Page 44 of Sunset Serenade
Not in the mood to joke.She sat back down. “What’s up?”
He leaned forward, eyes downcast. “It seems like this deal is going to go through, and Brett is insisting on meeting with you. He read the story in the paper and says you’re a company asset.”
“Oh. Is that all?” Rose took a breath and released the tension from her shoulders. That wasnothingcompared to being found out to be a fraud and a con artist. “I don’t mind. Unless you’re afraid I’ll mess it up.”
He peered up at her, a smile finally cracking his stony expression. “How could you even think that?”
Her heart trembled, a useless flutter, like a butterfly against her ribs.
It was just nerves. She wasn’t used to living a lie. “Why are you so afraid of me meeting him, then?”
“I don’t know.” He sighed, his head hanging low. “I’m not sure about this deal in general, and I have no one to blame but myself. I’m the one who lured Brett here in the first place. I’m the one who convinced him he wanted to buy the company.”
“It can’t be that bad.Hecan’t be that bad.” She paused. “Especially if we’ll all be working for him soon.”
Craig was quiet for a moment. “I think it’s what it is. I don’t like him, and I don’t want to give him my baby.”
Rose couldn’t help herself. “I’m not a baby, Craig. I’m thirty years old.”
This time he laughed, a real, hearty laugh. “I don’t mean you, obviously. I mean the app. The company. All of SerenadeMe.” He sighed. “I love this place. I know it’s just a silly dating app, and in the grand scheme of things, none of it matters – but I love the people here. I care about them, and I love what we’ve built.”
“Do youhave tosell to Brett?”
“At this point, yeah. Brett seemed fine at first, but then…I got to know him.” He leaned his head down again, rubbing his face with his hands. “Now it’s not up to me. We’re a publicly traded company, so we have to do what’s in the best interest of the investors.”
“And they want to sell to Brett?”
“Yes, the board wants to.” He nodded. “Barney would sell to anyone at this point, he’s so desperate to retire.”
“Retire?” Rose laughed. “He’s not even thirty-five years old.”
“I know, but he put everything into building this company, and now he’s got nothing left to give.”
She winced. “That’s bleak.”
“It is.” He sat, his shoulders slumped, his eyes downcast. “I’m the idiot who thought he could fix everything.”
It looked like he needed a hug. Rose clenched her hands under her desk, trying to resist the urge to get up and wrap her arms around him. “You’re not an idiot. Not at all.”
He scoffed. “Thanks.”
Do not hug your boss. You are not allowed to hug your boss.“So what if they want to sell to Brett? What do you want?”
He looked up at her, his eyes wide, his hair tousled. “It doesn’t matter what I want.” Craig stood and buttoned his suit jacket. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dumped this on you. I’m just…I needed you to know that I’m genuinely sorry you have to deal with Brett.”
“I believe you,” she said with a small smile. “You’re forgiven.”
His eyes met hers for the briefest of moments and that butterfly took off again.
Quiet, little butterfly.
“He’s going to be here this afternoon,” Craig said. “Can you meet with him?”
“Absolutely. I’ll tell him I’m doing experiments on all the clients and scare him away. Problem solved.”
A weak smile flickered on his face. “Ha. Yeah. That would be nice. Good luck, and again, I’m sorry.”
He disappeared from her office and Rose stood, trying to stuff away the unsettled feeling in her chest.
