The Dating Plan

by Sara Desai

  Disconcerted by the flare of heat that flooded her skin, she stumbled over her final words. “That will be too soon.”

  She left him in the foyer and hurried down the hall. After so many years, she’d finally gotten her closure. So why was her heart still pounding? And why did her lips still tingle from his kiss?

  • 3 •

  LIAM Murphy had to hand it to the cocky entrepreneur standing in front of him: the dude didn’t waste time. And in the world of venture capital funding, time was everything.

  “Disposable, biodegradable, edible, sustainable sex toys made with kombucha slime.” The thin weasel-like man with slicked down hair and a peach-fuzz moustache held up a thick ring made of what looked to be amber-colored plastic laced with oil.

  “What’s our scorecard for sex toys this afternoon?” Liam murmured to his junior associate, James Sunjata. After scrambling to be noticed in New York, James had jumped at the chance to move to San Francisco to help Liam open the new West Coast office, with a view to taking over when Liam joined the partnership.

  Evolution’s management had all but promised Liam a seat at the partnership table, and that would mean a permanent return to New York. It would be the pinnacle of his career. He would show the world that a high school delinquent could rise to the top of his profession, even without a college degree.

  If only his grandfather were alive to share in his success. It was life’s cruel irony that only a few weeks after Liam had moved back to San Francisco and reconnected with his grandfather after an almost twenty-year estrangement, the old man had passed away. Between the houseful of Irish relatives, the funeral arrangements, the wake, and the pressures of working in a temporary space while he and James tried to find a new office, he hadn’t had time to properly mourn.

  “This is pitch number five,” James said quietly. “But it’s the first sex toy made of slime.”

  Liam had made up his mind after the word slime, but this was supposed to be a learning opportunity, and after bumping into Daisy, his head wasn’t fully in the game. He handed the reins to James. “First impressions?”

  “Honestly, it sounds kind of exciting,” James said. “Biodegradable sex toys? Do you know how many of those things wind up in landfills?”

  “We call it King Kom.” The inventor handed the sample to James. “I’ve tested it extensively. Six hours and I was still going strong. Eight hours and it just melted away.”

  While the inventor set up his slideshow and James examined the product, Liam flipped through the conference brochure searching for Daisy’s company. Although Daisy had made it clear she didn’t want to see him again, he was desperately curious about her life. What did she do at Organicare? No doubt something high level. She’d been a straight A student, and one of the smartest people he’d ever known—capable of work way beyond her grade level. Hell, the only reason he’d graduated from high school was because of her.

  Although he had been capable of doing the work, he just hadn’t been interested. He’d had too much on his plate, dealing with his dysfunctional family, to waste time adding up numbers or drawing diagrams of food chains. But any time he had “accidentally” left an assignment on the Patels’ kitchen table, he’d found it completed and tucked into his backpack, all ready to be handed in. Daisy had never mentioned it directly, and he’d never thanked her, but it was clear she had understood that admitting he needed help was a weakness he couldn’t afford to show. The feelings of unworthiness that he had tried so hard to keep buried could never have been spoken out loud.

  Turning his attention back to the pitch, he asked James, “What do you think?”

  “Um . . .” James cleared his throat. “It’s . . . uh . . . Interesting . . . uh . . . Slimy.”

  “‘Interesting’ isn’t good enough. If you think it’s worth going through due diligence, you have to try it out. Would you use a kombucha slime ring in the heat of passion?”

  James grimaced. “No, sir.”

  “That’s a problem,” Liam said. “The dude wants five million for a five percent stake in his company. That means you have to think of five million reasons why it’s a good idea before we can put the proposal to the partners, and one of those reasons has to be that you believe in it and you’ve seen it work.”

  “It’s pretty much all I can see.” James tucked the ring back into its plastic packet.

  “Do you believe in King Kom?” Liam persisted. “Would you be happy to go to trade shows and Costcos extolling the virtues of the product to convince distributors to put it on their shelves? Are you ready to save the environment one King Kom slime ring at a time?”

  James paled. “Not when you put it that way.”

  After the slideshow presentation and a show-and-tell of the various products, Liam thanked the inventor and offered the usual platitude. “It’s an interesting concept. We’ll be in touch.”

  “We’ve got the guy with the instant sobriety pill next,” James said after he’d gone. “I’m looking forward to this one!”

  Liam checked his phone while the next inventor set up at the front of the room. He could still smell Daisy’s perfume on his shirt, a soft, sensual floral scent that brought back memories of the evenings he’d spent with the Patels when things were too difficult at home. What were the chances of running into her again after all these years? Granted he had only been back in San Francisco a few weeks, but with almost eight million residents in the Bay Area, the chances of seeing her again had been slim.

  And yet, fate had brought them together again. She was everything he remembered and much, much more, from the softly rounded curves to the beautiful oval face, and from her keen intelligence to her sharp wit. He’d spent years resisting the siren call of his best friend’s little sister, but now that he’d found her again . . .

  Don’t go there. With a shake of his head, he pushed those thoughts away. His father had made sure Liam knew he wasn’t good enough for anything or anyone, much less a girl like Daisy. Even though he’d made something of his life, inside he was still his father’s son—unworthy and unwanted, a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Daisy deserved so much more.

  And then there was the fact that she hated him.

  “He’s ready,” James murmured, pulling him out of his reverie.

  “This pill is the miracle cure everyone has been looking for.” The inventor handed Liam a small plastic packet. “You drink all night, take one of these, and boom, fifteen minutes later you’re legal to drive.”

  “This could be our unicorn,” James whispered as the inventor scribbled chemical formulas on the whiteboard at the front of the room.

  Every junior associate wanted to find the elusive unicorn—the product or company that was an instant success. Even Liam, Evolution’s most successful senior associate of all time, had only ever found one.

  “Possibly, but I recognize his name. He has a reputation in the industry for falsifying his results.” Not only that, the moment the inventor had opened his mouth, Liam’s instincts had screamed a warning. In the end, investment decisions came down to people, and no idea was worth the headache of trying to work with a difficult CEO. Ideas were easy. Running a business was hard, and running a business with a venture capital firm breathing down your neck took a strength and commitment not many people had.

  James sighed. “I knew it was too good to be true.”

  Even if his gut hadn’t told him something was off, Liam would have turned the inventor down. Big and broad, with a thick beard and thinning hair on top, the dude looked too much like his dad, right down to the vodka bottle on the table beside him.

  Liam would never have considered moving back to San Francisco when his dad was alive. The city wasn’t big enough for both of them. The birth of his nephew, Jaxon, and his grandfather’s poor health had finally brought him back, but only for brief visits when he had business in the city. It was only last year, after his father
had died in a drunk driving accident, that Liam had offered to move to San Francisco to set up a West Coast office that would give Evolution access to the Silicon Valley market. Six months later, the partnership had agreed, affording Liam the opportunity to reconnect with his family in a meaningful way.

  “Thank you,” Liam said at the end of the pitch. “We’ll be in touch.”

  The inventor’s face morphed from hopeful to furious in a heartbeat. “You’re passing up the greatest opportunity of your life,” he spat as he stormed out the door.

  “I passed up the greatest opportunity of my life a long time ago.” Memories of Daisy’s prom night twisted his gut. “Which is how I can wish you the best of luck and feel no regret.”

  James checked the schedule after the door swung closed. “We’re done for the day. Do you want to go for a drink? Maybe test out the product?”

  Liam shook his head. “You can take it. Let me know how it works out. My family is getting together tonight for the reading of my grandfather’s will, and one last party before some of our overseas guests head back to Ireland. A traditional Irish sendoff involves copious amounts of booze. One pill won’t be enough.”

  After parting ways with James, Liam wandered past the conference rooms checking the schedules posted on the doors until he found Organicare listed on a pitch session. Pushing the door open he slipped inside and leaned against the back wall. Daisy was seated at a table beside an older, slightly rumpled man who was passionately explaining the company’s products. He introduced Daisy as one of the company’s senior software engineers and she stood to give her demonstration, pouring blue liquid on the pads set out on the table in front of her. Not a task one usually gave a software engineer, but maybe her boss had her lined up for a project manager promotion.

  With one hand in his pocket, toying with the penknife his grandfather had given him when he was a boy, he watched Daisy field questions about the company website and sourcing software without even a hint of the shyness or awkwardness she’d had as a girl. Calm, competent, and quietly confident, she was clearly the star of the show.

  His phone vibrated in his hand and he glanced at the screen. Brendan was texting yet again to find out what time he would be at their grandfather’s house. His older brother just couldn’t help himself. Despite the fact that Liam had found success, Brendan still acted as if he expected Liam to let him down.

  He texted Brendan to let him know he was on his way. With one last, lingering look at the only woman he had ever wanted, he slipped out the door and walked away.

  • 4 •

  “UNCLE Liam!” Jaxon raced down the hallway of Liam’s grandfather’s house, his small voice barely audible above the cacophony of sound coming from the living room. No matter what the occasion, when his Irish relatives got together, there was always music, laughter, whiskey, and usually a fight.

  “How’s my favorite nephew?” He lifted Brendan’s son into his arms, grateful for the distraction. Still shaken by his unexpected meeting with Daisy, he had spent the drive trying to think of a way to see her again so he could try to make things right between them. Ten years was too long to leave unfinished business, especially when that business involved a woman he’d desperately wanted and couldn’t have.

  “I’m Uncle Liam’s favorite nephew!” Jaxon beamed. At five years old, fair-haired Jaxon was the spitting image of his dad, right down to the blue eyes.

  “You’re his only nephew.” Liam’s sister-in-law, Lauren, leaned up to kiss Liam’s cheek. “Thanks for coming.”

  Tall and slim, her hair a glossy chestnut, cut in soft, long layers that flattered her tanned skin, Lauren was a corporate lawyer and the least likely person Liam would ever have expected his brother to marry. After three failed relationships with women whose physical attributes outshone their common sense, Brendan had married smart, sensible Lauren in a small ceremony at her parents’ house in Santa Cruz, and six years later they were still going strong.

  “I only came because Brendan thought I wouldn’t.” He dug around in his pocket for the toy plane he had brought for Jaxon. His nephew shared his love of planes and motorcycles, and they’d had many days out at the airport, watching planes together.

  “Whatever the reason, it will mean a lot to him,” she said. “Things haven’t been going well with the company. Maybe you could talk to him.”

  Liam frowned. “I’ve never been involved in Murphy Motors so I’m not sure why he would tell me anything. You know how Brendan feels about me.”

  “It’s about the distillery—”

  “Is that for me?” Jaxon snatched the plane from Liam’s hand. “Mom, look!”

  Lauren smiled and turned her attention to the new toy, while Liam tried to puzzle out what interest Brendan could have in the run-down distillery that his great-grandfather had built in Napa Valley after emigrating from Ireland. A replica of the original Murphy & Sons Distillery that had been in the Murphy family since 1750, it had been handed down from father to oldest son, until Liam’s father had turned his back on tradition to found Murphy Motors, tearing the family apart. Brendan had joined the car business after graduating from college, eventually taking over the company when their father died.

  “Daddy, look what Uncle Liam gave me!” Jaxon held up the toy plane when Brendan joined them in the narrow hallway. “It’s a 747.”

  Brendan’s face softened. A taller, heavier version of his son, Brendan resembled their father, whereas Liam took after their mother. But they both shared the Murphy blue eyes of their father, grandfather, and the Murphy men before them. “That was very nice of him. I hope you said thank you.”

  “Thank you!” Jaxon lifted his arms for a hug.

  An unexpected warmth filled Liam as he bent down for Jaxon to wrap his arms around his neck. He’d never allowed himself to imagine having kids of his own, but sometimes with Jaxon . . .

  “You’re so good with him.” Lauren smiled as Jaxon ran into the living room. “You talk to him like he’s an adult and not a kid.”

  “He’s got interesting things to say.”

  “You’d be a great dad. Don’t you ever want—?”

  “No.” It wasn’t just that he’d seen so many marriages fail and so many people suffer. He’d never met anyone who’d made him want to try. There was only one woman he’d ever imagined a future with, and now that she’d rejected him, it was clear he’d made the right decision the night he’d walked away.

  “I see you came dressed for the occasion.” Brendan gestured vaguely at Liam’s leather jacket. “Couldn’t you have left the motorcycle at home just this once? The lawyer will be here in twenty minutes, and we should look like we at least made an effort—”

  Christ. Five minutes with Brendan and his hands were already clenched into fists. The dude was so uptight, Liam was amazed he’d ever been able to have a son.

  “I don’t do suits.” Venture capitalists dressed only a step above the inventors who were the bread and butter of their business. Liam followed the crowd with button-down shirts, khakis, and dress pants, but he drew the line at North Face jackets and fleece vests. If he had to cover up for warmth, it was his leather motorcycle jacket or freeze. As for shoes, he wouldn’t be caught dead in white lace-up sneakers. His worn black leather boots took him from motorcycle to work and back again.

  “My mistake. I thought you were a professional.” As usual, Brendan was dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and bland-as-hell tie.

  “Knock it off, you two.” Lauren squeezed between them. “You have a house full of relatives to entertain. Don’t let them see you like this or they’ll lay on the Catholic guilt and you’ll get another lecture about being good brothers.”

  “I don’t have to deal with the guilt trips since I converted to atheism.” Liam followed Lauren down the hallway. “It just washes right over me.”

  Brendan snorted, unwittingly taking the bait. “People don�
��t ‘convert’ to atheism.”

  “I did.” He shot a sideways glance over his shoulder at his very conservative, religious big brother. They had been at odds since the day Liam’s parents brought him home from the hospital and four-year-old Brendan tried to drown him in the bath. Brendan was a typical firstborn. He was a rule follower, cautious and conservative, and very ambitious. He had never been able to understand Liam’s wild, reckless, and rebellious nature.

  “I unbaptized myself,” Liam continued, unable to resist the temptation to wind up his brother. “Now I’m a free agent. No hellfire. No threat of eternal damnation. No church on Sunday. No Hail Marys or Our Fathers. And no guilt. It’s very liberating.”

  “If you were any more liberated, you’d be—”

  “Tell him about the company, Bren.” Lauren interrupted with a gentle hand on his arm. “I’m sure Liam will want to help.”

  “Are you kidding? The only person Liam helps is himself.”

  Liam shot Lauren a sideways look. What did she see in his brother? Brendan was rigid, controlling, self-absorbed, and often abrasive. He had never been there for Liam when they were kids, and Liam couldn’t imagine he was there for Lauren now. Not that he was complaining. If it weren’t for Lauren, he would never have had a relationship with Jaxon.

  “Lauren mentioned the distillery . . .” Liam offered, curious about what was going on.

  Brendan sighed. “I hate to say it, but Grandpa’s death came at the perfect time. I desperately need the cash to keep the family business going.”

  “The distillery is the family business,” Liam spat out. “And that’s a damn cold thing to say. I know you and Grandpa weren’t close but . . .”

  “He didn’t mean it that way,” Lauren said quickly. “He’s just stressed. Aren’t you, Bren?”

  “Liam’s right,” Brendan said. “Grandpa never liked me. He said I was too much like Da and he never forgave Da for turning his back on the distillery to start Murphy Motors. But the joke’s on him. Tradition says it goes from oldest son to oldest son. Unless he decided to change the legacy, the distillery will be mine, and I’m going to knock it down and sell the land to save Murphy Motors. How’s that for irony?”