The dining hall had been packed with customers watching us that day. I didn't want to make a scene, and I'd already sunk hundreds of thousands into renovations. Walking away would've been a dead loss, so I agreed.
The second and third times, they pulled the exact same move.
Every single time, they waited until the restaurant was at peak capacity to corner me in front of a crowd.
Then came this time. I'd just finished tallying the annual financials when they showed up demanding half the profits.
But this time, I was done caving：
“And if I say no?”
Brendan's smile froze, and the mask dropped in an instant. His voice turned vicious：
“Then you pack your things and get out of my shop today. I'm taking it back. The lease is done!”
I frowned slightly：“Uncle Brendan, we signed a three-year lease. The contract isn't up yet, and you're already trying to break it?”
Brendan let out a derisive snort：
“So what if I am?”
“Go ahead and sue me!”
Adela chimed in with a cold smirk：
“Exactly. Drag it through the courts for a year or two, and your restaurant sits empty the whole time. No business, no income. The only one bleeding money will be you.”
The moment I heard that, it clicked：
“So you never came here to negotiate. You'd already decided to take my shop and run it yourselves?”
They'd even mapped out the lawsuit scenario. There was no way this was spontaneous.
Brendan didn't bother hiding it anymore：
“That's right!”
“This property is ours. We rent it when we want, we take it back when we want. That's how it works.”
Adela stood there with her hands on her hips, brazen as ever：
“Exactly. And stop acting like we wronged you. Without us, how would you have ever made millions in a year?”
“If you had an ounce of self-awareness, you'd be on your knees thanking us.”
On my knees thanking them.
In under a year, they'd jacked the rent from eight thousand to twenty thousand a month, more than double what any other shop on this street was paying.
And they actually believed I was the one getting the better deal?
I had no interest in arguing anymore. I asked one last time：
“You're sure you want to do this?”
Brendan tilted his chin up, nostrils flared, dripping with contempt：
“What, you think we're bluffing?”
As if to prove his point, he pulled out the lease we'd signed and ripped it to shreds right in front of me.
“The contract's gone. Starting today, this shop belongs to us.”
Then he jabbed a finger toward the storefront next door：
“See that place? We already leased it. Five-year contract, signed and sealed. Once you're out, we're knocking the wall down and opening a seafood buffet twice the size of yours. Bigger, better, the whole nine yards.”
That space used to be a BBQ joint. It was twice the square footage of my restaurant, and the rent wasn't cheap either.
Because it was so large, the place had sat vacant for over a year after the last business folded. Nobody would touch it.
Then, just a few days ago, the "For Lease" sign came down and renovations started.
I'd wondered at the time who had the guts to take on a space that big on a street this quiet. Now I knew. It was Brendan.
Thinking about how much capital he was sinking into this, I couldn't help asking：
“You're really that confident you can pull it off?”
Brendan didn't hesitate：
“Of course.”
“I've been watching your operation for a while now. Your whole business model is just buying seafood, laying it out, and letting customers serve themselves. They grab what they want, boil it or grill it on their own. There's zero skill involved.”
“So I tracked down your suppliers and paid a premium to become their exclusive distributor on this street. From now on, they won't sell to you. Even if you wanted to open another seafood buffet nearby to compete with me, you couldn't.”
“With steady foot traffic and zero competition, how could I possibly fail?”
Adela chimed in, brimming with the same smugness：
“Exactly. People around here love seafood. Now we've taken back the shop and locked up your supply chain. Everything your restaurant had, we'll have too, except our space is bigger and nicer.”
“If you could make the place a hit, why can't we?”
Credit where it was due: these two were ruthless.
Not only were they stealing my shop, they'd cut off my supply line too.
Any ordinary business owner might've been ruined for good.
Too bad for them, they'd picked the wrong guy to mess with.
They saw my seafood buffet packed to the walls every single day, but what they didn't know was that those customers had come for me specifically.
More importantly, just yesterday my dad had called to tell me his employees were sick of seafood after a solid year of all-you-can-eat buffets. They couldn't even look at shrimp without gagging. He'd asked if I could switch up the menu.
Since Brendan and Adela were so confident they could make their seafood buffet work, I saw no reason to burst that bubble.
“Fine. The shop's all yours. I'm done here.”
“Best of luck with the business.”
My easy agreement caught them off guard. Brendan and Adela exchanged a glance, suspicion flickering in both their eyes.
Brendan's brows pinched together, like he was afraid I was pulling something：
“You're really just going to pack up and leave?”
I didn't answer. Instead, right in front of them, I called a moving company：“Hi, I need to move out of a commercial space today. Could you send a truck over as soon as possible?”
Once I'd worked out the details, I texted them the address, hung up, and turned back to Brendan and Adela：
“Satisfied?”
Brendan's brows relaxed. He let out a cold snort：
“Smart move.”
“Now hurry it up. Don't waste our time when we've got money to make.”
With that, he and Adela strutted out, victory plastered across their faces.
The moment they were gone, every employee in the restaurant crowded around me, voices overlapping in outrage：
“Boss, our lease isn't even up yet! Those two just kicked us out. That's straight-up bullying.”
“Right? Nobody wanted this dump before you came along. You built this place from nothing, and now they swoop in to take it? How is that fair?”
Rainey Abbott, the cashier, was the most fired up of all：
“Boss, let's sue them! I've got a friend who's a killer attorney. Let him make them pay!”
I waved her off：“No need.”
After all, I wanted a front-row seat to watch them try to run a seafood buffet.
If I sued them, I'd miss the show.
Rainey pressed on：“Then what's the plan, boss? Are we really just going to take this lying down and let them walk all over us?”
I smiled：“Of course not.”
I walked to the front entrance and pointed at the vacant three-story building across the street：
“See that building?”
Everyone followed my gaze：
“That old shopping center? The one that shut down? It's been sitting empty for years.”
I stared at it, a quiet edge creeping into my voice：
“Starting tomorrow, it won't be empty anymore.”
Every head in the room snapped toward me, eyes wide with shock.
Rainey's eyes went wide：
“Boss, you……you're not seriously thinking about leasing that building, are you?”
I nodded：“That's exactly what I'm thinking.”
A collective gasp rippled through the group：
“Boss, that place is several times bigger than our current shop. The rent alone has to be insane. Please don't do anything rash.”
“Yeah, those two already locked down every seafood supplier in the area. Even if you open a bigger place, what's the point if you can't get product?”
“And the old customers are gonna stick with the original location and the flavors they know. Opening an even bigger seafood buffet over there? We'd have zero advantage!”
I raised an eyebrow：
“Who said anything about a seafood buffet?”
I turned to face them, pronouncing every word：“I'm going to open a fast-casual restaurant.”
The moment those words left my mouth, everyone went silent.
Then came a chorus of shock and disbelief：
“Boss, did you hit your head or something?”
“In the past year alone, seven or eight fast-casual joints have opened on this block. Not a single one lasted more than a month.”
“Our customers come here for seafood. Switch to fast-casual and nobody's walking through that door.”
They all talked over each other, every voice objecting.
I didn't rush, didn't get annoyed. I waited until every last one of them had finished, then spoke at an easy pace：
“You'll see soon enough.”
My mind was made up. Right then and there, I called the number on the "For Lease" sign posted on that building.
The landlord was easy to deal with. Even though the place was several times the size of my current shop, the asking price came in well below market rate.
I signed the lease on the spot and paid the rent upfront.
The landlord had barely handed over the keys when the movers showed up.
“Boss, what are we moving?”
I pointed over my shoulder at the seafood restaurant and said calmly：
“Everything in this shop. All of it goes across the street. Don't leave a thing behind.”
The movers worked fast.
Within a few hours, every table, every chair, every piece of kitchen equipment and dishware, even the framed prints on the walls, had been hauled across the street and into the three-story building.
What had been a lavishly decorated seafood buffet was now nothing but bare walls and empty concrete.
Once the move was done, I turned to face my entire staff：
“Are you willing to follow me and start fresh somewhere new?”
They all exchanged glances, and the room fell quiet.
Then Rainey stepped forward first：
“Boss, this past year working for you, we've earned way more than anyone else in this industry. You're the most decent boss I've ever had. Wherever you go, I'm going with you.”
With her leading the charge, the others spoke up one after another：
“Count me in too. I don't have much education or any special skills, but I know one thing: working for you, I feel secure.”
“Exactly. You've treated us right all year. If we turned around and walked out on you the second things got tough, what kind of people would we be?”
“Wherever you go, I go. I'm with you, through and through!”
Every single person, without exception, pledged to stay.
Watching them, warmth spread through my chest.
Right then, my phone rang. It was my dad：
“Myron, that thing I mentioned last time about switching up your menu. Have you decided yet?”
I nodded：
“All decided. I'm opening a fast-casual place.”
My dad hummed in approval“Mm”：
“Good call. More variety, more convenient.”
“Oh, and one more thing. A few of the subsidiaries under my group just brought on over eight hundred new hires last month. They'll probably be eating at your place too, so make sure you're ready for them.”
