Romancing My Love(33)

“Are you going to walk away or offer him less?” Treat asked.

“I think it’s got potential, but he’s not interested in anything less than the original offer, and I’m not going there.” The muscle in Pierce’s jaw bunched.

“Pierce, there are plenty of other properties, and if you let this one sit, if he really wants to sell, he’ll come down. You know how this works.” Treat reached into his jacket pocket and took out his phone. “I received notice today about a casino over in Vegas that’s having trouble. Maybe it’s time to switch gears.”

“I want this location. I know I can turn it around, and Jeff—he heads up the due diligence team—thinks that there are several areas where we can achieve higher profits. I just need to wear Benson down.”

“Excuse me, Pierce.” Rebecca touched his leg.

“Yeah, babe.” There was an edge in his voice. He was in work mode. Uptight work mode, in fact.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt, and I don’t claim to know much about any of this, but wouldn’t an earn out be an option in this situation?” She held her breath. She had learned about earn outs in one of her finance courses during a practical application study.

Pierce and Treat shared another look, one Rebecca couldn’t read.

“An earn out,” Pierce said.

“Yes.” Her heart beat faster as she recalled all that she had learned. “For example, the business was worth twenty-seven million dollars with your original estimate, and you believe that based on the net present value of the next five years’ projected earnings, the present value is twenty-two million. Couldn’t you offer twenty-two million with a two-year earn out? If the property exceeds the projected income on which the offer was based say, in two years, then you commit to pay them a percentage of the income earned over that projected amount. Maybe ten percent? Not to exceed the original offer of twenty-seven million?”

Pierce blinked several times. “Rebecca, how do you know about earn outs?”

“Well, I don’t really. We had a practical application project in one of my classes. I love the way business and finance work hand in hand, so I came up with an idea. When I brought it up to my professor, he said that it’s called an earn out.” She shrugged. “It seems like a great option, but from what he said, most business owners don’t like earn outs. They want to sell and be done with it, but with a business that’s in debt, well, that owner might be willing to agree to an earn out so he can get the liens paid off with the proceeds of the sale. And now that the liens are out in the open, it’s not like they can hide them from the next potential buyer. So really, it’s in his best interest to take it.”

“Rebecca, would you like a job?” Treat smiled.

“Seriously, woman. What are you doing waiting tables?” Max asked.

“Oh, I love my job.” Treat couldn’t be serious. Could he? He looked serious. No, he’s just being nice instead of telling me that I have no idea what I’m talking about. I should shut up.

Pierce was strangely quiet.

Rebecca moved her hand from his lap. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

He reached for her hand, and as he spoke, he had the same calculating look in his eye that he’d had when he was reviewing his files.

“Bec, it’s a brilliant idea. I was so locked into trying to make the return on investment for the current offering price work for us that I didn’t even bother to think outside the box.” Pierce shifted his eyes to Treat. “Genius, right? Win-win?”

“Absolutely, if your team’s sure you can make the business sustain itself and turn a profit,” Treat answered. “And, of course, if they’ll go for it.”

“Pierce, did you have any idea that Rebecca knew this much about acquisitions?” Max asked.

“No, but if there’s one thing I’m learning about Rebecca, it’s that there’s a lot more to her than she lets on.” He gazed into Rebecca’s eyes. “I don’t think there’s a damn thing she can’t do.”

No one but her mother had ever had that much confidence in her abilities. She hoped he wasn’t just being nice. “It was just an idea. I mean, I know it’s not that big of a deal.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Rebecca.” Treat locked eyes with Pierce. “Pierce and I have more than thirty years in the business between us and neither of us came up with that option. It’s a very, very big deal.”





Chapter Twenty-One


PIERCE LAY IN bed Saturday morning with his eyes closed, thinking about dinner with Treat and Max Thursday night. After dinner that night, while Pierce reviewed the documents for the acquisition again and called Jeff and his attorney, Rebecca had fallen asleep. Pierce crawled into bed behind her and he’d lain awake most of the night thinking about how she’d pulled the earn-out option out of thin air, and he’d thought about it all day Friday, too. Then again, she had been handling her mother’s medical bills, her mother’s tax issues, and had been going to school for business. Maybe it shouldn’t have surprised him, but he’d known plenty of business school graduates, and very few, if any, would have picked up on the rarely accepted earn-out option as a consideration for the Grand.

He felt Rebecca stir beside him, and he kept his eyes closed, unwilling to let go of the peaceful moment and face the day. He could lie there with Rebecca all day.

Her breath whispered across his cheek. “It’s Saturday, and neither of us has to work.”

He opened his eyes, and she was smiling down at him with heavy lids. “What’s our plan for today?”

He rolled her onto her back, slid his thigh over hers and his hand beneath her camisole, brushing the underside of her breast with his thumb.

“We have to buy Luke and Daisy a gift, remember?”

He kissed her softly. “Right. Good thing you remembered. I was thinking about staying in bed all day.” He lifted her camisole and as he kissed his way up her belly, he remembered that he was going out of town on Sunday.

“Bec, I have to go to LA to hammer out the deal with the Grand. I’ll probably only be gone a few days, leaving Sunday night and coming back Tuesday, if all goes well.”

She ran her fingers through his hair and frowned. “See? You’ve ruined me.”

He arched a brow.

“Before you, I never worried about spending my days alone. Now? The first thing that went through my mind was, Two whole days? And after my heart went a little crazy, my next thought was, How will I sleep without you?”

He grinned. “My evil plan is working. Let me sweeten the deal. After I come back, the next weekend is Luke and Daisy’s engagement party—will you come with me and meet my family?”

She drew in a sharp breath. “Pierce, I’d go anywhere with you, but are you sure? That’s more serious than meeting your cousin. Don’t feel pressured to—”

“Babe, the only pressure I feel right now is between my legs.” He reached down and slipped out of his skivvies, then drew her panties off and moved over her. “Will you come home with me?”

“Of course.” She eyed the condoms on the bedside table.

“Don’t worry. I would never do something you didn’t want.”

“Oh, I want, Pierce Braden. I want big-time, but it’s just a few more weeks.”

“Weeks? I can handle that. I’ve waited for you my whole life.”





LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Pierce and Rebecca walked through the mall trying to decide on a gift for Luke and Daisy. It had been ages since Pierce had stepped foot in a mall. He was used to crowds at his resorts, and of course, in the casinos, but while he loved being with Rebecca, the crowded mall brought his protective instincts to the forefront. He realized that he was sizing up every man who walked by, and while he wasn’t usually a judgmental guy, if they looked the least bit shady, he drew her closer.

“Where do people shop for an engagement gift?” He pulled Rebecca closer as three teenagers pushed past them.

“Gosh, how do I know? I’ve never been to a real engagement party.”

He pulled her into a photo booth in the center of the mall.

“I’ve never been in one of these,” Pierce said as he pulled a five-dollar bill from his wallet.

“I have, with my mom. They’re so fun.” She waited for Pierce to sit down inside the booth; then she sat on his lap with her arms around her neck, and he tugged the curtain closed.

He pulled her into a kiss just as the first flash went off.

“Ready? Look surprised!” She whispered into his ear, “I want to blow you.”

He didn’t have to feign his surprise. The flash illuminated the booth and caught him wide-eyed and openmouthed.

“Ha! Gotcha!” Rebecca kidded as he pulled her close for the last picture.

They both smiled, or so he thought. When the pictures developed and dropped from the silver slot, the third picture revealed Rebecca looking at him like he was everything she ever wanted.

“God, I love you,” he said as the second copy fell from the machine.

“How could you not? I mean…” She held the pictures up. “Look how cute I am.”