Page 113 of Hold Me Instead
Her head jerked back. “Who? Your dad?”
He gave her a single nod.
Daniel didn’t want her to know what was going on? What could be that extreme?
“Oh my God. He’s not giving me the practice, is he?” The words were a whisper.
Zachary looked at his lap.
“Wow.” She melted into her seat, spinning to look out her window, the trees a blur.
The wheels of Zachary’s chair churned the short distance, and he reached for her hand.
“It’s not that. He wants you to have it.” He cursed under his breath.
Charlie looked at him, saw his anguish as he struggled between telling her or not. She couldn’t bring herself to ease his worry, couldn’t tell him not to bother. She needed to know.
“The practice is completely tapped out.” He brought his gaze up to hers and held it. “He even took out another loan. I guess a number of pro bono things turned into too much, and in order to cover expenses and keep prices low with the competitors…Well. He’s in too deep.”
Charlie blinked slowly, the words sinking in. “Okay. What can I do to help?”
He huffed out a soft laugh and squeezed her hand, releasing it so he could pace the room. “That’s the problem. He doesn’t want your help.”
“Why not?”
“Many reasons. But he’d rather let this place sink than pass it to you with a mountain of debt.”
Charlie swallowed. “How bad is it really? I have some money saved. I could still buy in, help alleviate some of it.”
Zachary was already shaking his head. “No. He doesn’t want you to cover it.”
“Well then, what other option is there?”
“Getting a buyer.”
She threw her hands out wide. “I could be a buyer!”
“He doesn’t want it to be you!”
Her stomach dropped, his next words hitting her harder.
“He wants me to take over the practice, Charlie. Transfer it through family means.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Then what, kick me out?”
He shook his head. “No. He wants you to be part of it, but I know you’d hate that. You don’t want to work for me.”
“No.”Right?
“See, no hesitation. Not that I blame you. But the other thing is…” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Neptune Corp has given him an offer.”
Charlie pushed out of her seat. “No, he can’t sell to them. This won’tbeEFVH anymore. It can’t become part of some corporate machine. Our clients didn’t ask for that!”
Zachary’s nods were slow. She stepped toward him and set her hands on his shoulders. They finally locked eyes, and she felt it, deep in her gut. A hum of energy was buzzing through her, and she hoped she was interpreting it right.
“What if we buy it together?” she asked.
“That’s not—”
