“And Steve,” Phil said, pointing at the man beside him, answering at least one question, “works with us on a consulting basis to help small businesses optimize their growth.”
They were growing? No one bothered to inform Avery.
Uncle Theo chuckled. “What he means is they help teach stubborn old dogs new tricks.”
The three of them all laughed, but Avery was still trying to follow what was going on.
“Your uncle says you have some ideas for how to build up the firm?” Steve said.
“I—” He had. He did. But if he was moving to Atlanta, it didn’t matter anymore.
“Steve has convinced me that we should try them,” Uncle Theo said.
“Steve has—” Avery’s gaze was bouncing back and forth between them as they spoke.
“Compliance and general bookkeeping are mainstays in any firm, but if you really want to grow in the twenty-first century, you have to move beyond that.”
“You do?” Avery’s throat was dry. “I mean, you do. Yes. Absolutely.”
“And your uncle seems to think you’d be good at leading those changes.”
Avery had the weirdest feeling. Not quite déjà vu. Dread? A sense he knew where this conversation was going, but also like he’d had it a dozen times.
They had spreadsheets. Charts. Projections. Suggestions. Everything Avery had tried to pull together over the last few months but had been shut down over at every opportunity.
“And within the next five years, I think it could be very likely that you could be running a team of six or seven associates.”
Smoke coming out of someone’s ears was only possible in old cartoons. Otherwise, Avery would be doing it. Heat coursed under his skin, frustration pumping through his veins. Their pitch, if that’s what it was, was nearly word for word the things he’d argued for. These were his ideas, shot down over and over again. But now, because a couple guys in suits and gray hair suggested it, they were doable?
“Do you understand what they’re saying?” Uncle Theo asked softly.
“I think I do.” Too bad for him. Avery was going to be hunting for apartments in Atlanta the minute he got home. He didn’t even need to read Wanda’s job offer. As long as they were paying him a livable wage, he would be booking the moving van shortly. He’d been trying too hard to be loyal and respectful, and look what he’d earned. Uncle Theo would never listen to him, but he’d listen to a couple suits, a couplestrangers, who came in here like they could save everything. And Avery was left as some charity case the Phil-Steve machine would have to take on, just like this husk of a business.
No. Avery was done. Time for a new adventure. A big city. He could start over and be his own person.
“So, now let’s talk about the transfer of ownership.” Phil pulled a file folder out of his briefcase.
“The what?”
Phil spread some legal-looking documents out on the desk.
“I want to sell you the business,” Uncle Theo said.
The record scratch on Avery’s mounting anger was so loud, his ears nearly bled. “I’m sorry, did you just say...” He gaped.
“It’s not much.” Uncle Theo glanced down at his clasped hands. “Not as much as it could have been if we’d started this sooner, but at least this way you start with a client list and a reputation. The guys here, they’ve convinced me of what you’ve been saying all along.”
“That’s good, I guess.” Avery dropped his gaze to his shoes; if he kept his eyes on his uncle, there would be no way to hide his thoughts.
“But the thing is, what they’re talking about, what you’ve been talking about, it’s not a fast thing. It will take energy I simply don’t have anymore. In four or five years, I want to be able to take your aunt on that cruise she’s been hinting at, not working on the weekends to find new clients.”
“We understand,” Phil said, making Avery look up again, “buying your uncle out may not be something you’re in a financial situation to do at this time. Someone your age might not have the funds. That’s why we’ve worked out a plan to help you...”
They talked for almost an hour. Avery rocked between stunned silence and simmering frustration. The way they described it, it all seemed so easy. The plan. The conditions on the financing. He’d be his own boss, run his own business. He’d still be in Seacroft, close to his family.
“Your aunt will be so happy,” Theo said. “What do you say we sign the paperwork and then we’ll close the office for the afternoon? Go celebrate, just the three of us?”
The three of them. They’d been a team for eleven years, since the day they’d come to find him. He could still have that. It would be like it was.
