Chapter 16
Beck
I pushed back in Malcolm's office chair, rubbing my dry eyes.
I'd spent the day pouring over the books for the inn and the restaurant.
Things were good. Great even. The addition of the brewery was possible, but it could put a strain on an otherwise successful business.
It was a risk. I needed to ensure that they were prepared to take that chance with their business.
Malcolm paused in the doorway. "Well, what do you think?"
"You're doing a good job here."
He nodded, moving into the room. "That's nice to hear, but what does it mean for an expansion?"
"You can do it. You've got the equity and obviously the knowledge to build more."
He leaned a hip against the desk. "What would you suggest?"
"You build the brewery with the beer baths. Then you see what happens. If it doesn't take off, then you need to make changes. If it does, then you can take a bit more risk and market outside your usual channels."
"Are you saying that we offer it to hotel guests and hikers first and see how it goes?"
"And some low-cost marketing efforts in neighboring towns. I wouldn't do a national campaign yet."
"You think we can do national marketing campaigns?"
I folded my hands on the desk. "If you want to build a legacy, that is your next logical step.
He frowned. "What do you think about just building the brewery? Hold off on the beer-bath idea."
I shook my head. "Honestly, I wouldn't recommend that. It's the beer bath that makes this idea unique. No beer bath. No brewery."
He arched a dubious brow. "Are you serious?"
"A brewery isn't anything new. Research how many are in your area. It's the beer bath that sets your business apart from the others. You already have a customer base with the inn. You can offer it as a spa service, maybe even a package they can purchase when they reserve their room."
"Are you sure? It's an unproven business."
I grinned. "That's what makes it good. Sometimes you have to think outside the box. If you play it safe, you get tepid results. You need to go big."
He raised a brow. "Is that your professional opinion?"
"It is." I wasn't sure if Malcolm would trust me like my other clients. He was a friend first.
He nodded. "I'll have to think about it."
"I'm going to present this to your family to see what they think."
He waved a dismissive hand. "That's not necessary. I'm the one who makes the decisions."
"The last time I checked, this was a family-run business. Everyone should have an equal say, including Clara."
His brow furrowed. "Why would you say that?"
"I've looked at your paperwork. Your corporate papers indicate that everyone has an equal share, whether they work in the business or not. Clara is a part of this, as are your brothers and parents."
"That's not how it works." He started pacing in front of the desk.
I ground my teeth together. "Until you change your documents, it is."
"When there are too many opinions, there are arguments. We won't be able to decide on anything." He paused. "You said yourself that was a problem."
I inclined my head. "It can be. But it's not right to just make the decision yourself and leave everyone out of it. Rowan is the lead on this project."
His gaze narrowed on me. "Whose side are you on?"
"You asked for help, and I'm telling you it's a mistake to take over Rowan's idea and make all the decisions."
"I'm the CEO of this company—"
I shook my head. "You might have been acting like one, but you're not, and I know that the others feel left out."
His jaw tightened. "What are you, a therapist now? You give relationship advice too?"
The only reason why this situation was getting out of control was because we were friends before he asked for business advice. "Maybe this was a bad idea."
"Maybe it was."
I stood. "For what it's worth, I love Rowan's idea."
When he didn't respond, I walked out of his office and went to find Rowan. I found him in the workshop he was using for his brews. It represented a lab of sorts. It was cool and dark inside, and I waited for Rowan to look up from his notebook. "Beck, what are you doing here?"
"I was just looking at the financials. Talked to Malcolm."
He straightened, stretching his back. "Yeah, you come to any conclusions?"
"I think you should do it, but only if you do the beer bath in time for the opening. It has to open with both options."
"Yeah, if that's what you think. You're the expert." He came around the table. "Is there a problem? You seem upset."
"I told Malcolm what I just told you, and he doesn't agree. He thinks you should be conservative and open the brewery. But the more concerning part is that he wants to make the decision. He doesn't think that everyone needs to be on board."
Rowan shook his head. "That's Malcolm. He needs to control everything."
"I'm going to present my findings to the entire family. I think everyone needs to hear what I have to say, and from what I reviewed, everyone has an equal share of the business regardless of whether or not they are actively working in the company."
"Malcolm sees himself as head of the business. He doesn't want to hear what the rest of us have to say. I don't know why I thought he'd go along with this."
I held up my hand. "Don't give up. Not yet. Let me talk to all the Harts at one time. We'll see how it goes."
"I'm not sure I want to go up against Malcolm. It's not worth it."
"My understanding is that the family wants to build something for generations to come. You can't lose sight of that goal." It was one more reason why I felt strongly about this project, even though I usually steered clear of these kinds of family issues.
"It's easy to lose sight of what's important. There are so many opinions, and everyone has their own dreams and goals."
"Malcolm would do well to remember that.
" I didn't like how Clara's dreams were overlooked or diminished.
She didn't even know what she wanted, but she knew her family wouldn't think they were important.
"I think you'll regret not seeing this through.
Especially if it's your passion. You need to bring it into the world. "
He blew out a breath as he leaned against the table. "I didn't really think it was possible until you got involved. I worried that Mac would take it over, make it part of his restaurant, and it would lose everything that made it special."
I clasped his shoulder. "That's not going to happen if I have anything to say about it."
His forehead creased. "Are you going to invest?"
I released his shoulder. "On the condition that everyone is heard, and that you take lead on this project. I foresee everyone doing something that's important to them and adds value to the property. Everyone that's interested, of course."
"That would be great. If you can convince Mac, I'll forever be indebted to you."
"Let's not go that far yet. Malcolm is stubborn."
Rowan chuckled. "That's true."
"I look forward to working with you on this." I shook his hand.
He moved around the table again. "Here, you need to try this new brew. I'd love to have someone else try it."
I waited while he poured it into an old-fashioned glass. I swirled it in the cup and raised it to my nose, breathing it in. Then I sipped it slowly, letting it swish in my mouth. Then I swallowed. "That's good."
He smiled. "I'm glad you think so. It's hard to get an honest assessment from family. Sometimes, I swear they say they like it to be nice."
"You know what you should do? You should do a tasting at the restaurant. Then you'd get unbiased opinions."
He nodded. "That's a great idea. I can't believe I never thought of it."
"You do your tasting. Make it a special evening. Pair the brews with complementary menu items. We'll talk to the family and go from there. Everyone wants to see you succeed, even if Malcolm has a hard time showing that."
"I appreciate the support."
"Let me know when the tasting is. I'd like to be there.
" I wondered if Clara would come too. We couldn't let on that anything was going on between us.
As much as I enjoyed what we did at the cabin, I wouldn't mind seeing her outside of it either.
That part scared me because I didn't do much with women outside the bedroom.
"Will do," Rowan said as I opened the heavy wood door and stepped out.
"Oh, and one more thing. You could make the tour of your lab part of the experience."
He raised his glass. "You're a genius. You know that?"
I chuckled. "I wouldn't go that far. But I have been known to come up with good ideas."
He sipped his drink, and I walked out feeling like I'd helped in some way. I'd been feeling bad about how things went with Malcolm. I needed to give him more time before I tried to talk to him again. I remembered he could be upset about things for a while.
He had this idea of how things should go, and when they didn't go according to plan, he was thrown off.
But I had the tasting to look forward to and a potential new investment deal. It had been a while since I invested in something that felt as personal as this. If my siblings wanted me to help them, I would. But neither of them was going the business route.
Even though I'd avoided anything like this in the past, I wanted to help the Harts. I just hoped it didn't complicate what was going on with Clara.
I was probably an idiot for pursuing both, but for the first time in a long while, I felt excited about life. Usually, I consulted and walked away, feeling like the job was complete. In this case, I wanted to stick around and see the results, knowing that I had a hand in it.
There were several buildings on the Hart property. One was the main mansion which was now the inn. Malcolm had renovated one to use as a restaurant, but there were several others that weren't being used.