“I put everything I had into buying this place. If I lose the lease, I’ll lose everything.”
Ed remained quiet.
Chad continued.
“Business has been terrible. Revenue is down thirty percent. I thought modernizing the diner would bring in new customers.”
Ed shook his head.
“Revenue fell because you started charging farmers for coffee refills and took away the paper menus.”
A few customers nodded.
“And because you took the woman who’s been looking after this town for thirty-eight years and hid her in a room without windows.”
Chad looked toward me.
For the first time, he didn’t seem arrogant.
He seemed frightened.
I took a breath.
“Chad, I’m not going to agree to staying in the dishwashing room.”
He nodded.
“But I’m not asking Ed to take your diner away, either.”
Several customers murmured.
I continued.
“You came here thinking this place needed to become something different. You looked at the old furniture, the older customers, and the simple menu and decided everything needed fixing.”
