Anyone But Nick (Anyone But... #3) - Penelope Bloom Page 0,66
sure anymore. But I guess I was too much of a chicken to talk to you about it.”
“So,” Nick said. “What was it you were too pissed to tell me?”
“That Bark Bites might not just have failed because of some shady accounting tactics. Sure, it still seems like somebody was screwing with the finances, but we could just hire a new staff if we can’t find out who. But maybe the problem is bigger than that. I’ve been watching everyone here with their dogs. What if the problem is that Bark Bites aimed too small? What if it was an all-inclusive, dog-friendly resort, like a Julian Ridge of our own, but amped up in every way to make it dog friendly? A dog movie theater, bowling alleys with lanes for dogs, and everything else you could think about.”
I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward. At first, I couldn’t decide if it was the dumbest idea I’d ever heard or one of the best. Then I thought about what I’d seen since we’d come to Julian Ridge with all the Bark Bites employees. Everyone had been having a blast terrorizing the typically no-dogs resort with their pets. I wasn’t sure if it was the most representative sample of people to base a business decision like this on, but she might be on to something.
“We’d have to do some testing,” I said slowly. “Surveys, test groups . . . we’d also need to talk to legal about potential pitfalls as far as liability goes. But yeah.” I nodded as I felt the idea solidifying in my head. “I think that’s an amazing idea.”
“Really?” she asked. She flashed the most genuine, excited smile I thought I’d ever seen from her.
I wanted to reach across the table and pull her in for a kiss, but I was doing my best to respect the fact that she still wanted space. It was killing me inside, but I’d already made such a mess of things with her that it was the least I could do. “Really,” I said. “I think that’s exactly the kind of idea we needed. And I’m exactly the right kind of guy to make it happen.”
“You mean because you’re loaded?” she asked.
I laughed. “That’s partly it, but I still try to fund our acquisitions with investors’ money instead of our own, when possible. The ultimate goal is to hand the company off once we’ve made it profitable to sell, and we’ve found that investors are much more motivated to keep a business on the right track. Besides, paying for it all out of pocket takes some of the challenge out of it.”
“I’ve always wondered what motivates someone in your position. Is that it, the challenge?”
“My position?”
Miranda shrugged, maybe a little self-consciously. She probably wasn’t comfortable talking directly about money with me. Most women weren’t, and I didn’t blame her. It was a sensitive subject, where even a few careless comments could make somebody seem like a gold digger. “I mean somebody who appears to have it all. Most people are motivated to work hard because there’s always something bigger and better they want to buy. I can’t imagine there’s anything you couldn’t have with a snap of your fingers, so it made me wonder what gets you out of bed in the morning.”
“Do you remember when I said my brothers and I had reasons for wanting to buy Bark Bites? Personal reasons?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“I might’ve fibbed a little. The truth is that I had personal reasons. The companies Sion acquires are usually massive, almost faceless organizations. There’s hardly any personal stake in the success of the business. It’s just numbers and investor expectations—that sort of thing. For once, I wanted to feel like I was helping turn around a company people cared about. Instead of heartlessly streamlining it and turning it into a money printer, I wanted to make it better.” I laughed softly. “I’m not sure that makes as much sense when I say it out loud.”
“No. It makes a lot of sense, actually.” She looked down at her fingers, clearly deep in thought. I wondered if she was disappointed in my answer.
“What are you thinking? That I’m an idiot to imagine what I’m doing with Bark Bites is any different?”
“Actually, I was thinking how the Nick King I knew back in high school must really be in there, after all.” She narrowed her eyes at me and then laughed. “Did I just make you blush?”