Page 50 of The Wild Card
Collin chases him out, and I’m left at the booth alone.
Nan steps up with the kind of smile that lets me know she heard at least a good portion of the conversation. Or maybe it’s just that she’s used to their antics? I really can’t be sure.
“Another cup of coffee, hon? You look like you might need the extra caffeine. I can make it to-go?”
It’s going to take a whole lot more than caffeine to process all of this. “Yes, please.”
CHAPTER 11
Collin
I manageto catch Thayden as he reaches his car.
“How big of a problem are we talking?” I call. “With the buyers, I mean.”
He turns and leans on the side of a powder-blue Bronco. I’ve never seen this car before. But then, Thayden always likes new toys. He probably paid for this one just from our family’s retainer.
“Well, the two buyers who seemed primed to make offers now have cold feet. I got messages from two different potential buyers this morning saying that there were ‘concerns’ about the gym’s reputation, given the online chatter.”
I groan and rock back on my heels, rubbing my eyes. When I glance back at the diner, I don’t see Molly following. Which is good, because I don’t particularly want her hearing all of this. I’d have loved for her not to knowanyof it, honestly, but Thayden already ruined that.
“And you honestly think”—I pause and lower my voice even though no one is nearby—“fake dating and having Molly post publicly will help? Is that our only play?”
“I think if Liza stops posting, this could clear up on its own,” Thayden says carefully. “But she seems to enjoy the attention.”
“She absolutely does.”
“And she’s definitely getting attention in spades. So, I don’t see her stopping anytime soon. It’s honestly silly to me that social media has any bearing on business in this way, but with a large portion of the demographic your gym attracts being younger people who happen to be chronically online, I see where the buyers are coming from. They have only Liza’s narrative to work from. And while I don’t want you to go on and start replying to comments or creating your own rebuttals, staying silent and waiting it out might have been a misstep.”
Because my original intent was to work with professional or collegiate athletes—serious athletes—at first, Grit attracted a fair number of football and basketball and baseball players from University of Texas. They came for the training. Which in turn brought a whole lot of people who came because they wanted to cross paths with those athletes.
I don’t doubt that most of them are on social media. They’ve probably seen what Liza said. With no other possible narrative to counter her words.
I absolutely understand why the interested parties are … not so sure they’re interested now.
Years ago, I couldn’t have imagined wanting to sell. Now, I’m sitting here with a sinking feeling in my gut hearing that I might be stuck with it. It’s like hearing the sound of a door closing on what felt like freedom.
Which is such a stark contrast to the elation I felt when I first purchased the space. My family and I held a little celebrationin the empty lobby, and Pat cut himself after breaking a champagne bottle on the wall.
“What were you thinking?” Tank demanded, shaking his head.
“I thought we could christen it,” Pat explained, while Harper pressed a towel to his bleeding hand. “You know—like they do with ships.”
James had been the one to say, “Well, now it’s christened in blood.”
And I’m not sure what it says about our family, but we all laughed. Tank did so until tears ran down his cheeks.
Those happy early memories make me smile, but they don’t make me reconsider. The only thing I feel when thinking about selling the gym is massive relief.
Based on comparable sales, I should clear enough to pay back my family’s investments and walk away withsomething. Not as much as if I waited a few more years to sell. But considering how many businesses fail outright or remain in the red for years, I’m happy it’s not a loss. With what I’ll have left after paying back my family, combined with my savings, I’ll have enough to do something with the land Tank bought me.
If I can figure out what thatsomethingis.
So far, I’ve got nothing. Which doesn’t bother me so much as excite me. I like possibilities and open roads. Or, I guess, openfields. Maybe once I have the gym off my hands, I’ll remove some mental and emotional weight.
Not all, but it’s a start.
Now, I just need to get the buyers back.
