“My pleasure. How was your flight?” he asked as we made our way to the awaiting car.
“I don’t know. I fell asleep as soon as we took off and woke up right before we landed. So, it must’ve been pretty smooth.”
“You tired still? Want to go back to the hotel and get some rest before dinner?”
I shook my head. “No, I feel refreshed now. Why, you had plans?”
“Yeah, I wanted to show you the place I’m thinking of buying.”
“Lead the way.”
“Bet,” he stated as he held the door of the rented Range Rover open for me.
I climbed in, and he opened the back door to place my bag and the flowers inside. We drove for about twenty minutes, closer to downtown Miami, and stopped in front of a large, empty building. There were plenty of stores and shops around it. As Xavier came around to open the passenger door, I was met with the sights and sounds of bustling downtown. My first thought was that this would be a perfect spot for a new restaurant. My second thought was that, if anyone was going to make it happen, it was the man in front of me.
“This is it?” I queried, as I stepped down from the SUV.
“Yeah. My man who lives down here has been wanting to open up a restaurant for awhile. He asked if I’d partner with him, and I had to put him off because the timing was never right. But when I told him I was coming to town this week, he asked me to check this place out. I think he may have won me over.”
“This looks like a perfect location for a restaurant,” I said, looking around at all the shoppers going about. “I could picture a lot of patrons coming in for a bite to eat after a few hours of shopping.”
“Exactly what I saw when I first stopped by. Let me show you the inside.” He grabbed my hand, shut the car door behind me and led us to the front door of the brick building.
“What type of restaurant would this be?”
“Cuban. Mark’s family is originally from Cuba, and he’s been wanting to leave a legacy in honor of his grandparents who first came over. The menu would consist of recipes from his family.”
“Miami’s the perfect spot for that.” I looked around the empty building that appeared to be pretty large. The floors were a smooth black stucco finish, while the walls were pastel pink. The pink seemed to go with the Miami feel, but the contrast with the flooring didn’t go together. “How big is this place?” I questioned, hearing my echo along the walls.
“It’s about twenty thousand square feet, which is the average size for dining. We’d need to do a lot of overhauling and renovations. I’m not feeling the pink walls or the flooring, so that needs to go. Over here to the left,” he pointed, “is where I’d have the bar set up. Toward the back is where the last owner had set up the kitchen, but it’s way too small for what we have in mind, so that needs to be upgraded.”
As he talked, I could see the thoughts running a mile a minute in his head. His eyes took on a serious glint as they looked around the space. I was in awe as I could make out that he was envisioning what this place would look like once it was finished and filled with patrons. His excitement took over and got me just as excited to see what would become of this place.
However, at the same time, I frowned,remembering he was also opening two restaurants in Las Vegas.
“When would you be expecting to open this place?”
“Sometime in the first half of next year.”
“You’re not taking on too much, are you?”
He looked at me quizzically.
I stepped in closer to him, placing my hand on his chest. “Baby, this place will be amazing because it will have your touch, and anything you touch can’t help but turn to gold. I’m just worried because you are opening not one, buttwonew restaurants in Las Vegas. You’ve already told me how that has been a dream of yours for years. Plus,the numerous restaurants and businesses you already own, and now this place. I’m worried you’re overextending yourself.”
His face softened as he took my hand that still rested on his chest and brought it to his lips. “Everything I touch is gold, huh?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Grant. I was just saying,” I tried to play it off.
“Just sayin’ that I’m the man. Which I am, but I hear you. It does sound like a lot.”
“No, it doesn’t just sound like a lot. Itisa lot.”
“Nothing I can’t handle. But I haven’t even given Mark my final ruling on this place. There are some other buildings he had picked out to look at. I liked this one best, though.” He looked around, and I could still see his mind working. He’d said he hadn’t made a final decision, but I knew that look. Xavier was already counting down the time until he could call this restaurant his, or at least partially his, as he’d be part-owner.
“Let me show you the rest of this place, and then we can head to the hotel, drop your stuff off, shower and all that, and then head out to eat.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I answered as I followed his lead.
