Page 78 of The Barkeep and the Bro

“Got a minute?”

Or maybe not. “Uh, sure.”

Vince led us outside. The rain had stopped, but it brought a chill into the air. We manned up and ignored the weather. His suit was sharp and screamed expensive. Leo probably knew where he bought it.

Vince cleared his throat. “I wanted to run something by you, an incredible opportunity.”

I appreciated that he avoided platitudes about tonight and Ellie and cut to the chase, but a queasy feeling immediately hit my stomach.

“Shoot.”

“I’ve been working with investors looking for riverfront property. Stone’s Throw is in an ideal location. You’ve done a great job with the space. It’s larger than most bars in the area.” He slipped one hand into his pocket and leaned against the wall, looking like a model in a cologne ad. I wondered if he’d had any plastic surgery. It wouldn’t surprise me. “Have you given any thought to selling?”

I shook my head, trying to make sense of his offer. “Your big real estate investment firm and pool of investors are interested in my little bar?”

“We see great potential there.”

“Revenue-wise, we’re not blowing the doors off or anything, and it seems like people associated with you like to make money.”

“Hannah told me about your struggles.”

I cringed at just how my ex-wife described my business. I could be self-deprecating about my bar, but only me. Anyone else, and that was hurtful.

“I wouldn’t call it struggles. Running a small business is challenging for everyone.”

“What if you didn’t have to deal with the challenge anymore?” He asked smoothly. He was pitching me. “What if you sold Stone’s Throw and made a nice chunk of change? What else could you do with your life? Travel, invest, start something new, or just take a load off for the first time since the ‘90s.”

What could I do if I wasn’t managing the tavern? My mind went blank. It couldn’t even dream up possibilities. I’d only known one place for my entire adult life.

“Your guys want to buy it outright?”

“You own the property, yes?”

I nodded affirmatively. “My parents had the opportunity to buy it decades ago.”

“They were smart.”

“Sourwood was a rustic, nothing town back then. The highway didn’t have an exit for us all those years ago.”

“They saw the future. The land is getting more valuable by the day. More people are leaving Manhattan and moving there.”

Leo had filled me in on population changes. His hard work as Mayor had helped make Sourwood desirable. I benefited from a steady trickle of business.

But to sell? To give up what was essentially my birthright?

“I appreciate the offer, Vince.”

“Mitch, Mitch, Mitch. Don’t say no right away.” I hated hearing my name on his slick tongue, talking to me like I was some rube. “This is a surprise. I ambushed you at your daughter’s wedding. She looked beautiful, by the way. Congratulations.”

There it was.

“This is an incredible offer.”

“Your investors want a bar?” Something wasn’t clicking.

He see-sawed his head. That meant another shoe was about to drop. “It’s not the bar they’re buying. It’s the property.”

My body went cold. “They’re going to tear Stone’s Throw down?”

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