Vanessa’s mouth parted.
Cheryl removed her sunglasses.
Trevor looked at me for the first time with something close to alarm.
My mother let out a thin, disbelieving laugh. “Owner? Of this restaurant?”
“Twenty percent,” Martin said. “And increasing next quarter.”
That wasn’t how I had planned to tell them. In fact, I hadn’t planned to tell them at all. My family had never earned private updates about my progress. But once the truth entered the room, I let it remain.
I rested my hands lightly on the stand. “I worked here through college. Then I graduated, worked in financial operations for a hotel group, and came back as a consultant when Alder & Reed was close to being sold. I helped renegotiate vendor contracts, restructure payroll, and refinance the expansion debt. Then I bought in.”
Vanessa stared at me. “You own part of this place?”
“Yes.”
“And you still seat people?”
“Sometimes,” I said. “That’s what leadership looks like in a restaurant.”
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