“I bet.”
“How’d you get out here?”
“On a plane.”
He chuckles but flinches. “Chest hurts.”
“Take it easy. Zane called me.”
Howie shakes his head. “He didn’t have to do that. I’m fine.”
“Are you though?”
Howie turns away from me, clearly avoiding my eyes.
“Howie. Talk to me.”
If it were possible to look more pale, he manages it. After a few seconds where I can tell he’s wrestling with something, he reaches for my hand. “I have a confession to make.”
Nodding, I gently squeeze his hand. “I’m listening.”
“I can’t do it anymore, At. I can’t run the hotel.”
My brow pinches. “What? You love that place.”
He nods, his eyes turning glossy. “I do, but it’s too much. It’s failing financially. I can’t afford to fix it up, and we’re losing customers to better properties.”
“Okay. Do you want to sell?”
Howie’s face crumbles at the suggestion. He squeezes my hand even harder. “At, you’re like a son to me. You’re the only family I have left.”
“I know.”
“I need you to take over the hotel.”
I pull my head back. “What? Howie, I can’t. I don’t know how to run a hotel. Listen, we can get a good realtor to sell it and get as much out of it as we can.”
“I can’t. Those people rely on me. They’re my friends. My extended family. I can’t let them down. I already have. They barely make money, but they stay for me. I can’t turn my back on them now.”
“I live in New York. I have a career there.”
He nods, his face so sad it breaks my heart. “It was just a thought. You’re so good at anything you put your mind to.”
The door opens, and a nurse walks in. “We need to do his vitals. You’ll have to step out for a bit, sir.”
I nod. “I’ll be right outside, Howie. I’ll be back.”
I walk back to the waiting room, where more people from the hotel have shown up. There’s a woman with long dark hair holding a baby who looks just like her and two other men who look familiar. I sit in a chair as everyone watches me.
“He’s stable. Talkative.”
Relief shows on all their faces.
“How are things at the hotel?” I ask. When the only response I get is a bunch of exchanged uncomfortable glances, I continue. “That good, huh?”
“He can turn it around,” Oscar says. “The neighborhood loves the hotel. It brings customers to the other businesses. He can’t shut it down.”
“Did he say he would?”
