Page 16 of Stirring Up Love
“I mean, they were very real.”
Darius looked up at him like he was an imbecile. “Dude, obviously she is not a witch.”
“Right. I just—”
Darius’s eyes went wide, and he blew out a whistle. Finn tossed a tomato at him. Sometimes he still felt like a gullible teen loser around savvy, accomplished Darius, who’d been about to graduate college when his mother became Finn’s guardian.
“Anyway, you’re not going to let her scare you off, are you?”
“I’m not scared. I’m going to stay away because it’s not worth my effort.”
“So you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared.”
“So you’re going back next week.”
“Darius ...”
“C’mon, Finn. What’s the worst that could happen? No way she’s got another group of knitters on her payroll to muscle you out. Or are you worried she hexed your spot?” Darius waggled his fingers at him, and Finn flicked them away.
“I don’t know what she’s capable of.” And he had no interest in discovering her capabilities. Professional or otherwise.
“So why not go back and carry on with your business? I’m sure this barbecue woman used up all her magic on the knitters.”
“Okay, Dad,” Finn said to end the argument. “But you can forget about that reality-show crap. I am not going to put on a suit and parade myself for entitled investors with a silver spoon up their butt.” Guys like him did not fare well in the spotlight. And he wasn’t a winner, plain and simple.
Darius sucked his teeth. “Man, you piss me off. When are you going to reach out and take a chance?”
“Are you forgetting I’m a grown man now? Stop trying to run my life.”
“I would if you stopped holding yourself back.”
Avoiding Darius’s eyes, Finn crumpled the empty bag of croutons. “They’re never going to pick me anyway.”
Shoot, that sounded way more needy than he’d meant it to. He didn’twantto go on some lame show. And besides, his track record in the getting-picked department was abysmal. Why get his hopes up?
With a self-satisfied grin, Darius held out his phone. “They already did.”
“I’m sorry, what, now?”
Darius’s grin broadened. “I said, they already chose you. Check it out.”
Finn’s eyes fell to the cell phone, and he scanned the screen. An email thanking him for his application, telling him he’d been selected to appear as a contestant onThe Executives.
“I applied on your behalf. And they chose you to be on the show.”
Finn felt the world tip, shoved off its axis by those three foreign words.They chose you.His mouth stumbled to catch up with his careening thoughts. “When? How?”
“A few months ago,” Darius answered. “I knew you’d never apply.” Damn straight he wouldn’t. Waste of time. Except ...
They actually wanted him? Out of all the businesses that had applied to go on the show, they’d picked Finn’s Secret Sauce? Seen potential inhiscompany?
The proof was in his hands, spelled out on the screen, and his heart began to pound.
“They want you on the show, man!” Darius nudged his shoulder, and Finn cracked a smile, excitement overtaking shock. “But I didn’t accept for you. That decision is yours. Filming doesn’t take place untillater this year, but the deadline to respond is next week.” He pointed to a date at the bottom of the screen.
December. Half a year away. Half a year until his life might change forever.
