me a timetable for the repairs.”
“You talking daylight?”
“Or thereabouts,” Boone confirmed.
“You want me there?”
“No, give yourself a break,” he told the night owl. “I’ll handle this one. How about meeting me there around nine and we’ll come up with an action plan. Looks like I’ll need you to stick around here longer than we originally talked about. Is there anything you need to get back to right away in Norfolk or Charlotte?”
“No, both restaurants are good,” Pete assured him. “You have excellent management teams in place.”
Boone chuckled. “You pretty much have to say that. You hired most of them.”
“Doesn’t make me biased, though. If they screw up, that’s on me, too.” He hesitated, then said, “I’ve been thinking we could probably start looking for that fourth location you talked about once things around here settle down.”
“You getting bored, Pete?”
“Maybe just a little,” he acknowledged. “You know I love doing the start-ups.”
“Well, we’ll get serious about the next one soon,” Boone assured him. “Start compiling the market research for me, okay?”
“Will do,” Pete said eagerly. “In the meantime, should I cancel the ads announcing the reopening for this weekend?”
“We’ll decide that after I’ve been through the place with Tommy. Maybe it’s not as bad as you thought at first glance.”
“This is bad,” Pete warned him. “If that mold has spread beyond what I saw, we’re talking major renovations.”
Boone thought of the compromise Cora Jane had reached to get Castle’s reopened. “Is the kitchen operational?”
“Good to go and spotless,” Pete confirmed.
“And we know the deck is solid,” Boone said thoughtfully.
“What are you thinking?”
“That we could serve on a limited basis out there temporarily. We’re at the end of the season. Tourists will be pouring in here again by the weekend, based on what I heard from the local officials earlier today. I’d hate for the wait staff to lose out on the kind of tips they get this time of year.”
“You’d want to keep them all on, even with limited seating?”
“Dividing the tips more ways would be better than laying ’em all off, don’t you think?”
“And you’re not worried about our reputation if we can’t handle the usual crowds and can only serve a couple of specialties, rather than our full menu?”
Boone chuckled. “If anyone’s in a rush or out here to review the food, I imagine we can put a good public relations spin on keeping our kitchen open, our food selections limited but high quality, and our people working, despite being damaged by a hurricane.” He thought of Gabi. “I know just the person to draft a press release, in fact. I imagine she can make us sound like benevolent angels.”
Pete laughed. “If she can pull that off for a couple of guys like you and me, she’s a magician. Get that done and I’ll have it distributed. Might as well do a preemptive strike and generate some good buzz.”
“Now you’re getting into the spirit of this,” Boone said. “Put that press release on the list of things we need to finalize when I see you in the morning.”
Pete chuckled. “You are such a glass-half-full man,” he praised. “I don’t know how you do it. Even after Jenny, well, let’s just say it’s one of the reasons I love working for you. I know this was lousy news, yet you’ve turned it around, come up with a plan and are ready for action.”
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Boone joked, thinking of how often he’d gotten by on practically nothing just to keep the first restaurant afloat in the early days. “And making sure the action really happens on schedule is why I pay you the big bucks. See you in the morning, Pete.”
As soon as he’d disconnected that call, he punched in the numbers for Gabi’s cell phone. Other than Cora Jane’s, hers was the one Castle number he’d memorized. She’d be the closest if he ever saw a need for a family member to get here in a hurry. He’d last used it just before the storm to make sure that someone was coming to get Cora Jane away from the danger zone. He’d known she’d never choose to go on her own. If she ever found out he was behind Sam Castle’s appearance on her doorstep, she’d be furious, but he was willing to take the heat to keep her safe.
Now Gabi answered, her voice sleepy. “Boone? What’s up?”
“Sorry, did I wake you?” he asked.
“No, just settling down.”
“I promise not to keep you long.” He