Page 27 of Stirring Up Love
Mr.Donovan leaned his elbows on the table, face impassive under a well-groomed beard. “While you two kids were flirting, Constance and I had a little heart-to-heart.”Flirting?
“We’ve decided we want both of you, or neither,” Donovan clarified. “Our offer would be two hundred thousand dollars, contingent on a merger.”
A merger? A partnership, with Simone Blake, of all people?
Keith went on, like he hadn’t handed down a gift-wrapped prison sentence. “We want to franchise Honey and Hickory, get Finn’s Secret Sauce into major retailers. We’re investing in your personalities as muchas your companies. There are many barbecue brands out there, but this spicy dynamic between the two of you? Now that’s proprietary.”
A murmur of agreement arose from the audience. Keith looked toward Constance, who inclined her head in a crisp nod.
“You two are dynamite together.” She smoothly took the reins of the conversation. “Ms.Blake has the restaurant and far more experience in the business realm. Mr.Rimes’s sauces offer a unique twist on traditional barbecue flavors. Combined, you’re a match made in heaven.” She smiled with a flash of canines. “Or maybe hell. And we all know that’s way more fun.”
Hell—that’s exactly where he’d landed. Flat on his back, belly up, nostrils singed with the scent of sulfur and scorched dreams. On fire. Go into business with his rival, or walk away with nothing.
He could kiss his dreams goodbye or say farewell to his sanity. If he’d lost precious sleep over Simone when they’d crossed paths once a week, how much worse would it be to work with her?
The overhead lights spun toward center stage as the show’s host strode out between him and Simone. “You heard the investors,” she told the audience. “Using your tablets, you may cast a vote in favor of Simone Blake and Finn Rimes, or against them.”
She spun in a slow circle to give the illusion of making eye contact with everyone watching. “Again, if you want our investors to take a chance on these entrepreneurs, vote yes. If you want to send them home empty handed, vote no. Is everyone ready?”
The audience pulled the voting devices out from under their seats, faces lit by the glow of the tablet screens. Finn bit his lip and shifted his eyes toward Simone. She stood frozen, taut as a sprinter on the starting blocks. Maybe she felt his gaze, because she flicked her eyes over, narrowing them, and his gumption crumbled to dust.
At this point, getting out of the studio alive would be a win. Thank God for an audience of witnesses. Otherwise, he was pretty sure Simone would’ve laid hands on him by now. Violent hands, notthosekinds of hands ...
And now he was arguing with his subconscious.
A high-pitched sound, like the beep of a scooter horn, interrupted his internal struggle. Finn coughed down a hysterical chuckle at the sound effect. But Simone wasn’t laughing. In fact, she hadn’t cracked a smile since he’d licked the sauce off her finger.
Since he’d licked the sauce off her finger.Licked. Simone’s. Finger. On live TV. Shame engulfed him like a cocoon, but he couldn’t hide from the memory. This insane proposed merger wasn’t the only reason for her frown.
“All right, all votes are in.” The host faced the investors with a dramatic sweep of her hands. “The results are now displayed on your touch screens. So tell us, will these two get a deal, or is their barbecue nothing but burnt ends?”
A hushed word went up from somewhere in the audience, quiet.Deal.
Then again.Deal.The chant gained steam, picking up among the members of the shadowed audience.Deal. Deal. Deal. Deal.
Despite his desire to flee the room in shame, Finn found himself caught up in the energy. Maybe they could make this work. Maybe the investors were right, and he and Simone were some kind of oddball dream team.
He checked her reaction. Eyes drilling into his soul, she very deliberately pressed the toe of one shoe to the floor and swiveled it back and forth, like she was grinding a bug into oblivion.
Or not.
Ms.Rivera held up her tablet. Raising her voice to be heard above the chants, she said, “The audience has spoken.” The room went quiet, and Finn leaned forward, felt Simone do the same. Pulled by an invisible strand of spider’s silk toward their destiny. Or their demise.
Constance grinned. “In our first unanimous vote in show history, you two have yourselves a deal.”
CHAPTER 11
FINN
Finn jogged to catch up to Simone and dove for the exit, but she let go of the heavy door, which slammed back in his face. He jammed his foot into the opening and bit back a curse as it smashed his toes.
Shouldering his way out, he called after her, “Are we not going to talk this over like adults?” Pain gave his words an edge.
She spun on her murderously pointy stilettos, and he had to stop short to avoid running into her chest. A chest he’d never noticed, certainly not now, when it heaved with each breath. He swallowed hard but held his ground, not backing up.
“Don’t you mean talk it out likepartners?” The ironic emphasis she put on the last word hit him like a punch to the solar plexus.Partners.What torture had he signed up for?
Chest tight, he nodded. “Like partners. Sure. Yes.”
