Worthy Opponents(55)

Jenny called that night too. She had read about the downtown shootout in the online news at school, and she had seen that Brooke’s was involved and some of the drug dealers had shot each other there, after breaking into the store during the shootout.

“How awful. Did they mess up the store?”

“Some.”

“Will they fix it? It’s such a beautiful store. It’s like a little jewel.”

“They’re going to move. The neighborhood just isn’t safe anymore.”

“Will the owner continue her homeless program?” Jenny was concerned for Spencer, even though she didn’t know her.

“She says they will, wherever they move to. They’re looking for a temporary location now. They haven’t found anything yet.”

“How sad. How terrible that people broke into the store to shoot each other.”

“It was pretty bad.” He didn’t tell her that he’d been there or that the owner had gotten hurt. Jenny gave him her news but had really only called to comment on the shooting at Brooke’s, which shocked her when she read about it. Mike’s children were both very compassionate about it, which touched him.

Spencer called him two days later. Mike had been giving her some space to recover. She had seen two more temporary locations by then, smaller, uglier, and even more expensive than the first one. The store was still closed, and they hadn’t made a decision yet about whether to reopen, or when, before a move.

“I’d like to talk to you when you have time,” she said. He could guess what it was about, and Zack’s comments leapt to mind.

“Do you want to come to my office, or should I come to your place?” he asked her. She was working from home since the store was closed. And Marcy, Beau, and Paul were working from home too. There was a skeleton staff at the store in their offices to tend to things like accounting, and to keep current with their bills.

“What’s best for you?” she asked him.

“Why don’t I come by at the end of the day today, on my way home? Does that work for you?”

“That’s fine.” She was painfully quiet, which disturbed him. She was normally so full of energy, and now she sounded so subdued.

She was waiting for him in slacks and a sweater when he arrived. He could hear her children squealing and laughing upstairs. It sounded like bath time, and they were having fun. Spencer offered him wine and he declined. He decided that he’d better be cold sober for this meeting. He didn’t want to do or say the wrong thing. She looked worn out and very pale.

“I’ve been looking over the offer you made me,” she said quietly, “the one I turned down before. Things have changed in a short time. Paul says we have to sell the building, so we can eventually afford to buy a new one. And it’s going to take a lot more money than we’ll get for our current location. We won’t get much for it in that neighborhood now, especially after the other night. The location we have now is going to be a real bargain for someone. But it makes no sense to keep it, and we can’t afford to. We’ll need all the money we can get to buy a new building, or even lease one long-term. And we’d need your help with that.” He nodded. That would have been part of the deal if she had accepted.

“What stuck in my throat before and I just couldn’t live with is that I’d give up majority ownership of the store, and lose all control to you and your investors. I felt as if I was betraying my grandfather. But realistically, I just have no choice.” She was a practical person, despite her loyalty to her grandfather’s principles. And she wanted the store to survive.

“You wanted forty percent ownership the first year, which was fine with me and seemed reasonable if you’re going to invest to the degree you said you would. And a new building will cost us both a fortune, in the right location, particularly uptown, which is where most of our clients live, so that makes the most sense.

“You wanted another twenty percent ownership from me in the second year, which would put you up to sixty percent ownership within a year. So, within a year you’d be the majority owner, and have control of the business. And a year after that, another twenty, which would bring you to eighty percent ownership. And I’d have a very small voice in the business, and no control whatsoever, with you as eighty percent owners, and me only having twenty percent.”

He felt guilty listening to her, particularly at the look in her eyes. She looked devastated, but was being painfully gracious about it, and polite. She didn’t blame him for the situation they were in, or anyone but herself. And it wasn’t her fault either. It was a result of the times they lived in, and of the Brookes having established themselves in a dubious neighborhood to begin with, that had gotten worse.

“I could soften the third installment,” Mike said in a low voice, “and make it only fifteen, which would give us seventy-five percent ownership in the end, rather than eighty. I think our investors would be satisfied with that. It’s a very strong position for us, as investors.”

“And a terrible one for me,” she admitted, but with no other options and no choice. The shootout had pushed their situation over the edge.

“Well, you’ve summed it up very succinctly,” Mike said. “And I fully understand why you don’t want it.” He wasn’t sure why she’d invited him to go over it again. They both understood his offer and their respective positions.