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I pulled out my journal, another recommendation from self-help books, and reviewed my goals. I checked off the one that said, “Get an internship at Raven Industries,” and then began to revise my goals. My scholarship was gone, so there was no reason to stay here. Instead, I’d find a way to transfer to a school in Manhattan. I’d work hard enough to earn a job at Raven Industries and then attend night school or perhaps take online courses. Either way, once I got to Manhattan, I wasn’t going to leave.
3
Chase
Raven Industries got where it is today because my father knew how to find a great deal on a struggling business, make a sweet offer, and then turn it into a profit. He passed this knowledge on to me. The biggest challenge in this process was usually convincing the owner of the other business that our offer was the best they’d get not just from us, but from anyone else. It was a constant source of surprise when an owner would turn down our offer thinking it was too low and then only end up going bankrupt. Those idiots were too stupid to run a business.
I was pretty sure I was talking such an idiot right now. His resort was in Palm Beach, Florida, which meant it shouldn’t have any trouble bringing in business, and yet it was on the verge of being foreclosed on. Any hotelier that couldn’t make money with a beachfront property should get out of the way for the professionals. If he was smart, he’d have hired a consultant a year ago to help him identify why his resort was struggling. If I were the altruistic type, I’d tell him because, of course, I’d done the research and I knew exactly what was holding the place back from becoming a top vacation spot in Florida. But I wasn’t a nice guy.
With that said, I was offering him an opportunity to save himself financially. That was nice of me, right?
“I’ve got someone else interested in the property,” the resort’s CEO told me.
“Interested is one thing, I’m committed.” I paused. “Are you a gambling man?”
“All business is like gambling.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not if you do it right.”
“The economy is tight, and things are slow but it will pick up.”
My brother Ash poked his head in my door. I waved him in and Hunter followed. I turned my attention to getting off the phone.
“First, your competitor has seen an eight percent increase over the last year. The economy doesn’t seem to be slowing him down. Second, I’m not paying for what could happen in the future. Right now, your resort is going down the toilet, on the brink of bankruptcy. Say the word, and it will become a part of the Raven Industries family of resorts. Better for you, you’ll walk away with enough money to gamble on something else, instead of broke.”
“You New Yorkers have a way about you, don’t you?”
I laughed. “Sir, other businessmen might have more tact, but if they know what they’re doing, they’ll tell you the same thing. They’ll also tell you that the offer is only good for the next twenty-four hours. Let me know what you decide.” I gave Betts a second to say yes to the deal, but when he hesitated, I hung up. “Idiot.”
“The world is full of them,” Ash said. He’d gotten himself a drink from bar I kept for relaxing people I did business with.
Hunter stood to the side with his back against the wall. Always having an eye on the door was one of the tics he’d returned home from the military with. I felt bad for the guy. I couldn’t imagine going through life always feeling like I had to look over my shoulder for potential danger.
“What’s up?” I asked leaning back in my chair.
“I contacted a lawyer who doesn’t work for dad, and he said dad’s plan is crazy but pretty ironclad.”
I shook my head. “What happens if none of us get married or have kids?” I asked.
“We don’t get anything and the company stays in the trust,” Ash replied. He downed his drink and poured another.
I leaned forward. “Who runs it?”
“I’m pretty sure dad thinks at least one of us will get married,” Ash came to sit in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“Ash will get it all,” Hunter said.
Ash’s eyes narrowed up at Hunter.
Hunter shrugged. “You’re the only one of us that has ever been in a committed relationship.”
Knowing that was as painful of a subject for Ash as war was for Hunter, I moved back to the topic at hand, “Who’d think dad would get so sentimental?”
“I need a baby mama like I need a hole in the head,” Hunter quipped.
Thank God Kade was off somewhere else. I could only imagine the insensitive retort he’d have for Hunter. I looked over at Hunter, noting the scars on his arms. At least one was from a bullet, whereas others were from shrapnel.
