Page 66 of Save Me

One that I cut as soon as possible after my uncle died and left the Black Opal and the rest of his lounges to Jersey, Taehyun, and me.

“Yes, that’s right,” Blackmon agrees. “He was a good man, your uncle. It’s such a shame we couldn’t continue the business arrangement he and I began after his passing.” He sits at the table.

“What business did you have with Dae’s uncle?” one of the men asks.

“Oh, didn’t you tell them?” Blackmon says, sounding surprised. As if I bring him up in every conversation.

“It wasn’t relevant,” I reply before sipping my wine. I can barely swallow it. I pause and stare at the glass, making a mental note to ask what type of wine this is. It tastes like shit.

“I was once a silent partner of the Black Opal,” Blackmon says proudly. “When Dae’s uncle first came to Williamsport, he and I met at a business convention. God,” he looks around the room, “what was that? Thirty years ago?”

He nods, proud of himself for remembering.

“We worked on and off together for many years on different projects. Dae’s uncle wasn’t very interested in the restaurant business but had an eye for entertainment, especially nightclubs. I’m certain Dae gets his business acumen from him.”

He nods in my direction.

I look at the other men seated at the table. “He was a good man. One with a great business sense, who didn’t like to waste time.”

I won’t give them more information on my uncle. He was ten times the businessman that Sebastian Blackmon ever was. For the life of me, I could never figure out why he held onto the relationship with Blackmon long after it served its purpose.

Will chuckles. “That sounds like it’s our cue to get to the purpose of this meeting.”

“We’ll get to that,” Blackmon says, chuckling. “The waiter is about to bring out the entrees. Gentlemen, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

He claps his hands together in a gesture of amazement. “There’s a reason Le Vie always lands on the top ten list of restaurants in the city.”

Within seconds, the waiter brings in another cart, revealing more plates of the menu’s entrees. I opt for the grilled sea bass with sweet red pepper sauce.

“Bon appétit,” Blackmon says as he holds up his glass of red wine.

Everyone but me salutes.

As they eat, I watch their reactions to their meals. Some give neutral expressions as they chew. Others give genuine smiles of approval.

I cut into my fish for the first time and take a bite of the sea bass. It’s not great, but it's not abysmal, either. It’s underwhelming at best.

“Well,” Will says while wiping his mouth with his cloth napkin. “That was great, Sebastian. Thank you for offering this space for our meeting tonight.”

I cock my head to the side, thinking over his words.

Will looks over at me. “We thought it best to conduct this meeting on neutral territory for the both of you.”

“Neutral?” I question.

“Yes,” John answers. “A place neither of you owns.” He gestures to Blackmon. “However, Sebastian insisted he have the meeting here with the promise to comp our meal and drinks.”

The men around the table chuckle.

I don’t.

“And what is this meeting about exactly?” I was only informed of it a couple of hours ago. Taehyun and Jersey believed this would be the decision meeting and insisted I attend.

“We’ve made a decision,” Will declares. He looks between me and Blackmon. A huge smile opens up on his face. “We would like for both of your companies to come on as partners.”

He and the other men grin as if this should make me happy. I peer across the table as Blackmon’s eyebrows dip, a distressed wrinkle appearing on his forehead before his expression changes. His smile returns, and he claps.

“Well, this is wonderful news.”

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