Our fourth-quarter meeting had just begun, and what a bangarang report.
"I figured as much," Maverick said, "but I also think you're holding back. What's going on? How did Q3 play out?"
Maverick, a previous corporate powerhouse turned small-town-business-guru loved a puzzle. When my brother married his adopted daughter, we'd become good friends. No one gave me the truth as hard as Mari—Stella, but Mav came a close second.
The words stuck in my throat like needles, but I forced them out. "I had to put the staff payroll on my credit card to get them paid after the loss. It closed out payroll, at least, but I got nailed on the payroll taxes."
He grimaced.
Mav had started talking to me about his interest in Adventura last April. When things started to tank in July, and my other investors decided they didn't like the risk after the second year of sketchy returns, Mav swooped in, bought their shares, and now had a controlling interest in the company.
Also my life.
"I worried about that," he said.
"There is still the mortgage to pay and the minimum balance on the credit card. The camp can't sit all winter, and JJ isn't renting anymore to do his catering, so Adventura effectively has no cash flow until spring."
Doubts assailed me. Maybe Adventura had been a mistake. Summer camps made no money. This wasn't feasible. I let them roll through, then back out. Too late to have doubts. Time for action.
Maverick lifted one eyebrow and silently indicated for me to continue. He held a controlling interest but acted more like a mentor. So far, he hadn't solved any of my problems except taking the shares. Thankfully, he didn't want to control Adventura—just advise and then make money. After two years of summer camp management, it was clear that Adventura wouldn’t survive on that alone. Which meant it was time for me to generate some new ideas. Sometimes, I thought Maverick invested out of sheer curiosity about me.
Now I had to prove him out because who knew where a partnership with a guy like Maverick could lead? Anywhere.
While I laid out the numbers with clinical sterility, I could feel his thoughts churning behind his eyes. I paused only to take a few bites of bacon and pancake every now and then. By the time I finished, he gave a low whistle.
"Tough situation, Mr. Bailey."
"Tell me about it," I mumbled.
He shrugged. "I've seen worse."
"I have a couple of apartments and townhomes I rent out to tourists in Jackson City and some other places. I could sell one and use it to pay the mortgage through the winter, but that drops the money that feeds me. Plus, I don’t want to give up long-term assets."
He punted a few more questions back and forth. I rolled with them, even as I hated the punch to my pride. Business was like that. High and low. The highs felt amazing. The lows were a deep crash. I'd always pulled through somehow, but this time I wasn't so sure I'd pull through the way I wanted to. It wasn't a matter of surviving.
It was what surviving looked like at the end.
"So what's your plan?" he asked.
Something sparked back to life inside me. Yes. Ideas. I had no lack of ideas. "My gut tells me I need to focus inward. Make use of what I have." My brow furrowed. "But how do I repurpose Adventura?"
He reached for a glass of ice water with a sudden, mischievous gleam in his eye. "If anyone can figure that out," he drawled. "It's Mark Bailey. I have faith in you, brother. How is the mountain man life?"
I snorted. "Quiet."
He laughed after taking a drink. "Want my six-month-old? He doesn't stop babbling."
Yes, I thought. I'd take your family life in a heartbeat. Instead, I grinned. "Fatherhood too much?"
"Nah. It's everything I wanted. Just need to update my tattoos now."
"Everything else okay?"
A cloudy expression followed the question. "Ellie is struggling lately, which affects Bethany, but things will eventually even out."
"Yeah?"
"Devin Blaine left." He set the water aside. "Joined the Marines unexpectedly and is gone." He snapped two fingers together. "No real explanation. They had plans to attend state university together, but he joined without telling anyone, then left two weeks later."
I leaned back, stunned. "Devin did? I had no idea. They're close."
"Were."
I winced. Ellie, Lizbeth's sister, and her best friend, Devin, were loose figures in my life. They came to Adventura every week to see Lizbeth when she lived there. I liked them both. Devin would make a solid soldier. Ellie was a veritable mountain goat, and I'd been embarrassed when she almost out hiked me.
There was definitely something electric between them. They claimed to be best friends, but it didn't take an idiot to see there was more. An unexpected departure would be ugly, particularly to a girl like Ellie. She trusted at glacial speed and had a sharp wit for survival.
"Sorry about that," I said.
Mav smiled. "I think it's a good thing for both of them, to be honest, but Ellie can't see it yet. With time, she will."
The conversation devolved into his latest business project, revamping The Boulangerie bakery in Jackson City that JJ had worked for in late winter and spring. Didn't seem like they'd pull through with their current strategy, and brought Maverick in to save their cash flow.
While he told me about the details, a movement behind him caught my eye. A familiar woman with a bright smile, slightly crooked front teeth, and trailing brown hair sat in a booth across from us. A thin, clean-shaven man with glasses sat across from her. They smiled in that warm, lovey-dovey way that made my stomach queasy.
Abby Kessler.
The latest girl to ghost me on my messages this morning.
Half my attention kept the conversation going with Maverick, the other half tracked her. Abby and I had messaged for two months on
