Page 13 of Good as Gold
He hefts his pint glass. “Sure, lady. Take a number. Anyone else?”
The whole Rossi family starts talking at once. They’re teasing Matteo and putting in requests. Benito wants his car washed. Damien asks for style tips. “Can I look like fancy Jesus, too?”
Matteo rolls his eyes, and I try not to laugh.
I’ve missed this. I’ve missed Matteo’s brand of oldest-sibling exasperation. I’ve missed this rowdy family and the way they tease each other.
When I woke up today, I’d been dreading this wedding. I’m not used to being the black sheep—the ungrateful bitch who divorced Rory. That’s what he wants all our friends to think of me.
Who knew Matteo would roll into town and replace me as everyone’s favorite gossip nugget? They’ll be talking about him for weeks, especially if he’s pouring drinks behind his brother’s bar.
I take another excellent bite of food and congratulate myself on my good fortune.
Life is always a little more exciting when Matteo is around. It’s just true. And it will be tempting to park myself on a bar stool at the Gin Mill to watch him work. Just like the lust-filled teenager I used to be.
I’m too old to lust after Matteo. I have more pride than that now.
Probably.
I guess we’ll find out.
CHAPTER5
EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO
MATTEO IS 17
Matteo tries not to fidget as Lyle Giltmaker flips through the business plan he’d printed out today at the public library.
Mr. Giltmaker hasn’t said anything yet, but Matteo is already sure that this was a stupid idea. Leila’s father is never going to lend them the money they need to start their business.
But he let Rory talk him into this moment of humiliation anyway. “All the man can say is no.”
That’s true, although Rory is conspicuously absent. Rory’d had a reason for that, too. “He thinks I’m trash. You need to be the one to ask.”
So it’s Matteo who’s sitting in Mr. Giltmaker’s office, sweating through his shirt. Giltmaker Industries is housed in an old mill building. It’s obvious that this spacious room has always been a rich man’s office, with its floor-to-ceiling bookcases and its enormous walnut desk.
Matteo likes the space but finds it intimidating. Sitting behind the desk, Lyle frowns down at the pitch deck that Leila had helped him edit.
It’s April, and graduation looms not even two months away. Matteo knows that he’s not really college material, and he doesn’t want to join the military like his younger brothers are planning to do.
His uncle Otto wants him to work on the farm, and that doesn’t feel like quite the right fit, either.
Starting a business together was Rory’s idea. “You have the smarts, and I have the charm. We’d be a good team. And if we own our own business, we won’t have a boss riding our asses. We won’t have to answer to nobody.”
“Anybody,” Leila had corrected him.
Rory had rolled his eyes. “All we need is enough money for a used van, and a set of tools.”
The actual business idea had been Matteo’s. It’s right there on page one of the business plan Mr. Giltmaker is reviewing.Boards and Blades: a mobile ski and snowboard sharpening service. In a van, they could drive around to the luxury mountain homes that dot the area ski towns and sharpen skis for folks right there in their driveways.
Leila had squealed when he’d hit upon this idea. “Ooh! White-glove service,” she’d said. “I like it.”
Now Lyle sets the papers down and nails Matteo with a stare. “Not a bad idea, kid. And you seem motivated to succeed. But I can’t just hand you five thousand dollars.”
“I understand, sir,” Matteo says. And he does. Who’d givehimfive large? When Lyle looks across the table, he probably sees a loser from the wrong side of town. One who sometimes catches himself staring at Leila’s mouth, wondering what it would be like to kiss her.
“But here’s what you do,” Lyle says. “Go find a guy who has a business that’s a little like yours. Maybe it’s a ski shop in a wealthier town. Maybe it’s a guy who works on high-end bikes. Find that guy and work for him for a season. Learn what he knows and which problems keep him up at night. Talk to his customers. Get some wisdom. Then findanotherguy and work for him, too. After that, you can come back here and ask me fortengrand, and I’ll invest with you.”
