“Guys.” Rinn looked like she’d had it; she really did. Her hands were on her hips, and her stare was directly at the phones.

Everyone stopped to look at her.

And as soon as she had everyone’s attention, Rinn Olivera smirked. “Can I take a look at that property agreement?”

Jo raised an eyebrow. She’d at least recovered her sarcasm. “Why? Do you have a law degree we don’t know about?”

Rinn shook her head. “No. But I think I have an idea.”

25

Drowning an Ocean

4:49 P.M.

Rinn

Pissing off Archer Hunt, really, was an added bonus.

The more she looked through the property contract, the more Rinn realized that the plan itself was brilliant. Now, Rinn had to convey her brilliance to everyone else. They had to see. This was how they were going to save Wild Nights.

“Look,” said Rinn. “Hunt Junior gamed the system, right? His dad handed over this enormous piece of land in the middle of Chicago. But there was a catch. Old Mr. Hunt made sure that Junior kept the store running. And so for a while, Hunt Junior did. But Junior must have reviewed the will, reviewed the clauses, because he realized he had this one out—Wild Nights Bookstore and Emporium had to remain open as a bookstore as long as it wasn’t a financial burden. Only if running a store was a hardship could Junior sell. So he tanked the store so that he could profit off the land and the building.”

“Yeah,” said Daniella. “So?”

“So that’s the land and the building.” Rinn knew it was so simple, nobody had even thought about it. They’d been so unplugged, the easiest solution hadn’t been available to them. But Rinn was making it available. They had to see it now. They had to.

Maya looked over to Jo. “Is she always this cryptic?”

“No,” said Jo. “Usually it’s getting her to stop that’s the problem.”

“Hey,” said Rinn. “That’s not funny.”

But Imogen and Daniella were laughing. Rinn swatted at them, and they backed up, still giggling.

Rinn crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, I am having the most brilliant of brilliant ideas, and you are all sitting there laughing at me. Fine. Just think about it. This contract on Jo’s computer is for the sale of the property, plant, and equipment. It doesn’t say anything about the books.”

Imogen looked skeptical at this. “I think the books are the equipment in a bookstore, Rinn.”

But Rinn was not giving up on her idea. “No, they’re not. The books are the intellectual property of the bookstore. And those special customer orders or preorders are like contractual obligations we have to fill.”

Daniella’s jaw dropped. “She’s right, you know. Those preorders and requests are technically bookings, not sales. We can’t log them as revenue until the customer collects them.”