal ownership in the Sea Sprite, and while technically we can make a decision based on majority vote, that doesn’t mean we should. It would be better if we could all come to an agreement on this.”
“Not likely,” I said under my breath, rolling my eyes.
Brian cut a sharp look at me. “Not helping.”
I made a show of pressing my lips together and shutting up.
“All I’m saying,” Brian continued, “is that we don’t need to be so hasty with our decision. We can take a few days to think about it.”
“But the bonus,” Mark pointed out. “The lawyer wants a decision today or we start losing money.”
“Those are his rules, not ours,” Brian countered. “If his client’s willing to pay that much for this land today, he’ll still be willing to pay that much in a few days. I have every confidence Greg can negotiate us a few extra days before we’re required to answer, can’t you?” he asked, pivoting to look at his former lawyer brother.
I held my breath, waiting for my uncle’s response. If I could have just a little more time, I could formalize my plan and present it to them and hopefully win them over to my side. “Please Uncle Greg.”
He let out a sigh, tapping his fingers against the old table for a moment before responding. “Fine, I’ll negotiate for more time.”
A wave of relief rolled through me. I’d come so close to losing the inn before I’d even had a chance to truly fight for it. “Thank you,” I said, bolting from my chair and starting for the door. “You won’t regret this,” I added hastily as I pushed my way out of the room. If I wanted to convince them to go with my vision for the Sea Sprite, I needed to pull together my best pitch fast, and that meant busting my ass.