He thought about it for a moment. “Yup, I did, and I had a reason. The reason is, they run themselves. I put out the capital to fix their problems, bring in new management, and walk away. I don’t have any part of the day-to-day operations, but I’m still bringing in a profit on them.”
“Which makes you a holding company?”
“No, a holding company is different. In this case, I’m the owner. Everyone works for me, but I don’t have to be there running the business. It’s all done online. If something goes wrong, I might have to fly out for a few days, but nothing like what we’ve been dealing with for the last five years since we moved to Plentiful.”
I nodded and moved those folders to the side. “Okay, then. What about the restaurant, marina, and farm?”
“What about them?” His brow was scrunched in concentration.
“What are you going to do with them? How do you plan to run three businesses you know nothing about?” I threw my hands up in frustration from his lack of answers.
He lowered them back to my lap patiently. “I told you, honeybee, those businesses are yours now. I’m providing the funding to make them profitable. Well, in the case of the marina and restaurant, it’s to grow the businesses and keep them healthy. The honey farm is an entirely different situation to address. I want you to take them over, but I’m getting the vibe that you hate this idea.”
“No, I don’t hate it, I’m just still slightly confused. What I love about it is how you’re simplifying and trying to stay local. Your parents aren’t getting any younger, and they’re going to need you.”
“I was already working on this before Mor told me about her cancer. After she told me, I was glad I was nearly done with the process. It will be months before everything you’re reading here,” he said, sweeping his hand around the computer, “is completed and transferred, but it’s all in motion. Same with the sale of the Apple Orchard. I’ll sign papers on that and this house next month.”
“How can we move in if you don’t own it yet?”
He chucked me under the chin like he used to when I was twelve. “Sweetheart, with the down payment I gave them, they have no worries. The house was empty for years, so they’re happy not to keep paying maintenance on it. I assured them if my end fell through, they could keep the deposit. Spoiler alert, it was the price of the house. Please don’t worry about it.”
“You’re really doing this,” I said, sighing. I braced my chin on my fingers and stared him down. “You’re going to work at Butterfly Junction full-time.”
He held up his finger. “No, I’m not. I’m handing the control of Butterfly Junction over to Gulliver. All he needs is my money. I’ve been using Butterfly Junction as a home base this past year, but now that I’ll have a nice office, I can work from here. I also have several local businesses now, and I plan to be more hands-on with them. You and me, two musketeers taking on the world,” he said, shoulder bumping me.
“Okay, but, Mathias, you don’t know anything about restaurants or boats.”
“True, and you might be sweet as a honeybee, but you don’t know anything about them either.”
I lowered a brow. “Your point?”
“My point is, I’m not hiring you to be a glorified secretary, and I know that’s what you think you are. I’m bringing you in as a partner because of your business acumen. An acumen I don’t have. A lot of people think business and finance are the same things, and they aren’t, not by a long shot. You have the skills and the finesse I don’t have to get things done with people. Numbers rule my mind, but yours is ruled by emotion. Whether you believe it or not, your finger was on the pulse of every business I had. You knew about Chastity’s daughter, who needed a transplant, and Marvin’s wife, who was ravaged by multiple sclerosis. I knew the numbers, but you knew the rest.” He turned and grasped my shoulders, holding my gaze. “I want you to know that none of this works without you.” I started to roll my eyes, and he growled. “Don’t. Don’t roll your eyes and say anyone can do this. Not just anyone can do this. No one else knows me the way you do. No one else has been with me since I started management consulting or as I transitioned into mergers and acquisitions. You know what I do and why I do it. Just think about it, okay?” His eyes were soft and hopeful as he asked.
I shook my head, and his hands fell to his sides. “I don’t need to think about it, Mathias. It’s like you said, I’ve been part of your business since the inception. You knew when you started this that I wouldn’t be able to walk away from what you’re doing here. Not when you’re trying to better the community by keeping businesses open that provide income for families and new opportunities for our youth.”
Air puffed out from between his lips, and his shoulders slumped. “Thank God,” he whispered. “Just . . . thank God. I was certain you were going to tell me to go pound sand.”
I laughed, the release good for my soul and lessening the pain in my chest. “I still might, make no mistake, but you’ve changed in a way I can’t define yet, so I have to follow my gut.”
“I have changed, Honey,” he promised, grabbing my shoulders again. “I swear to you on my grandmother’s grave that I’ve finally grown up.”
I chuckled as I shook my head back and forth. “Because nothing says I’m a grown-up like swearing on someone’s grave.”
“My heart is so relieved right now,” he whispered, kissing my forehead before he leaned back in his chair. “I feel like I can breathe again. I didn’t know what I was going to do if you said no.”
I crossed my arms and stared him down. “But we both know I was never going to say no. We both know you would have found a way to convince me to stay. You always do. I mean, you bought me a house, after all.”
“No, the house was yours no matter what you chose to do,” he insisted with a shake of his head. “That wasn’t a bribe or something I planned to hold over you. It was a thank-you for everything you’ve done to keep my sorry ass afloat over the years.”
“It’s a pretty spectacular thank-you gift,” I whispered. “I should say the same, thank you.”
He grinned, and for the first time I realized I had never thanked him for buying it. Granted, I didn’t know if I was staying, but all the same. “The best way to thank me is to move in.”
“To be honest, when I woke up in the bedroom this morning, I wanted to stay. I didn’t want to get up or do anything except stay under the covers and stare out the window.”
“I knew you would,” he said confidently, patting my face.
“That doesn’t mean I’m moving in. I was simply saying that it was a beautiful way to wake up.”
