“Maggie, you said you wanted to be wooed. I want all of you, so I need to woo all parts of you.”
“Okay. What else is there?”
“Tell me why you’re not expanding the bar or trying to get it back to what it was before.”
By the time we had started coming to The Reverse Cowgirl, the bar had started to fall into disarray. If I look at the older photos, I can see it was a great place with booths and larger tables.
I think I’ve done a good job building it up since Fred had bought it. But there was only so much I could do without a cash infusion. A few years back, my credit score hadn’t supported a loan, and not much has changed since then.
I narrowed my eyes. “The bar sustains itself. But it cannot grow without a —” I widened my eyes and lifted my hands in a stop motion as I realized where the conversation was headed. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Maggie, listen to me.” He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs. “This is not a hand out. I can assure you, billionaires don’t stay that way by giving extravagant gifts.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
He sat up and got a look in his eyes I had never seen before. “I have two options for you.”
His voice took on a deep tone that was different to the one that was filled with lust and hunger.
“I’m listening.” I raised my brow, not even trying to hide the challenge in my voice.
He raised a brow to the attitude in my voice. “You sell me a share and I can put up the money for the renovations. Or, if you don’t want to share. I can loan you the money. We’ll structure it with interest. Either way I will need a proposal on what you intend doing and the costs involved as well as projections on the annual income after the renovations.”
I just stared at him, my burger forgotten. He was talking about projections, interest, and shares. A language I thought I had long forgotten. He wasn’t offering to solve my problem, he was offering me the tools to do it myself. Because he believed I could. He remembered the empire I wanted to build and offered to help me get back on that path. It had been a long time since anyone had taken my ambition seriously.
That was … a lot. “Do I have to decide now?
“Maggie, I wouldn’t be doing business with you, if you were inclined to make snap decisions. Take some time to think about it.”
I heard all his words, but I also heard his confidence. That deep rumble that he probably used in the boardroom to get his minions to do his bidding. It occurred to me that I was talking to Theo the CEO. Dammit that was hot. Merging that with the half naked man I saw in his bathroom was downright potent.
“I will.”
He smiled and I could see his shoulders relax a little. “Good then, I can get to the last part?”
“There’s more?”
He opened his wallet and pulled out a black card. “There’s a charity gala next week. Ryder’s also purchased tickets, so you’ll probably be able to drag Shiloh along.” He pushed the card toward me. “It's also the one event Tiffany will attend. There’s no limit. Spoil yourself.”
CHAPTER 13
THEO
I was fucking nervous.Not the familiar belly flutter when I enter a challenging negotiation knowing that when I walk out, I would have exactly what I want. It wasn’t even the small panic I feel when Zoe or Connor aren’t home a little after curfew.
No. This was full-on sweaty-palms, pacing the bedroom, nerves. I’d changed my shirt twice, had an internal debate over faded or dark wash jeans. And finally over whether or not to style my hair or just leave it damp after my shower.
I decided against styling since I would be wearing my baseball cap, anyway. In the end, I settled on the faded jeans and a plain white T-shirt and black light weight jacket.
It was late spring and the likelihood of either of us needing the jackets was slim, but the temps could drop pretty low at night.
I walked out of my room at the same time Connor walked out of his wearing pretty much the same outfit. He frowned at me. “You’re wearing that?”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I looked down just to make sure I wasn’t missing something. “You’re wearing practically the same thing.”
Connor shook his head as we both made our way downstairs. “I’m hanging out with Landon, not going on a first date with a girl I’ve wanted for more than a decade.”
I wasn’t sure about the accuracy of that statement but I let it go.
