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“Was this a family café?”
“Yes, it was. I believe the main cook took ill, and no one could cook as well as she could, and after a few years of failing, they had no choice but to cut their losses and go,” Ben said. “I remember coming here as a child—”
“I don’t need a fake story to try to sell me this.”
“I wasn’t faking a story. My family booked a table every Sunday. They would make the most delicious pot roast, or even meatloaf. Even now remembering, my mouth is watering. I tried to come as often as I could growing up, but once the food was no longer the same, it lost that edge, you know?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“So, will you be reinventing it? Do you have a cook in mind? Or are you thinking of knocking it down, and rebuilding it as apartments, which seems to be the in thing?”
“I have a friend who loves to cook. She’s trained, and I think I’d like to find something that could inspire her. Right now, she is anything but inspired.” The moment he walked in the doors, he took a quick inhale. The air was musty but not damp. He’d hire a builder, and all the relevant people needed to get this place back to being perfect.
This was going to be a surprise for Rebecca, so right now it was going to be top secret.
“What is the state of the building? No bullshit either.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the building. It looks a little rundown simply because it has been standing for a long period of time. By the time they closed, they were struggling, and keeping up the paint work, and other works didn’t make it into the budget.”
Jackson looked at Ben. “Okay, you’re being really honest here, and I find there’s always a catch.”
Ben held his hands up. “I guess I’m not doing my job properly. I’ve found that if I don’t lie, people have a tendency to come back to me, or to recommend me personally. I know this place. I have history here. Made out with my first girlfriend, all that kind of stuff. I want to see it go to a good person. Not all of us are after the bottom line, and yes, I will earn a killing from this place, but, I’m not someone willing to give in to greed.”
“An honest estate agent, you should have that as your motto or something. It would work.”
Ben lifted out his card and handed it to him. “Already have it.”
Jackson laughed, and pocketed the card. They walked behind the counter, and then into the main kitchen. It would all need to be redone. He would find a way of getting Rebecca to tell him what she’d want without giving the game away.
“When I sign the papers, how long before I can start getting work done in here?”
“Everything is ready, and if you’re happy, it could all be processed within two weeks,” Ben said. “Another buyer pulled out of the venture.”
“Any reason why?”
“I don’t know. Does this mean you’re taking it?”
Jackson looked around. He was getting a good vibe from the place. “Yeah, I’ll be taking it.” He shook Ben’s hand, signed the necessary paperwork, and gave him the details to be in touch with his lawyer.
Heading back to the office, he felt good about doing something like this, doing something that would inevitably bring Rebecca happiness. She couldn’t stay working in that restaurant. He had seen her love for cooking in her own kitchen, and whenever she left the restaurant, she always looked depressed.
The thought of her doing something she hated filled him with an anger that was rather unusual for him.
Entering his office, he saw that Alaric was waiting for him. “You’ve not hurt my girl again have you? I can have you killed easily.”
“Nothing like that. I thought it was time we got to know each other.”
Jackson nodded, and then smiled at his PA, asking if she would mind bringing him coffee.
“Not at all, Jackson.”
Entering his office, he moved toward the sofa and took a seat. “I did wonder when you would pay me another visit. I hear everything is going wonderfully with my daughter.”
“I want to marry her.”
“That is a step up from wanting to break her heart.”
“Yes, I know.”
