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Unlike Maggie, Perrin was a people person. Maggie preferred to stay behind the scenes, which was why she worked at Restaurant Supply. She had no real affinity for food goods, but it was easy, brainless work and no one expected her to be Miss Congeniality on the job.
“Well, you can’t keep this negative attitude,” Maggie said, rising to top off her coffee. “People will start thinking I’m the pleasant one and then we’ll really be fucked.”
Perrin slouched back in her chair. “I always thought I’d do something cool or have life figured out by now.”
Maggie frowned. “You’re twenty-six. You’ve got plenty of time to figure things out.”
“I can see it now. In another decade, I’ll still be washing hair at the salon. I’ll be twenty pounds fatter, still single, and wishing I had done something with myself when I was this age.” She sat up. “Oh, God, what if I regret letting Bran go because he’s the best I could do?”
“Don’t make me smack you. Bran is a dick wart, and you’re lucky to be rid of him.”
She laughed and crossed her arms. “Fine.”
She hated seeing her sister so down on herself. “Perrin, if there’s something you want to do, do it. If you need money for classes, I can help you.” She had the money from Nash’s life insurance sitting untouched in an account.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, what do you want to do? Stop thinking in terms of obstacles and try to imagine the life you want.”
Her sister shrugged. “Dad thinks I should take after him and be an accountant. I always thought I’d be a good business owner, but I never knew what kind of business I should go into.”
Maggie made a face like she tasted a burp. “Ew. You’d hate accounting.”
“I know. I need to be around people.”
Maggie had a thought but then pushed it away. It was too extreme and too much for Perrin to handle on her own. Or was it?
She considered how much money she had in the bank and wondered how much an investment like that would cost. “How would you feel about going into business together?”
Her sister perked up. “Really? Doing what?”
She hesitated, not wanting to get too far ahead of herself before actually considering if this was something she wanted. “I’m just thinking out loud, but I know of a place for sale in town. Everything’s already set up. The seller just needs a buyer. They’re willing to sell it as is, company name and all.”
“What is it?”
Maggie bit her lip. This was crazy. Wasn’t it? “The O’Malley’s Pub.”
Perrin looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “The bar? Have you ever even been in there?”
“I’ve been in there a couple times. It’s a regular bar.”
“It’s a dive.”
“So? People love a good dive bar. It’s always packed.”
“Is it even for sale?”
Maggie nodded. “The owner is switching careers and with the revitalization happening around town it’s the right time to sell.”
Perrin sat back, a look of stunned shock on her face. “You’re serious? You’d actually consider buying that place?”
She thought about how sad Ryan was when he told her they’d listed it on the market last week. He said it was the end of an era. He toyed with the idea of taking it over because no one else in his family wanted the responsibility, but he couldn’t do it. He was taking over the lumberyard, and while he might be able to take a few extra shifts at the bar, he couldn’t manage both jobs full-time. He seemed desperate to find someone who would keep the pub alive.
Life was short, and Perrin and Ryan were the two most important people in her world. She’d do almost anything to see them happy. “I’d consider it. As an O’Malley, I might be able to negotiate a decent price.”
Perrin rolled her eyes. “Or they might jack up the price. Isn’t there a big rivalry between the owners and your in-laws?”
She waved her concerns away. “That’s old news. Besides, I know the owners, and their wives like me.”
“Who are the owners?”
“Ryan’s parents and his Aunt Colleen and Uncle Paulie.”
“I thought that hot guy owned it.”
“No, he just manages it. It was Paulie and Liam who won the pub in a hand of poker against Caleb. Their family’s been running it for the last fifty years.”
She shook her head. “Wait a minute. What about your job? You hate anything with more than three people.”
“I’m getting better. Besides, I wouldn’t be the one running the social end of things. I could keep a nine to five schedule handling the administrative stuff, sort of like a silent partner.”
“You mean owner. I have no money, Maggie.”
“But you’d make money if you had a bar. And in time, we’d be equals. It would be like a loan.”
Perrin stood and paced the kitchen. “Are you seriously considering doing this? Like, for real?”
