Page 46 of All Tied Up

Neil looked like he’d been hit by a tornado. Which probably wasn’t inaccurate.

“How are you doing, Neil?”

Neil finally pulled himself away from the wall, a look of puzzled delight on his face. “Good, I think. No, really, really good. Phenomenal. I don’t think I’ll be catching up anytime soon, though.”

Sebastian chuckled. It was nice that Neil could joke about it, even while he was blushing. That boded well for anything that might come next.

“Agreed. No more flirting for now. Really,” Sebastian said aloud, more to himself than to Neil. “We’ll wait till the last folks head off and then follow.”

It was a mile-and-a-half hike down the gorge along a footpath that Sebastian and Ty maintained, and Sebastian found he was enjoying having the extra time to chat.

While they covered the switchbacks down to the river, Sebastian encouraged Neil to take more pictures. Neil oohed and aahed over the natural beauty, and Sebastian explained about how they’d first worked with a construction team to carve out the switchbacks, and then consulted with the local arboretum to find native plants to add some color and build strong roots along the path. Neil was fascinated by it all, asking questions and showing his appreciation for every thoughtful detail.

By the time they reached the bottom, the main group was far ahead, Jamie’s pale hair just visible for a moment before the path turned. Sebastian wasn’t in any hurry, though. He could practically recite Jamie’s introductory climbing instructions in his sleep. And he was genuinely enjoying Neil’s company. It had been a long time since he’d gotten to share the excitement that led him to build the Meadowlark.

The conversation turned to the construction of the lodge itself, and, somehow, into the seasonal nature of the business, with peaks in the summer for climbing and the winter for skiing. Neil seemed to be curious about everything.

“Sir?” Neil asked as they scrambled up a narrower part of the path and over a rocky hill. “I don’t mean to overstep, but you said you were worried about something financial last night. If you’d feel comfortable sharing… I might be able to help. Or at least offer an alternate perspective.”

“Ugh. I’ve been trying not to think about it this weekend. And this is supposed to be a vacation for you, too. You don’t want to hear about returns on investments and balance sheets.”

Neil turned to face him. “Actually, I love to hear about ROIs and balance sheets. I’ve been the treasurer on the board for two not-for-profits and I always do pro bono work for my firm when we work with small businesses. I’ve got, well, most of an MBA through classes here and there. Honestly, the creative thinking that goes into business management is the kind of thing I enjoy and don’t get to do enough of at my job.”

Neil just kept surprising him. Why, if he was so passionate about a truly useful skill, did he feel obligated to stay in an industry he hated? “How much do you get to do it?” he asked.

Neil sighed. “Not nearly enough. I was working with this great couple a few months ago. They’re expanding their bakery business from one location to three, and it looks like they’ll be opening their doors this fall. I helped them get a grant from the Oregon Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber, which you actually might want to look into as a Latino business owner.”

“Huh. Even though my business partner is white?” The thought had never occurred to him. Two minutes of talking with Neil, and it was already clear that he had more knowledge and connections about some of this stuff than Sebastian did.

“You’re still a Latino business owner, or at least that’s what I was guessing. I probably shouldn’t have assumed.”

“No, you’re right. My family’s originally from southern Mexico, and I know I have cousins there, but I’ve never even been. I’m the generation that can understand a bit of Spanish because my grandparents speak it, but I could never hold a conversation, let alone figure out the Nahuatl language that they sometimes use.”

“That’s more Spanish that I probably picked up in high school. At any rate, keep the Chamber in the back of your mind as a resource. And if you want to talk anything over with me, well, I’m all ears.”

“OK, you asked for it. Seriously, stop me if I go on for too long, because I could talk about this stuff all day. And, God, if you can see a way out of this mess, please tell me.”

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see if anything sticks out to me. What’s the story?”

Sebastian started out with the abbreviated version, but Neil asked so many insightful questions that he had no idea how he could hold everything in his head. The cost per meal and the frequency of renovating the rooms. The mortgage rates and the annual taxes. The employee wages and hours, and how his and Jamie’s time compared. Online bookings through secondary sites versus direct booking. Competitor rates, hotel quality, and distance from area attractions. Major repairs and renovations and debt-to-income ratio.

Sometimes Neil scowled and sometimes he hummed in surprise. Once or twice he looked impressed. It was amazing seeing him at work, building a complex picture in his head of everything that Sebastian had struggled through figuring out over the past eight years. Fuck, if he’d had Neil to advise him before they built the place, everything might be really different now.

Sebastian hadn’t had anyone to talk to about all of his buzzing questions for so long, and Neil clearly knew his shit. He’d already dropped in a few pearls of wisdom about everything from tax law to hiring practices that would certainly make things easier.

It was also clear that Neil loved this stuff, just like he’d said. He wanted the business to succeed, and he’d been especially impressed that Sebastian made sure to pay their two part-time employees well above minimum wage with full benefits, even while he noted that it wasn’t helping their bottom line.

When they caught up to the rest of the visitors, Sebastian was almost sad to stop. They stood at the back of the group. The novices were milling around and chatting while Jamie set up the experienced climbers for lead climbing, pointing out routes along the canyon designated from a 5.6 to a 5.10.

“Let’s go over the budget together when we get back to the lodge,” Neil suggested, every inch the professional. “I mean, if you want to talk about it over the weekend, Sir.” And in that sentence, the shy sub was back.

For a moment, Sebastian couldn’t even respond. Neil had been incredulous earlier about catching Jamie and Sebastian’s interest, but now Sebastian was feeling almost the same. What would a successful older man, with a JD and most of an MBA, want with a struggling small business owner and his rock-climbing boyfriend?

It was hard to reconcile the two sides of his personality. Or perhaps more accurately, hard for Sebastian to see what he had to offer. Neil should be charging hundreds of dollars an hour for this kind of advice. In fact, Sebastian would offer to pay if he had any money to afford it.

It was Neil’s worried eyes that cut through his thoughts. “Sorry, I guess I was overstepping. Sir.”

“No, not at all.” Dammit, Sebastian had screwed that up, leaving Neil worried about both his welcome and their dynamic. He scrambled to fix it. “I would be honored to have you look over the budget and grateful for any help. I just didn’t want to impose on your weekend. I mean, this is supposed to be your fantasy vacation.”