Page 98 of The Floral Arrangement

The elevator shot up to the thirty-first level. I stared at the floor, trying to avoid the mirrors that reflected my bright floral outfit to infinity from all angles, making it seem even more garish. It was almost a relief when the doors opened and I walked out into a stark white foyer with yet another reception desk.

A woman sat behind the desk in a black pantsuit with a sleek headset on her black hair that was tied in a ponytail.

“Hi. Um, I’m Olivia Mitchell. Here to see Fred. I mean, Mr. Stockdon.” Sweat prickled my armpits. Was it suddenly very hot in here?

The woman’s eyes flicked down to the screen in front of her. “Mr. Stockdon is in a meeting right now, but he said he’d see you once it has ended, which should be around eleven a.m. Please take a seat.” She gestured to three black leather couches near the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows.

I walked over and sat next to the window. I peered out, hoping the view would calm my nerves.God, we were up high.Tiny people scurried down on the pavement, while cars, taxis, buses and motorcycles moved slowly down the street. If I leaned in, I could just spot a green glimpse of Central Park. I smoothed my hands over my thighs and then stood up and peered out the window from a different angle, before sitting again, this time with my legs jiggling. The receptionist shot me a look.I need to calm down.

I took a deep breath, trying to visualize myself in the middle of the flower fields, dahlias stretching out around me, inhaling their earthy, slightly sweet scent.My happy place.My shoulders relaxed. Suddenly, a herd of cows appeared in the fields, trampling my precious flowers and snapping them off at the stems with their teeth. My chest constricted. So much for a relaxing meditation.

“Olivia.”

I started at Fred’s voice.

Heart racing, I jumped up and walked toward him. He wore a charcoal-gray suit, polished black shoes, and a white shirt. His face matched his voice—calm and serious.

“Come through.” Fred swiped his pass next to a door, opened it and ushered me through. I followed him down a hallway of glass offices until we reached a large corner one. Expensive-looking landscape paintings adorned the walls. The windows offered a view of Rockefeller Center.

When he’d shut the door behind us, he gestured for me to take a seat in front of his large redwood desk. He walked around and sat facing me.

I gulped. “Thanks for agreeing to see me.”

Fred shuffled some papers on his desk. “I thought about turning you away, but since you came this far, I’ll give you a few minutes.”

“Thank you.” I cleared my throat. “I’m so sorry for lying to you, Fred. I completely understand we betrayed your trust. I was hoping you’d be willing to let me explain what happened, in case it changes your mind.”

Fred put down the papers and fixed me with a stare. “Okay. Go ahead. I’ve got five minutes.”

Despite the time constraints, I started from the beginning—the very beginning. I spoke fast, the words jumbling out as I told Fred about Roz and I meeting at Pryde, the phone number mishap and then Roz blurting out my name as a way to get her mom off her back. And then me showing up at Red Tractor Farm, guns blazing.

“Roz wasn’t trying to trick you into lending us the money on false pretenses. I just jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of Roz’s mom introducing me as her girlfriend to try to influence you and Roz to save the flower farm and, by extension, Sapphire Blooms. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision and Roz was so taken aback, she played along, only afterwards realizing what a hole we’d dug for ourselves.”

Fred frowned. “You could have come clean to me then.”

I dropped my head and gazed at my hands in my lap. “What we’d done just sounded so ridiculous, we thought you wouldn’t want to lend money to idiots who’d gotten themselves into that position.” I peered up at Fred.

Fred snorted. “Well, perhaps.”

“Not only that, but Roz worried that you’d already feel it was a betrayal of trust. At the time, it felt like an innocuous enough lie. Why did it matter who Roz dated? And then, what began as a rather acrimonious partnership developed into something else.” I swallowed.

Fred raised his eyebrows. “I see.”

“I’m so sorry, Fred. I put Roz in an impossible position, one she felt terrible about.It was my fault.”

Fred nodded, his face still serious. “I can think of a number of ways the two of you—not just you—could have handled the situation differently, but I appreciate the context and the apology.”

I took a deep breath. “Even though I’ve only properly known Roz for six weeks, I can assure you that she’s a very trustworthy and sensible person, and that this whole situation was very out of character for her. Both of us will do everything we can to regain your trust.”

I looked at Fred, trying to gauge his reaction, but his face was neutral.Shit. Give me something, Fred.

“Not only that, but the investment is an excellent business decision. Roz has the vision and the drive to make Red Tractor Farm an incredible success, and if you—and Roz—still want me to be involved, I’ll happily continue to make myself available. Or I—I can stay away, if that would make you more comfortable.” I winced at the increasingly desperate tone to my voice.

Panic bubbled in my chest. Fred’s gaze held mine, his face expressionless. He did not appear to have been swayed by my speech.

“I came here to try to save both Red Tractor Farm and Sapphire Blooms. If Roz shuts down the flower operations, Sapphire Blooms will need to close. But I completely understand if the flowers and Sapphire Blooms aren’t your priority, especially not after the role I played in this whole situation. But please… please at least invest enough money to keep the farm going and to build the event space. You know Roz would make it a success. You’ve seen how passionate she is. She’s smart and determined and loves the farm fiercely.”

I shuffled in my seat. As painful as it was, I could live with the fact that my actions had caused Sapphire Blooms’ demise. I had no one to blame but myself and I’d do everything in my power to ensure Maddie found a new job. But the farm… that was more than I could bear.

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