spot.
“What do you want?” he ground out. The insults were flung,
and he was, at last, capitulating in the face of his own betrayal
and stupidity.
The reviewer who had called his food shit and said that the
owner had a turd-like quality was so accurate. Claire had
really enjoyed reading that piece. So much so that she had a
copy of it stashed away in her desk for safe keeping. She
should have it framed and put on her wall.
“I’ll lend you the money you need to do more than keep the
doors open. I’ll give you a loan that no one else would be
willing to because your restaurants are a losing gamble. I do
have conditions. You’ll sign over fifty-one percent ownership
of the entire business to me. That is non-negotiable. Left to
your own devices, you’ll only drive it into the ground again.
You can continue cooking, should inspiration strike you to do
so, but I’ll be in charge of the menus, the pricing, the staff
ing,
the way the places look, location, finances, marketing, and
pretty much everything else. That is also non-negotiable.”
Robert settled into a brooding silence. He should have
counted on this much. He’d agreed to the proposed meeting
between them out of sheer desperation. Claire knew she was
his last option, and the fact that he was willing to come to her
at all proved just how desperate he was.
“You can keep your house and your cars,” Claire said, in a
gesture of magnanimity. “With your restaurants saved, you’ll
be able to afford the payments on your pricey lifestyle. There
is something else I want. One final, non-negotiable term.”
Claire’s heart was beating so fast that the adrenaline turned