Page 77 of One Big Little Secret

“Exactly,” I say.

“If we do things her way, there’s limited commitment beyond the renovations,” Archer says. “We can take the hit, yes—but it’s still a risk. The question is, do we want to if things go sour?”

“Arch…” I roll my eyes. “Where would we be without a little risk?”

“Probably avoiding partnerships with men who could get us killed,” he growls.

“Aw, shit. If you’re talking about Haute again, you might as well—”

“Guys.” Dexter holds up his hands. “I took the brunt of that mess, remember? Can we forget about it for ten seconds? I swear, why does this shit always happen with you two?”

For a second, we turn our eyes down, trying to get back on track.

“I looked high and low for major risks in the research,” I say, because I would never turn up to a meeting empty-handed, especially with Archer. “Look at the ten-year tourism trend for northern Minnesota. There’s clearly a gap in the market that’s exploitable. And if we use Evelyn’s properties, we won’t have to purchase them outright ourselves. If there’s a black swan event and it doesn’t work out, we haven’t lost too much skin. We also won’t have to worry about flipping underperforming properties.”

“Losing is still losing. Even when it happens slowly.” Archer wags a finger.

“Welcome to business, my man. Like it or not, you always have to take risks or you’re not moving forward. There’s also the potential for a huge reward.”

I prop my chair up on its wheels triumphantly, leaning back, a dumb habit I just can’t break.

“We have guaranteed rewards here in Kansas City,” Archer says, but I can tell he’s cracking.

The whole Haute incident scared him shitless. He never wanted to partner with anyone else, understandably, but this is Mom’s oldest friend we’re talking about. It’s not like she’d ever crawl into bed with the mob.

This time, it’s different. There’s also less commitment here.

Plus, we’ll be expanding our reach in a way that Iknowappeals to Archer once he’s thought it through.

“I know our last partnership went way off track. But this is Evelyn Hibbing we’re talking about. She’s not going to call up a mafia hit man if she doesn’t get her way. And haven’t we been talking about moving north, even before Omaha came up?” I pause, letting it sink in before I continue. “We have the potentialto get a foot deep into the market there, and if it works, think what else we could do.”

Archer grunts. “We always said we’d make the decision to expand outstateslowly.”

“And this is us, making that decision now. Slowly.” I stress the last word.

Dex glances at us. “When you’re both done bickering, I think we should go for it.”

“Of course you would.” Archer’s lips thin, knowing it’s two-on-one.

“For fuck’s sake, Arch, don’t be like that. This isn’t personal.” Dexter flattens his hands in front of him. Now he means business. “The Cardinal is doing well. Spectacular, really, if the early bookings keep up into the spring. Think how we could capitalize on that.”

“We can look into it,” Archer grinds out. “I’d like to see more details on what repairs and renovations she really needs, and if we think it’s worth the investment. If these places are falling down, it’s a fucking veto from me. And if we agree, we’ll get a contract drawn up and try to pilotoneof these places for fourth quarter.”

“Fair enough.” I make a mental note. “If we get cooking and send up our own contractors with bonus pay, rather than looking for locals, we could possibly catch the late summer crowd.”

“Sold.” Dex puts his hands behind his head and stretches. “By the way, pass on our congratulations to your new manager, Pat. She’s pulling her weight.” He sends me a long, hard look. “You better be giving her the mentorship time she deserves and not fucking off.”

“No half-assing it,” Archer agrees, pointing a finger. “I know you.”

“Since when have I ever half-assed anything with The Cardinal?” I let my chair fall back on its legs and flip them off. “I could win business mentor of the year, you pricks.”

Dex laughs bitterly.

“You’re not winning squat with your personality. You and Salem don’t exactly get along.” Archer shrugs. “That’s all I’ve got to say about it, though. This mentor gig is your responsibility. Don’t let us find out you’re shitting it up so bad we have to step in.”

I glower at him.

“I recommended some of the books in your office,” Dex tells me.

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