Chapter Seven

Kate

"You aren't going to show up tomorrow either?" I ask the guy who's supposed to install the tile floors. He called as soon as I got to the restaurant to tell me he wasn't coming today, or tomorrow.

"I got another job," he says. "They need it done this week. I could show up there next Monday, or maybe Tuesday."

"That's too late. The tables and chairs are arriving on Monday and I don't have a place to store them."

"I don't know what to tell ya. Guess you'll have to find someone else."

"Yeah. Guess so." I roll my eyes, wondering if he would've shown up if I were a man. When I hired him, he asked to talk to the boss, and when I told him I was the boss, he looked like he didn't believe me, as if a woman couldn't possibly be in charge of the renovations.

Someone knocks on the window out front and I see Henry there, smiling, a tool belt around his waist.

I hurry to the door and unlock it. "Henry." I give him a quick hug. "Thanks for coming."

He comes inside. "Anything to get me away from my neighbor. If he doesn't finish that garage soon, I may have to move."

"It's not much quieter here," I say, motioning to the guys who are drilling holes for the light fixtures.

"That's nothing compared to the noise I've been putting up with at home. And it starts at five in the morning." He shakes his head. "Anyway, tell me what you need and I'll get started."

"Hmm..." I look around, noting everything that needs to be done. "What do you know how to do?"

"Pretty much anything. And if not, I'll figure it out."

"Do you know how to install tile floors?"

"Installed the ones at my house." He grins. "Did a damn fine job. You got the equipment?"

"No, just the materials." I point to the boxes of tile stacked up by the wall. "What do you need for equipment?"

"Don't worry about it. I know a place where I can rent it. You get back to whatever you were doing. I'll take care of this."

"Thank you." I hug him again. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this. I'm already behind schedule and then the floor guy cancels on me."

"That's construction for you. Nothing ever goes as planned."

"Gavin said the same thing." I smile thinking of Gavin and the great night we had, making up after our fight.

Henry chuckles. "You're just as bad as my grandson."

"What do you mean?"

"That smile. Every time he mentions you, he gets that smile, just like the one you have right now. I don't think I've ever seen two people so in love. I'm surprised he hasn't given you a ring yet."

"We're not quite ready for that."

"Gavin's ready. If he could, he'd marry you today."

"I don't know about that." I look back at my crew, pretending to check on them and wishing Henry would change the subject. I don't want to talk about marriage, but I know Henry and I know he doesn't hold back. He says what he wants. 

 "You know damn well my grandson wants to marry you and you know he doesn't want to wait, which means you're the one who's not ready. So what's the hold-up? What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid."

"Are you going to tell me the truth or make me stand here all day guessing? If you choose the latter, I'm never going to get this floor done."

I smile. "You're really stubborn. You don't give up."

"Neither does my grandson. It's a Bishop trait. Now tell me, what are you afraid of?"

I sigh. "I don't want things to change. Everyone says things change once you get married. I don't want things to change between Gavin and me. Everything right now is so great between us."

"Don't listen to what people say. Everyone's different. After I married Gavin's grandmother our relationship only got stronger. But you have to work at it. You can't get lazy. You gotta keep that spark alive."

"Hey, Lady!" a guy yells. "I got a question."

I turn and see Russ, one of the electricians, waving me over.

"Just a minute." I turn back to Henry but he's taken off, heading toward Russ. "Henry?" I catch up to him as he reaches Russ.

"Her name is Ms. Norris, not 'lady'," Henry says to Russ. "You understand?"

"Who are you?" Russ folds his arms over his chest. "The bossman?"

"Ms. Norris is the boss, which you already know. And you better start treating her like the boss or you're going to find yourself without a job."

"Henry, no," I mutter under my breath. I can't have him firing my crew. I need them.

"There's plenty of work," Russ says. "If she doesn't like me, I can find a job someplace else."

Henry rubs his chin. "You think so, huh?"

"I know so." Russ smirks.

"You familiar with Cal Hollings?"

"Yeah." Russ' jaw moves side to side. "Why you asking about Cal?"

"He gives you most of your work, doesn't he?"

"Some, yeah." His eyes shift to the side and back. "What about him?"  

"He's a good buddy of mine. We went to high school together. In fact, we're meeting later tonight for a drink."

"Yeah? So?" Russ nervously pulls on his beard.

"If I tell him you're being disrespectful on the job, any job, he'll make sure you never work for him again."

"I wasn't disrespectful. I told her I had a question. Nothing wrong with that."

"You yelled it across the room. Waved her over. Didn't use her name. That's not how it's done. You'd never do that with someone like me, would you?"

He swallows. "Probably not."

Henry motions to me. "Ms. Norris is your boss. You show her the same respect you'd show me or I'll be bringing your name up to Cal before our first shot of whiskey tonight." He pauses, then shakes his head. "Make that the second shot. I like to have at least one before I start talking business."

I almost laugh. Henry's funny, but also sweet and protective. Gavin's right. Henry treats me like the granddaughter he never had.

Russ walks up to me. "Ms. Norris, can we talk about the light fixture?"

"In a minute." I smile at Henry. "I need to talk to Henry about the floors first."

Russ heads back to his work area.

"Thanks," I say to Henry as we walk to the door.

"They give you any more trouble, you let me know."

"Are you really going out with your friend tonight?"

"No. I just said that to keep Russ in line."

"Good, because Gavin and I are still planning on taking you to dinner later."

"Then I better get my work done. I'll be back in an hour or so."

He goes to get the equipment. While he's gone, I answer Russ' question, then watch as he continues working. He's going much faster now and not checking his phone every five minutes. The other guys overheard Henry and they, too, are working faster. At this pace, we might actually get finished on time.

By late afternoon Henry has finished half of the floor while keeping an eye on the crew to make sure they're working and not slacking off.

"How's it going?" Gavin asks. He's been busy all day and hasn't had a chance to call until now.

"It's going great. Your grandpa is a fast worker and he's doing an amazing job. I need to pay him for this. I can't let him do this for free."

"He'd never take your money. He loves doing that stuff. Keeps him busy, and he loves helping you out. So what are you thinking for dinner?"

Three men in suits walk through the door. I thought I'd locked it but I guess not because they came right in. Henry eyes them as they walk toward me.

"Gavin, I gotta go. Can we talk later?"

"Sure. Figure out a place for dinner. I'll see you soon."

"Okay. Bye." I walk up to the three men. "Can I help you?"

One of the men puts his hand out. "I'm Don Frazier." He shakes my hand. "Mr. Walcott sent us over." He introduces the other men, then glances around. "Looks like it's coming together. The opening is in less than a month, isn't that correct?"

"Yes," I say, not sure why these men are here. Mr. Walcott didn't mention he'd be sending his employees over to check on me. And why would he send three?

The men are all in their late fifties or early sixties, with gray hair and black suits. They're making me nervous. They didn't even smile when they introduced themselves. They're very serious, all business.

"I didn't see you at the main office," I say to Don. "Do you work at a different office?"

He chuckles. "We don't work for Walcott. We invest with him. This is one of our investments. We wanted to see how everything's coming along."

Walcott never said his investors would be stopping by. Is that normal for investors to do? It doesn't seem like it, but I'm new to this world so I really don't know.

"So where do you work?" I ask.

"We're business owners," Don says. "We each own several companies, all under different names. We often invest in start-ups and end up buying them."

Is he implying he might buy my restaurant someday? If so, it's not for sale.

Looking behind him, I see Henry watching the interaction. He must sense I'm uncomfortable because he gets up and walks over to me.

"Are there any questions I can answer?" he asks the men.

I'm already feeling calmer having Henry next to me. He has a strong presence, one that makes people back down. Or at least that was true for the crew, not so much with these men, who don't seem the least bit intimidated. They're staring at Henry as though they're annoyed with his interruption.

"And you are?" Don asks Henry. He seems to be the spokesperson for the group.

"Henry Bishop." He puts his hand out and shakes hands with Don.

"Bishop," Don says. "You're not related to—"

"Niles," Henry says. "I'm his father." He smirks. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Don smiles slightly. "And how would I know that?"

"Men like you don't invest in something without having all the facts. You do your research, which includes finding out who's involved and how it will affect the outcome of your investment."

Is Henry right? Did they really do that? And if so, how did Henry know that?

"We research the viability of the investment itself," Don says, "not extraneous friends and acquaintances of the business owner."

"And yet I'm not extraneous, am I?" Henry places his hands on his hips. It's a move to make him look larger, more important. My dad taught me all about body language and what it means.

"I'm unaware of your relation to Ms. Norris," Don says.

Henry lets out a humorless laugh. "Do you ever get tired of lying?"

"Excuse me?" Don asks, sounded offended. "What exactly are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything. I'm telling you outright what I know to be true. I'm calling you out on your lies."

"And what lies are those?"

"You knew I was Niles' father before I even told you, which means you know I'm Gavin's grandfather. And you know Gavin is living with Kate. Is that why you chose to invest in her restaurant? Do you think Kate's connection to the Bishop family will ensure this place will be a success?"

I hadn't even thought about that, but it's true. The people around here are obsessed with who's connected to who, and if people find out I'm connected to the Bishops, they'll want to come check out my restaurant. They'll want to meet the girlfriend of Niles' son, and once they do, they'll gossip about me and wonder why a girl like me is with Gavin, which will generate even more interest, causing more people to come to the restaurant.

As word spreads about my connection to the Bishops, former fans of Niles will show up here. A lot of people still worship and adore Niles, the former governor and almost senator whose life came to a tragic end. They don't know the real Niles. They only know his public image, which was revered by many because of the work he did as governor, helping the poor. When Niles died, people were devastated, not only for him but for his family, especially Gavin, left without a father. Coming to the restaurant owned by Gavin's girlfriend is almost like a way for them to pay their respect to Niles. To feel connected to him even though he's gone. They might even show up hoping to see Gavin or Celeste.

I wanted my restaurant to be a success because of me, not who I'm dating, but now I'm thinking Gavin and his family will be the reason people come here.

Why hadn't I thought of this before? Maybe because I don't live in that world. I don't even work it in anymore, so I've forgotten how these wealthy people go about gathering information to gossip about later at their fancy parties. I'm sure they gossiped about Celeste all summer and the fact that she wasn't around. Now that she's back, their focus will go to Gavin and me, and my restaurant.

"Mr. Bishop," Don says, "with all due respect, your theories are completely far-fetched and unwarranted. We simply wanted to check on the progress of the restaurant. We were in the area and thought we'd stop by."

Henry shakes his head. "You people are all the same."

"Henry," I mutter, hinting at him to be quiet. If these men really are my investors, I don't want to make them mad.

"We should be going," Don says to the other men. They nod and walk away. Don smiles at me. "Have a nice day, Ms. Bishop—I mean, Ms. Norris." He lets out a laugh. "I'm getting ahead of myself. It must've been due to Mr. Bishop's earlier comments."

Henry glares at him. "I'll tell Celeste you said hello."

"I don't know what you—"

"Cut the bullshit," Henry says. "Don't act like you don't know her. You were at the launch party for Niles' campaign. I saw you and Celeste talking."

Don clears his throat. "Have a good day, Mr. Bishop. Ms. Norris."

He turns and walks out the door, meeting up with the other two men who were waiting for him on the sidewalk.

Henry faces me. "Why the hell are you involved with them?"

"I didn't know I was. I've never met them before. Tad Walcott is my investor. I didn't know there were others. Walcott's investment firm gave me the Young Entrepreneur Award. Didn't Gavin tell you?"

"He said you got a loan. I assumed it was a bank loan."

Why didn't Gavin tell Henry where the money came from? Is there a reason he didn't, or did he just leave that part out?

"Does this mean Tad gets a share of your business?" Henry asks.

"Yes. He gets half."

Henry shakes his head. "That was a bad decision, Kate."

"It was my only option. No bank would give me a loan."

"Then you should've considered other alternatives, besides Walcott."

"Why? What's wrong with Walcott?"

"He's a thief. He tricks people into putting their money in shoddy investments. They lose everything and somehow Walcott makes more money."

"If that were true, he wouldn't have a company anymore."

"He saves the good investments for his rich friends. Then the average Joe goes to invest with him and Tad takes all their money. Tells them it's a risk of investing. You win some, you lose some."

"How do you know all this?"

"Because I've had friends who've been swindled by him, all people without much to invest. They ended up losing everything. I also know people who've made millions, all people who were already wealthy, one of whom was my son. Tad helped Niles invest right after he married Celeste. With Tad's help, Niles became a very rich man, very fast."

"Then why weren't Niles and Tad better friends? Gavin said Niles played golf with Tad but that's it."

"They don't like mixing business with their personal lives. That's why I was surprised to see Tad at the launch party for Niles. But I suppose a political fundraiser is more of a business function than a personal gathering."

"Well, I'm stuck with him now. I need the money, and I already signed all the paperwork giving Walcott part ownership. And it sounds like those men who were here are also in on the deal."

"I wish you hadn't done that. Gavin should've advised you not to, or at least talked to me first."

"I'm not worried about Walcott. He wants me to succeed. He's even offered to pay for me to take business classes. He's not going to do anything to harm his investment."

"It isn't about the money. It's about being under his control. Owning half of your business makes him your partner, not just an investor. You have to consult with him on everything. He gets to make decisions. And if you can't pay your half of the bills, he'll ask for more of the business in return for bailing you out. Or he'll sell the restaurant and keep the profits for himself. Tad always finds a way to come out ahead. That's why he's filthy rich."

"Is that why he picked me?" I think out loud to myself. Did Mr. Walcott pick me for the entrepreneur award because he thinks I'm incompetent and will eventually lose my share of the restaurant and he'll take it over?

"I don't know what his motives are," Henry says. "But I'm guessing it's not good. Don't take this wrong way, but a man like Tad Walcott would typically invest in a graduate of the Ivy League, not someone with only a high school diploma."

"I thought the same thing. In fact, when I checked, I was the first person he picked who hadn't gone to college."

Henry huffs. "Which just proves he has some kind of motive."

"Maybe he's helping me because I'm Gavin's girlfriend and he knows helping me will make Gavin happy. I'm sure he feels bad for Gavin losing his dad."

"Men like Tad Walcott don't make business decisions based on sympathy." He rubs his beard. "If I were you, I'd watch my back." He points to the door. "And keep that locked. Only allow people in here that you want in here. Tell Walcott his investors can't show up without an appointment."

"Ms. Norris," I hear Russ say. He appears beside me. "I got another question about the lights."

"Okay. Just a minute."

"I'll get back to work," Henry says.

After I talk to Russ I go back in the kitchen to the office. I sit down and open my laptop and review the contract from Walcott. There's nothing in there saying he could take my restaurant from me.

I shouldn't listen to Henry. He doesn't like rich people and always assumes they're up to no good. I don't know why Mr. Walcott chose to invest in me over someone more educated, but I'm not going to assume the worst. So far, he's been nothing but nice to me and he genuinely seems to want me to do well.

Then again, I've been wrong about people in the past. Niles for one. So maybe Henry is right. I should watch my back.