Colleen lifted the folders and tapped the edges on the table like a gavel, calling their meeting to order. “Enough of the inquisition, Paulie. Half the good things in your life wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone ahead and laid the groundwork first. It’s a good woman’s job to plan for the future. That being said, I’ve talked to my realtor and explained that this will be a private sale. That allows us to come down on the price a little bit.” She removed a sheet of paper and slid it across the table. “This is what we’re asking.”
Maggie’s heart stilled at the price. It was twice as much as she’d assumed. “This is…” Her mouth went bone dry. “This is everything?”
“Well, there’s the cost of inspection, and the legal fees for signing over the LLC. You’ll need a broker…” Colleen continued to talk about all the extra expenses, but Maggie’s ears muffled, as if water was closing over her head.
Perrin’s hand pinched her thigh under the table, bringing her back to the present. Maggie cleared her throat. “This is a lot more than I expected.”
Colleen and Paulie exchanged glances, and Perrin looked at her in ill-disguised panic. “I thought Kelly explained the appraisal.”
“We didn’t discuss price.” They should have. What kind of person goes into a buyout not knowing how much money she’d need? A stupid person.
“There are additional costs because you’re buying out the business, not just the property.”
She frowned. “And if we just bought the property?”
“Then you wouldn’t be able to call it O’Malley’s.”
Perrin sat up. “But it’s her name. You can’t trademark a name.”
“O’Malley’s Irish Pub,” Paulie clarified.
“Then we’ll call it something else.” Perrin’s voice had turned defensive, and Colleen sat back, her arms crossing with disapproval. “We’ll call it O’Malley’s Bar. Or maybe just call it Maggie’s Place. We don’t care about the name.”
“Relax,” Maggie whispered. “The name’s important. O’Malley’s has an established clientele we don’t want to lose. People don’t like change. It scares them.”
“Even if you didn’t buy the business, you’d only skim twenty thousand off the price. Also consider that we’ve included all the assets, the pool tables, jukebox, kitchen equipment, stools, and everything else not nailed down. We could sell those items on consignment and lower the price another hundred thousand, but if you’re planning on running a bar, you’ll need them anyway.”
She was right. They weren’t trying to rip them off. They were trying to work out a fair price. Maggie looked at Colleen. “Can you pretend for a minute that I’m not an O’Malley and this isn’t a business meeting?” She drew in a deep breath. “Pretend I’m your daughter. Would you tell me this is a good investment?”
Colleen smiled. “I’d tell you that the pub brought our family generations of joy. It was the backdrop to every celebration and the landing point when any of our children came home. It kept food on my family’s table and gave us enough to live generously with others. It kept us close and kept us laughing. This is the end of an era for us and watching the doors close will be like burying a dear friend, one whose time ended too soon. O’Malley’s is a fine running establishment that could still make many more generations of memories. But sadly, with all the people in our family, we still have no one interested in running it.” She smiled. “I think you’d be wise to buy it, Maggie. I think it will add to your life in ways I could never explain in one business meeting, ways that make a person of any income feel rich on even the poorest of days.”
Annnnnnd sold.
Maggie tried to hide her dying urge to sign the papers. She’d started this venture to lift her sister’s spirits, but now, it became something she wanted for herself as well. Maybe even for Ryan.
She breathed with uneven, intense breaths and swallowed. “I have to speak to the bank.” The only way she could manage the price would be to borrow against her house. That wasn’t a sure thing, but it was her only hope. “Could you try to keep this quiet for another day or two?”
Paulie blew out a breath that sounded like a laugh. “In this family?”
“Please?” Maggie looked Colleen in the eye. “I need to make this decision on my own. Ryan would… He’d try to talk me out of it.” Even though deep down she believed he wanted to see the bar saved, he’d think she was risking too much.
“I’ll do my best,” Colleen said and closed the folder.
Chapter 38
Why did people always want what they couldn’t have? Maggie sat on the stained red couch stuffed into her shed and stared at the wall full of boxes. Memories. Pieces of her past. Some still felt familiar, but others just felt like … junk.