"I wouldn't take itthatfar," he laughed. "But Ididmiss it." His eyes softened. "And more than that, I missed my family."
Hearing this, I felt a warm glow settle over my heart – not just because I was so attached to my own family, but because I liked the idea that he was so attached to his.
It was sweet and a bit of a surprise, although I wasn't sure why. "So is that why you sold the burger joints? So you could move back home?"
"I hadn't planned to sell them," he said. "But then I got one heck of an offer."
"Lemme guess." I tried to sound ominous. "The kind you can't refuse?"
"Icould'verefused," he said. "But with the kind of cash they were offering, plus a share of future franchising, I would've been an idiot to turn them down." He shook his head. "And I'm no idiot."
"But what about yourotherbusiness?" I asked. "You know, the thing with the little houses."
"Thatbusiness I can run from anywhere. A few miles from my house in Florida, I had a big workshop where I'd build the prototypes, but as far as the actual construction, that's done in a factory in Indiana."
"Why there?" I asked.
"I had a college buddy who started a business constructing prefab homes. He was doing great for a while, but then the market took a downturn, and the guy almost lost his shirt."
I winced. "Ouch."
"Yeah," Bryce said. "But it happened just as mine was on an upswing, so I sent him some business to help him out. It worked out so well that we ended up partnering."
"So, it's a win-win, huh?"
"You know it," Bryce said. "Troy's a great guy. He really knows how to keep the product moving." He smiled. "And he's funny as hell. You'd really like him."
As he said it, I wondered at the odds of me actually meeting any of his friends. Yesterday, I would've put the odds at nearly zero. Now, I wasn't so sure. Regardless, Ididwant to hear the rest of his story. "So, how does your girlfriend fit into all of this?"
"Ex-girlfriend," he corrected. "And do you want to know why she's an ex?"
"Why?"
"That offer, I mentioned – she tried to sabotage it."
I drew back in surprise. "Really? How so?"
"You really want to hear this?"
Now Iespeciallywanted to hear it. I gave a quick nod. "Definitely."
His mouth tightened. "She told the buyers that I was fudging the books."
My jaw dropped. "Shewhat?"
"Yeah, she made a point to run into the guy leading the acquisition. It was at this cocktail party for a colleague. Anyway, she goes there on her own and drops some hints that I'm not on the up-and-up."
I couldn’t even imagine. "But that's so horrible."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"But why'd she do it?" I asked.
"You can't guess?"
I shook my head. "Honestly? No."
Bryce gave a humorless laugh. "I'm not surprised."
