Resisting the Billionaire Collection (45 page)

Ally felt ashamed of herself for even having
to ask. But she couldn’t say no. She needed a roof over her head
and she had no place else to go.

"I could use some help at the diner as well.
If you got the time, that is."

She knew he was lying. The diner was just a
way to kill time for Uncle Howard. It had stopped making money
years ago.

"I’d love to help out Uncle Howard. I won’t
take any money though. It’ll be my rent for staying with you."

Howard nodded his head. The truth was he
couldn’t have afforded to pay her anything anyway, but it would
have gutted him to say so.

"You’re a good girl, Ally. I always said
so."

One month later, Alison had settled in to a
numbing routine at Howard’s Diner. She had cleaned up the old man’s
home to make herself feel less guilty for imposing on him and
because he needed someone to do it. He had aged a lot since she
last saw him and he was less able for these things than he had been
before.

He kept insisting it was a blessing that she
had returned when she did, no matter how long it was she intended
to stay.

In four weeks at the diner, she had gotten
to know every regular on first-name terms and knew every one of
their orders by heart. So did her uncle, which was why the menu
hadn’t been updated in years. It hardly reflected what the kitchen
was capable of producing at this stage.

"So let me get this straight, you don’t do
any of these things anymore?"

Alison shook her head. The man was an
out-of-towner, smartly dressed, impatient, and rude. It reminded
her of her old job at the Tête-á-Tête.

"Nope." She said. "I can tell you what we
got. If you don’t like there’s another place across town that might
suit you better."

At least she didn’t have to worry about
being polite to grumpy people anymore. The stranger wasn’t likely
to be back that way again.

"You got eggs?" He said.

"Yep."

"Coffee?"

She held up a jug.

"Coffee and eggs it’ll be. Eggs over-easy.
Think you can handle that?"

"I’ll try." She said.

When the man was finished with his order, he
slid a business card across the counter to Alison.

"What’s this?" She said.

"I’m in real estate. You own this
place?"

"No, but my uncle does."

"Tell him I’m interested. I have reason to
believe a large company is going to relocate some warehousing and
distribution centers here. I think I could get him a good price for
this place. That’s if he’s selling, of course."

Alison knew her uncle well enough that he
wouldn’t be interested. He wouldn’t let down his last few remaining
regulars and he wouldn’t let go of the business he had maintained
for over thirty years. As long as it broke even, even he would stay
put.

She picked up the business card.

‘
Jonas
Soto’
it read, followed by contact
details.

"What kind of business card is this? All it
says is your name and details. Where’s the company name?"

"I’m self-employed. If your uncle is
interested in making some good money out of this dive, let me know.
I can help him out. Jonas Soto." He extended his hand. “Pleased to
meet you.”

Alison nodded and put the card in her
pocket.

"Thanks for the eggs and coffee." The man
said on the way out.

Later that evening, Alison broached the
subject with her uncle.

"There was a stranger in the diner today."
She said.

"Is that so?"

"Yep. Really nice guy, too." She lied.

"Did you like him?"

"I don’t mean in that way. I mean he was,
you know, polite."

"Hm."

"He’s in real estate."

Howard wasn’t paying attention anymore. He
had a line of pills he was supposed to take for an illness that he
refused to discuss with Alison.

"He said he had some information about some
big company wanting to put some buildings here. Seemed to think it
would be a big opportunity."

"For him maybe."

"For us. For you. If you considered selling
up--"

"Nope. Too late for that, Ally. I’m good
just where I am."

"But Uncle Howard, we could buy a new place
in town--"

"Good right where I am."

"We could pay off all our bills."

"My bills, Ally. They’re my bills. You don’t
have anything to worry about. Let me handle those."

"This could be the answer to all your
problems, Uncle Howard. Won’t you even speak to him?"

"I ain’t got no problems, Ally. Things are
just fine the way they are. No. That’s the end of the discussion,
alright?"

"Howard--"

"Do I pry into your business or try and run
your affairs, WowWow?"

Alison sighed. God damn him, he was right.
She had no right to press him on anything. She owed him everything,
including his privacy and his space to consider his own problems
and difficulties without interference.

"I’m sorry, Uncle Howard. You’re right. What
would you like for supper tonight?"

The next day, Jonas Soto was back in the
diner.

After his eggs and coffee were served, he
asked about the diner again.

"Don’t waste your time." Alison said. "He’s
not interested."

"It’s okay. My employer has another
deal."

"I thought you said you were
self-employed."

"I am. But I contract out my services and my
current employer is interested in signing a contract with the owner
of Howard’s Diner to provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a
staff of just over two hundred people. The land adjacent here is
already in his possession and it’s enough space for what the
company needs to do so Howard’s Diner can stay right here,
preserving a little of the history of old Winterfield, Ohio. It
will breathe new life into what is undoubtedly a landmark and
institution in the area."

Alison was stunned.

Jonas stood up to go. "This deal is worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even more. Think about it."
He said.

"Uh… yeah, we will. Aren’t you going to
finish your eggs?"

"It’s okay." He smiled. "I already ate at
the hotel." He left money for the bill and left.

Howard was equally stunned when Alison told
him the news.

"But I like things how they are." He
said.

"Things won’t change. They like it that way,
too."

"I don’t want to have to move anywhere."

"You won’t have to."

"I don’t want to change the menu."

"We can serve all the same things, but just
add in whatever else they like. Nothing has to change."

There was no argument left.

"The deal could be worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars. This could solve all of your… all of my
problems. If you won’t do it for yourself then do it for me, Uncle
Howard. I could take over the operations, oversee additions to the
menu, expanding the business, speaking to the corporate guys. I can
do all that stuff. It would really mean a lot to me."

The old man said nothing. She had hit him
where it hurt. For himself, he didn’t care. He was resigned to
letting the business slide gradually into nothing, but he knew that
was no good for Ally. She was the only family he had left.

"Go on." He said. "Tell him I’ll talk. But
no promises yet."

Alison threw her arms around the frail old
man. She knew he needed this more than she did. He wasn’t coming
clean about his debts and medical bills. Sooner or later, he would
need this extra money.

"Thanks, Uncle Howard. This really means a
lot to me." She said. "You’re the greatest uncle ever."

The next day, Alison called Jonas and he
suggested they all meet in his hotel in town. The head of
operations of the warehousing and distribution company would be
there, too. She was in town to get things moving on construction,
planning, and working together with the architects and
surveyors.

Howard looked awkward in his ancient suit
from the 1980s, especially when he saw how well-dressed Alison was.
She still had a good suit from when she was doing office work and
interviews in New York City and she looked every inch the part of a
corporate lady.

They waited with Jonas in the foyer for the
head of operations, Melanie Hutchinson, to arrive.

Howard was sweating. He was a mile or ten
outside his comfort zone. Alison was almost shaking with
excitement.

"Don’t worry, guys." Jonas reassured them.
"Melanie is a sweetheart. You’re going to love her."

When the powerful lady finally arrived, they
were stunned. She was about the same age as Alison, same height and
build, blonde hair and blue eyes like her own. She had a friendly,
disarming smile.

"Melanie Hutchinson." She said. "You must be
Howard Myers and of course, Alison Myers. I’m so happy to meet you
both. Please sit down, make yourselves comfortable."

Alison sat down but she wasn’t comfortable
at all. Neither was Howard.

"You’re so much uh…"

"Different to what you expected?" Melanie
offered.

"Yeah. I don’t know why, but I guess I
expected someone older."

"How does that make you feel?"

"Nothing, I guess. I’m just surprised."

"I’m not signing anything, Ms. Hutchinson."
Howard jutted into the conversation.

"You don’t have to. And please, call me
Melanie. Today is just a talk, that’s all."

The old man grumbled.

"Your diner is going to stay exactly where
it is and how it is. I can tell you that right now."

"You got that right." Howard said.

"But all around you is going to change and
your business is going to become very popular. We’d like you to be
a part of the change that’s going to happen here. We’d like you to
also provide the same kind of food to our staff, maybe with a few
tweaks here and there. Most of the new employees will be from
Winterfield and the surrounding towns anyway, so we want them to
have the kind of food and refreshments that they like. You know
better than anyone what that is."

"How do you know that?" Howard said.

"You’ve been here longer than anyone else in
town and you’re still in business. Despite the interstate and
despite the industrial park across town, you’re still standing.
That’s the kind of resilience that we admire, respect, and want to
include in our business here in Winterfield."

"It ain’t been easy, Melanie." Howard
said.

"We know that, Mr. Myers. And we know it
won’t be easy committing to the level of service that we require,
but we feel sure that between yourself and Ms. Myers here, and with
our ongoing support, this will be a great success."

Howard nodded his head enthusiastically.

"You’re good." Alison said. "I’ve never seen
Howard agree to anything so easily before."

"I ain’t agreed to anything yet." He
laughed. "But I will take a good look at what you have to
offer."

"We’re so pleased to hear that, Mr.
Myers."

"Call me Howard or don’t call me anything at
all." He smiled.

"You’re really good." Alison said.

"Here’s a draft copy of what our service
agreement would be. You take a good look at it and have your
lawyers look at it as well. Call me on this number when you’ve made
a decision." She handed an immaculate business card to Howard but
he refused it and handed it to Alison instead.

"She’s the brains." He said.

Melanie smiled. "Is there anything else you
would like to discuss today? Any questions I can answer?"

"No. I think we’re good for now, Melanie.
We’ll take a good look at this and contact you by the end of the
week once we’ve had a chance to give it to our uh… to our lawyer."
Alison said. Their first task would be to find a good lawyer.

"Then I think that’s all we need to do for
today. Thank you so much for you time."

Alison and Howard stood to go.

"Just one more thing Alison, I have a letter
for you." She handed her a plain white envelope with no
markings.

"For me? Who’s it from?"

"Read it when you get home."

"What’s it about?"

"You’ll find out when you read it. If you
have any questions about it, just call me on my direct line."

Melanie departed with her small entourage
leaving Alison and Howard mystified.

"What’s going on, Alison?" Howard said.

Alison didn’t move. She stood with the
closed envelope in her hands. An ominous feeling came over her.

"Ain’t you gonna open it?"

"Not now." She said. "Let’s go on home."

The letter sat for three days on the kitchen
table. During that time, they contacted a business lawyer in
Cincinnati who read through the contract and couldn’t believe his
eyes. The contact was so favorable it was a giveaway.

"Sign the damn thing before they wake up."
He had said.

On the fourth day, Alison found Howard
sitting at the kitchen table when she came home from work. He was
holding the envelope from Melanie in his hands.

"Hey, Howard." She said.

"Are you gonna open this thing?" He
said.

"I will. Of course. Eventually. Just… not
tonight."

"You know we’re gonna sign that contract
tomorrow, right?"

She nodded.

"I won’t sign until you open this damn thing
and find out what’s in here."

Alison knew he was right. Whatever was in
there was something big and something she didn’t want to know. If
they signed the contract, it would be impossible to go back. If she
opened the letter first, there was a danger it would never be
signed.

"You have to open in, Alison." He held it up
for her.

"I will." She said. "Tonight, I
promise."

"Why not just open it right now? Get it over
with."

"There’s no need. Let’s have dinner first
and I’ll deal with it later."