Well, for the third time since this started I've really upset the my business partners, and this time I can't even understand why. What the heck was unreasonable about that offer? They're not even saying anything rational, or countering with "January 1st" or "January 31st", or anything like that.
At this point I'm getting pretty pissed off about all of this myself. They don't want to negotiate at all, and it's like they've determined that their ace in the hole is for all of them to get irrationally upset about any offer, and presumably make me fear losing them. Screw them. At this point I don't really care if they all do quit. I'd prefer if they waited a couple of months, but I don't know what else they want from me.
Unable to get them to come around to my way of thinking, I decided to tell them it looks like we're at an impasse right now. Maybe I'm not thinking about this right, I told them, but I think I am. I then told them that if we're really stuck here, and they're not willing to consider my offer, then I need to talk to some potential outside buyers. If they tell me I'm way off base, then fine, I should reduce my offer, but I told them if I were in their shoes, I would have taken these last two offers, no questions asked, and I really didn't understand their position.