“What is the tip?” I asked, realizing Melissa was waiting for my response.
I knew that Melissa had a crush on me, and there had been times in the past when she had tried to ask me out. Despite the fact that she was quite pretty, I wasn’t interested in dating her. Thankfully, she got the hint and stopped asking me to go on a date with her, but she was still very flirtatious.
“Actually, I can’t believe you don’t know about it,” Melissa said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and leaning towards me.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Because it’s in your own town!”
Melissa’s giggles attracted the attention of everyone in the room. I felt my heart start pounding, knowing what she was going to say next.
“There is this B&B in your town that just changed ownership. Apparently, the new owner is some young New Yorker who knows nothing about the business. She’s got to be overwhelmed, so I think we should go after it!” Melissa said.
I was about to answer when my partner, Greg, came over and sat down next to me.
“Is this true?” he asked.
Melissa nodded. “Yes, it’s true. I just heard about it this morning.”
Greg looked at me. “Do you know anything about this?”
I took a deep breath. “Yes,” I said.
“Why didn’t you mention it?” Greg said, surprised. “It seems like it would be a natural thing for you to go after, especially since it’s right there in your community.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that simple,” I said. “I know the family who owned the place, and I also know the new owner. The place wasn’t sold—it was actually passed down as part of an estate, and I was at the funeral of the former owner.”
“Oh,” Greg said, nodding slowly. “That makes more sense then. You are close to the situation.”
“Very close,” I said, thinking back to my dinner with Brenna.
“And you know the new owner?” Melissa asked, suspiciously.
“We were kids together,” I said simply.
Melissa turned towards Greg. “I don’t see why that has to stop us from going after it,” she said.
“In fact, I think it would make things easier. I saw the place online. It’s going to need some work, but it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a fantastic property, and the view is spectacular. However, the new owner is young and inexperienced, and she is most likely going to want some help, so why wouldn’t we act now?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “This isn’t right. It feels as if we are taking advantage.”
Greg took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair.
“I understand where you’re coming from,” he said. “However, I think you’re too close to the situation. If this were any other location, you know you’d be on board with trying to get the business. This is what we do. And you know that.”
I stood up and walked over to the window. As I looked out over Los Angeles, I knew that Greg was right. This was exactly what we did. We found companies that were vulnerable in some way and then came in and offered to either partner with them to help improve the business or buy the place from them. More often than not, we would just buy them out completely.
The Tide’s Pull would be an excellent investment for our company. The location was ideal, and I knew that within a month we would be able to completely renovate it and turn it into a premier destination. It would be booked out with high-end clientele and would be one of our showcase properties.
If it were any other owner, I wouldn’t think twice about swooping in, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that to Brenna.
I turned around and looked at Greg and Melissa. “I can’t sign off on this,” I said. “The new owner, Brenna, just made thedecision to try and make it work. She is uprooting her entire life and moving across the country to renovate and run the B&B. She grew up in the community and is my friend, and I have to let her try to do this without taking over.”
“We don’t need to buy her out,” Greg said. “We could partner with her.”
“He’s right,” Melissa said. “It wouldn’t be as lucrative, but it would still work. It would help her.”
I shook my head. “No, that’s not her dream. That’s not what she is excited about.”
