by Alexa Davis
If this book was about Annie, then she’d already been through so much pain and she really deserved some happiness. Plus, that kid of hers was adorable and deserved the world. I would do it, I would find a way. I needed to.
Chapter Twelve –
Annie – Tuesday
“So, do you think that you can do that, sweetie?” I asked my daughter as she did her best to work the cash register. With Nancy on a fishing date today, I’d had to bring Rae in with me. It didn’t seem fair to force her to be quiet for another whole day. I felt she would be better placed interacting with the customers, since she made them all laugh.
“I can, Mommy it seems really easy.”
I chuckled loudly before setting about doing a little bit of stock take on the books, grateful for how good Rae was all over again. I could hear her talking to the customers, probably charging them all the wrong price, but for one day it didn’t really matter. If I owed people money, I’d pay it back, and I knew I could trust my customers to do the same.
“I’ll be in big school then,” I could hear Rae telling Mr. Smith.
“Ooh, school doesn’t know what’s going to hit it,” he joked. “A feisty young lady like yourself? Watch out world.”
I considered that for a moment, Rae spending most of her time in school. That time was creeping up on me, much quicker than I’d expected it to, and it would change everything. I would still need Nancy for pickups and to help me over the weekends, but her hours would shift. Maybe she would need to get a new job and everything would be different.
Oh God, I couldn’t think about all of that, not right now. I would have to cross that bridge when I came to it because for the moment, I had another life upheaval to consider – this possible investment. Whatever happened in the future, Nancy would still be my friend. We’d been through too much for that to just vanish.
The sound of the phone brought me out of my thoughts. “Hello, Boffees?” Rae answered the work phone in a voice that sounded far too grown up for her age. It made me take a step back and miss the time when she was a tiny baby, totally dependent on me. She’d needed me to feed her, to help her sleep, to communicate for her. When did she grow up so much? How did that seem to just happen? “Mommy? Yes, I’ll get her.”
I shot her a sweet smile as I slid the phone from her hand, my chest swelling with love. “Thank you,” I mouthed, before speaking into the handset myself. “Hello?”
“She’s adorable.” As soon as I recognized his voice, I felt my heart leap up into my throat. I’d been so consumed by Rae that I forgot to ask her who it was on the other end.
“Hello, Justin. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so quickly.”
As I spoke, those words filled my mind again, and I found myself shifting awkwardly on my feet, wondering how different things would have been had I said yes.
“You know…we could go back to my hotel room. I have some more drinks there…”
“Yes, well, I’ve had my meeting with my advisors today.” His tone sounded serious which made my heart flutter like crazy. Already? I wasn’t expecting that. “And with a few tweaks to your business plan, I think there might be something we can do for you.”
“T…tweaks?” I asked anxiously as all sorts of emotions ran through my body. Was he for real? I’d thought he wasn’t really interested, but it seemed like he was taking my business plan for more seriously than I’d assumed. Maybe he did give a crap about my business, after all, and he wasn’t trying to just get into my panties. “What do you mean?”
“It’s mostly structural things. For example, I don’t think you’re anywhere near ready to franchise just yet. It’s all things I want to discuss with you in person. I’d love to come down and see you again, to let you know what’s happening this end. How does dinner on Friday night sound?”
“Oh, erm…sure,” I stammered, a little blown away by his words. It was all happening so quickly. This had to be a good sign – surely it meant that things were moving in the right direction? “I’ll see you Friday.”
“I’ll send you all the details,” he replied happily. “I look forward to it.”
As I hung up the phone, I panted heavily, seriously considering changing the structure of my business plan. I’d worked hard at it, but I guessed that I would be willing to change it for the right investor. Maybe Justin and his advisors would have a better idea, anyway. Maybe their experience would prove invaluable to me.
“Roy!” I heard Rae calling from the other side of the store, instantly dragging my attention back to the present. Roy was Justin’s friend, he had introduced me to him – if I had any questions about this man before I got too deeply involved with him, business wise, then now was the time to ask.
I plastered the big smile back on my face and stepped out to where everyone could see me. As I prepared Roy’s latte, I watched him playing with Rae out of the corner of my eye. He was so good with her; it made me smile to see them play.
“So, how’s it going?” I asked, handing him the drink. “Business okay?”
“Yeah…busy, but great,” he grinned happily. “How about you?”
“Well, I’ve actually just had a call from Justin,” I told him as my heart began to race with anticipation. Now that I was sharing the information with someone else, it felt much more real. That was shocking enough in itself, but combined with the very inappropriate dreams that I’d been having about Justin, it all felt a little overwhelming. “He wants to meet me again, with a potential investment plan.”
“That is great news,” Roy replied, sounding nowhere near as surprised as me. “I knew he’d love it.”
“Thing is…” I wanted to know all that I could. I wouldn’t risk my business for anything. “At first, he didn’t seem interested at all. He seemed to suggest that Boffees was much too small for him, so it is weird that he completely turned it around.” I hated to confess that aloud, but it needed to be said. I had to be smart.
Roy stood up straighter and furrowed his eyebrows at me. “I know Justin can come across a little arrogant at times,” he admitted, which instantly made me feel better. At least, he wasn’t just that way with me! “But he really is a good guy. His company is run well, he’s smart, efficient, and he does have a kind heart…even if it doesn’t always seem that way. It’s his brother that’s the issue.”
“His brother?” I hadn't heard anything about a brother before now. Then again, we hadn't exactly been discussing personal things, so it probably wouldn’t have come up. “What’s he like?”
“He’s a drunken womanizer, nothing like Justin at all.” Woah. I’d assumed that was exactly what Justin was like, but clearly, I was wrong. I probably shouldn’t have made that idea up in my mind; it wasn’t really fair of me. “I think that Justin does what he can for him, but there’s only so much that you can do for someone who doesn’t want any help.”
“Yeah. So, in your opinion, he would be a good investor for me?” Why was I asking this? It was almost like asking if he would be suitable to date…not that I was thinking about dating him – not during the daylight hours, anyway.
“I wouldn’t have suggested him otherwise,” he told me kindly. “He might have some personal baggage, but honestly, his business life is perfect.”
I could never judge anyone about baggage. I was full of it myself. A single mom with a very complicated past, and far too many years being alone under my belt. Justin was lucky to only have a bit of a dickhead for a brother.
“So, his brother…do their parents not get involved with him?” I was digging too deeply, I knew that, but I couldn’t stop. Roy was the never ending source of information that I so desperately needed.
“Their parents aren’t around anymore,” he replied evasively, making me feel awful for asking. “Anyway, I really do have to get to work, but I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
As he left the store, I turned back to Rae, who was happily singing and dancing for Jan and Tony, fully in her element. I was actually glad that she was around tod
ay – she could do all of the talking for me, allowing me to wallow in my own thoughts for a while.
This was the closest that I’d ever gotten to actually moving forward with expanding Boffees, and all of a sudden, that actually terrified me. It was all right to have it as a dream, to desire more, but the reality was utterly petrifying.
What if I fail? What if I’m not cut out to run a bigger company? What if I regret every second of it?
Oh God, I had to stop freaking myself out. This dinner on Friday didn’t mean anything solid, it was just dinner and a chat. I wasn’t signing any documents, making any definite decisions, so there was nothing to totally panic about.
If nothing ever came of it, at least I would have a nice evening, and this time, I wouldn’t be such a stick in the mud. Sure, the main priority of the meeting would be business related, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t get to know him a little better, too. He intrigued me in ways that I hadn't been in a very long time.
For the first time in years, inspiration flooded me, and I found myself overwhelmed with the urge to write things down. Creating my last book had been therapeutic for me; it helped me get through the most difficult time of my life, but that was it. I hadn't thought about it since. Maybe it was Justin finding my book and knowing that he’d taken it away to read it, or maybe it was the positivity that I was finally feeling, but I was itching to put pen to paper again.
I glanced over to Rae, seeing that she more or less still had full control of the place, and I grabbed my notebook out of my pocket, needing to get some of my emotions out.
I see him, standing in the corner of the room with the light falling on him at the most perfect angle. We might be at a party, surrounded by hundreds of other people, but he’s the only one that I notice. Those cheekbones, that sweet dimple, those sparkling eyes…he’s special, someone that I want to wrap my arms around and embrace wholly, but I can’t.
The reason I can’t is because he will never be mine.
For starters, he’s way out of my league. Then there’s the fact that he’s dating the most popular girl in school. There’s no way he would look at me. I’m not sexy, pretty, beautiful. I’m not the cheerleader type. I’m odd, quirky, socially awkward, nowhere near good enough for someone like Mackenzie.
That doesn’t stop me from loving him, though. I think about him all the time; he’s like an obsession, an addiction I cannot shake…
“Mom!” Rae called out, dragging me back into the real world. “Can you help me?”
As I raced to her side, wanting to give her everything that she needed, characters and a plot started to form in my mind, and I actually felt excited about where this book could go. Nothing would happen with it, just like the last one, but it’d be fun to write all the same. I remembered how much I loved getting lost in another world, and I was looking forward to doing so again.
Chapter Thirteen –
Justin – Friday
This time, the three-hour drive down to Florence was filled with very positive thoughts about my brother. Garrett had really been proving to me that he wanted to change, and I was slowly becoming convinced. Just like he promised, he came into work with me the very next day after his little speech, and I’d managed to find a suitable place for him.
Admittedly, there were a few teething issues in the beginning; for example, he didn’t like being on the research team, but to his credit, he was flying away in the marketing department. The creativity of the job suited him well, and he was doing even better than expected. Now that he was doing well, as far as I could tell, he’d stopped the drinking and acting like a twat. He was finally growing up.
I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to follow through with this trip, which was why I hadn't booked the hotel room until the very last minute, but now I was confident that I could trust him. I really felt like he could hold his shit together for a few days, and he would be just as good in the company next week.
Maybe I’d finally managed to get through to him; maybe he was finally ready to grow the hell up. If that was the case, then I would be incredibly proud of him. Maybe then one day I could hand the managerial reins over to him, giving me the freedom to do what I wanted with my life…not that I was sure what that was yet.
As I arrived, I checked into the hotel quickly, pleased that I was given the same room with that amazing view all over again…not that I had much time to enjoy it, as I was already running a little late. Because I was rushing, I didn’t bother to go full tuxedo for this dinner, instead wearing a shirt and trousers. I looked professional enough, with an element of casual there, too.
I couldn’t wait to see Annie again, and not just because she’d been in the back of my mind the entire time we were apart. I was excited to tell her how far I’d managed to get with Harry, too. He wasn’t convinced, even now; in fact, he told me that investing in Boffees would be like throwing my money down the drain. But with Garrett curbing his spending and showing some real signs of change, I finally managed to bring Harry round, just a little bit.
I thanked my lucky stars for Garrett’s awesome timing – he had literally given me more time to spend with the woman I liked a little too much for my own good. Of course, if I went into business with her, we would never be able to hook up, but that wasn’t my top concern, not this time. I wanted Annie to be happy.
“Hi there,” I smiled, my heart leaping with joy as I saw her sitting there at the restaurant table already. “I’m so sorry that I’m late; the traffic was bad.” That wasn’t strictly true, but I didn’t want to get into the long and involved story about Garrett and my mild distrust of him right now. “You look gorgeous.”
As I kissed both of her cheeks, her floral scent filled my nostrils and I felt that now familiar warmth in my chest that she gave me. I knew that I’d missed her the entire time, but it hit me hard as I felt her near me again.
“Oh, thank you.” As a blush filled her cheeks, I couldn’t help but smile to myself. Her rejection of me might have been cold before, but it was so obvious that there was something there for me, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it to herself yet.
No, stop it, I scolded myself. Don’t think like that.
“So, how have you been?” I asked her as I took my seat. “Business been good this week?”
“Yes, it’s been great, actually,” she grinned brightly. “Busy as always. How about you?”
“Crazy as always,” I replied evasively, glazing over the part where it had been one of the most life-changing weeks of my life…as long as it stuck with Garrett. “Glad to have a break.”
“Oh, well, we better get a drink then,” she joked, handing me the wine list. As my eyes scanned over the page, I debated whether or not I should tell her that I’d finished her book before deciding against it. I had so many theories on why her characters acted the way that they did, and I felt like it was all related very closely to her life, and I wasn’t sure if that was casual, over dinner conversation.
No, I would wait for the perfect moment to bring that subject up.
Once we’d placed our orders, I looked at her with real emotion in my eyes. I couldn’t keep how I was feeling inside, even if I really wanted to. “It’s good to see you again,” I admitted to her, not even caring if I was overstepping a line.
“Yeah,” she nodded, with a peaceful smile playing on her lips. “It’s good to see you again, too.”
“How’s Rae? She was great on the phone the other day!” I couldn’t believe how well she could conduct herself on the phone. If she was a little bit older, I might have considered hiring her myself.
“She’s great. Nancy has her tonight, so she’s over the moon.”
“Nancy is the babysitter, right?” I could vaguely remember that much. “Is she a friend of yours, too?”
“She is, actually,” Annie answered, taking a sip of her drink after the waiter poured it out. “She’s one of the first people that I met when I moved to Florence, and I don’t know what I’d do without her now.”
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br /> “Why did you move?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking, despite the fact I knew that it was probably inappropriate, especially if she’d had a difficult past.
“I just…I wanted a change.” Her eyes were shifting everywhere; she was fiddling with her fingers, moving uncomfortably in her seat. There was something behind her moving, something important, and I wanted to know more – but of course, I couldn’t. She had to want to tell me. “I like it here, anyway.”
“It is beautiful. Anyway, cheers to possibly being business partners.”
Our glasses clinked together, but that was all we managed to discuss when it came to business. I had all sorts that I wanted to tell her, a lot to talk about, but we kept getting distracted by other things. The more the wine flowed, the more comfortable around her I became, the more open I felt. Then I asked the one question that I’d vowed I wouldn’t: I touched on the subject I had told myself I would wait before discussing.
“Your book, is it based on anyone?”
Shit, why the hell did I ask that? From the way that Annie’s expression turned serious and her face went a little pale, I could tell that I’d done the wrong thing.
“Have you finished it?” she gasped, holding onto her chest as if her heart might burst out at any moment.
“I absolutely loved it,” I told her, wanting desperately to reassure her. “The writing is incredible. Your characters are so believable, which is why I thought that they might be based on…someone.” You, I thought in my head, but I didn’t say that aloud.
“N…no,” she stammered. “I don’t know anyone accused of murder.” She was trying to make a joke out of it, but she knew exactly what I was getting at. “I didn’t realize that you had a brother.”
I was absolutely stunned by her words. I hadn't mentioned Garrett at all, but then again, she could have always found out from Roy. It was obvious that she just wanted a distraction from the very difficult question that I’d just asked her, so I let her have her way.