Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
When I turned back to him, he looked even more somber than before.
“Big Momma would be proud of everything you’ve done,” I told him. “What we have here is a unique opportunity, right?”
He chuckled. “I think what we have here is the need for a miracle.”
“Well, I might just have one up my sleeve.” I thought about Cohen. I didn’t know if he’d actually be able to help us out, but it was the best I had. “Now I know you’ve always liked to keep the financials to yourself, but I think it’s time you let us kids get in the trenches and see what we can do.”
He glanced around the room, clearly struggling with the thought.
“Big Daddy, if you do make this work, we’re still gonna be the ones who have to run this place someday. And if we don’t, what does it matter?”
I could see the tears shifting around in his eyes, and from this man who rarely showed emotion outside frustration and anger, it broke my fucking heart.
“Brody, it’s not that I don’t trust you kids with it. Just…honestly, it’s a matter of pride.” His words caught me by surprise. “Truth is, it’s been a combination of legacy and luck that helped us get this far because…I haven’t had the sense to figure out how to make this place profitable. Big Momma was always good with the books and managing and navigating the budget, but after she passed, I gave up for a bit, and as soon as I came back to it, I’d made such a mess of things, it just kept piling up on me. I fear she’s up in heaven somewhere, looking down on me with such disappointment.”
“Big Daddy, we both know she’d probably slap you upside the head for being stupid, but then she’d get on to loving you, same as always.”
He laughed again, sniffling. “Yeah, that sounds like her. But you’re right, Brodes. I can’t do this on my own. So…I’ll give you access to the books. See if we can salvage any of this mess I’ve made.”
I could sense his sorrow, his feeling of defeat. I squeezed his arm gently to offer some comfort. As he rested his hand on top of mine and a warm smile pushed across his face, I felt his tension dissipate as he seemed to realize this wasn’t just his burden to bear anymore.
Big Daddy made good on his word, granting me access to our QuickBooks and showing me where all the major financial statements were kept in his office. He went through the debts owed and the less than stellar profits we had coming in for the year.
As I should have expected, it was even worse than I’d anticipated, and I could see why he was so stressed out about it. It wasn’t something he should have had to carry on his own for as long as he had.
After our chat, I headed up to my room, stewing on the news. I pulled out my phone, looking up No Good Mitchell’s number and debating about hitting it. Although, if I’d learned anything that night, it was that it wasn’t good to stew on secrets.
So I called.
I was kind of hoping he’d be in bed and not answer, but then I heard that sexy-ass voice. “Missing me already?”
I snickered.
“What’s wrong?”
“How do you know something’s wrong?”
“I was pretty damn hilarious, and all I got was a chuckle?”
“Just had a…interesting chat with the head of the O’Ralley household.”
“Everything okay with Big Daddy?”
“Yeah…and no. I went through the books with him for the first time in my life, and it wasn’t pretty. To say we’re having a cash-flow challenge seems like an understatement.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
“Problem is, Big Daddy’s been running this place same as he has since his dad did before him, and if we want to survive, we’re gonna need to make some changes with how we do things. Catch up to the market.”
“That’s funny that you called me just now. I happen to know a guy who’s starting a distillery, and he’s pretty good at shit like this. He might be able to help you.”
“Oh, really?” I said, laughing. “He any good?”
“I mean, you’ve had a preview of his work, but you really can’t go running home to Daddy after dinner if you expect to know if he’s any good for real.”
I laughed again, enjoying the relief he offered from my far more serious conversation with Big Daddy.
“He expensive?”
“Real expensive. You have to give him a lot of BJs to get him to do anything.”
“I have to give the BJs? What if I just let him give me the BJs?”
“So greedy, Mr. O’Ralley. No, no, you get down on your knees and worship his cock if you want him to help you with anything.”
“What if he needs some help from me with this brand-new distillery?”