Page 72 of Advanced Chemistry

“Do you see yourselves doing this business long term, or do I have to worry about you getting bored and moving onto the next thing?”

It was a fair question. People our age switched majors and careers on the regular. He didn’t want to be left with vending machines and nobody to service them.

“Hollis, that’s a great question, and I understand where you’re coming from,” said Sebastian. “We are in this for the long haul. We love what we do, working with customers. We’re not going anywhere.”

An inappropriate flutter of butterflies hit my stomach when Seb said that. Was he really invested in doing this long-term, or was he just saying that to satisfy Hollis?

“I love your passion and enthusiasm. You have that fire that I had when I was your age.”

“That you still have,” I said.

Hollis teepeed his fingers together, giving us a quizzical look. “Do you have serious girlfriends?”

Usually, I was good at sensing where a prospect’s head was at and what questions he might have. This was a first, and it threw me for a loop.

I locked eyes with the cowboy hat and in a split second made a choice not to correct him. “We do not.”

Sebastian didn’t jump in and object.

“I know it’s not only any of my business, but I like working with people who have families. It gives them a sense of commitment that single fellas might not have. No offense. I know how it is. I was a single fella once.”

“We are very committed to Beverage Solutions. I turned down a scholarship to give this business my full attention,” Sebastian said.

“We’ve taken out loans. We have over twenty clients. We mean business, Hollis.” I cracked my most confident smile.

“You are very motivated individuals, I’ll give you that. But as I said, I’m in this for the long haul. What’s tying you down? What’s stopping you from picking up and backpacking across Europe for six months?”

I was about to say that I don’t even have a passport, but that probably would only convince him less. I was used to handling objections to our company, not objections to my life.

“What’s tying any of us down?” Sebastian asked, his voice getting barbed. “People pick up and leave families, too.”

I wanted to reach over and squeeze his hand in support.

“That’s true. I like working with people who have roots—family, real estate. We’re a family company here. My wife and I started this together when we had two little rugrats at home. They were my why, pushing me to work harder. I’m not saying no. I like your product, and I believe in your passion. I’m going to think about it. I have to look out for this company, for my customers. I’d be signing a substantial amount with you. I don’t want to be in a position where the vending machines are down, and we can’t get in touch with you.”

“You would have both of our cell phone numbers. Call us twenty-four seven,” I said, then clamped my mouth shut before I sounded desperate.

“Why don’t we touch base in a week?”

Touch base was the fuck off of business jargon. He might as well have kicked us in the balls. Still, I made Hollis set a time and date on the calendar, even though he would likely blow us off.

Were we being rejected for being single?

“What the fuckity fuck?” I asked as soon as Sebastian and I got into the elevator.

“That was interesting. I wish Craig would’ve warned us that Hollis was big into families.” Sebastian watched the floors tick by.

“It’s a shame we’resingle fellas,” I said in Hollis’s voice. The man was born and bred New Yorker yet had the slightest Texas twang. It had to be fake.

“Are we?” Sebastian glanced my way, but had trouble meeting my eyes. “Are we single?”

Shit. I knew what he was getting at, and it caused my throat to tighten. If three people hung out enough and had sex enough and cuddled enough, did that make them a real couple? Were we still exploring?

The elevator suddenly got very stuffy, the walls closing in around us. I couldn’t think about this along with stressing about Hollis.

The doors dinged open to the lobby. I beelined outside, where I inhaled fresh, much-needed open air.

“Fuck his family values,” I said. I wanted to put this meeting in the rearview mirror and bathe in hot sin. “If we’re young, single fellas, let’s be young, single fellas.”

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