Page 15 of The Bargain
“Listen to your brother, Grant,” my father urges. “He’s trying to help.”
“He’s trying all right,” Grant snaps. “But with his own agenda.”
I shake my head at my father. “And you wonder why I avoid him.” I push to my feet and head for the door.
Exiting the building, I find the doorman at his post, and he motions to a black SUV, where a fifty-something man is leaning on the car. The driver straightens and opens the rear door for me. Once we’re both inside, Sofia is instantly on my mind. There is so much fucked up shit with my family that I don’t think about when I’m with her. I want to see her. I dial up Harper. “What happened?” she asks. “Did Walker help?”
“It’s handled. It’s not what we thought but still shitty. I’ll give you details later. What’s going on with Sophia's deal?”
“We just talked about this. I’m a miracle worker, but not God himself. I need a few days to get it done.”
“I’m going to see her. I’ll get it done.”
“No. You are not. You sit on the board. You cannot be knocking boots with her while in negotiations. No. That won’t just hurt you with Moore’s, it will hurt your reputation if it gets out.”
“No one will know.”
“You can’t say that for sure. Wait until it’s done.”
I grit my teeth. “You have seventy-two hours. I’m headed to Denver on day three. When I land, I expect the contract to be executed.”
“Ethan—”
“End of topic. I need to go.” I disconnect and charter my flight to Denver.
I don’t know what it is about Sofia that does me so right, but I’m pretty sure it’s everything about her.
And I need that right now. I need her.
Besides, we have unfinished business that requires negotiation, preferably without our clothes on, but I’ll take Sofia any way I can get her, too.
Chapter Ten
Sofia
Thenextmorning,onlytwenty-four hours after reconnecting with Harper, I’ve barely opened the store when my father stops by with breakfast tacos and coffee. We huddle at my desk to have a quick chat before he heads out to see to a meeting. “Before you ask, it’s not signed. Nick was just too busy to help, and I wasted valuable time waiting on him. I had to get another attorney.”
“Are you kidding me? With as much business as we give that man, he couldn’t make time for something this big? Do you need me to call him?”
“No. I emailed him my new attorney’s notes, and he finally responded at three a.m. this morning and said she nailed all the critical points.”
“Did you agree to sign by a certain deadline?”
“I did, but per my attorney we’re negotiating in good faith so I should not panic over time. At this point, it’s just a matter of my attorney and the board’s legal team going back and forth on wording.”
“I’m glad to see your commitment to making this happen. When we had dinner the other night, I felt like something was holding you back.”
“I’ve had time to talk to my staff and figure out the schedules.”
“I can still help,” he offers, finishing off a taco and pulling another from the bag.
“You need to take care of your business, Dad. I got this. I promise. It’s not like we’re a major department store. Who’s your meeting with this morning? A big new client, I hope?”
“Actually,” he says, sipping his coffee, “a potential investor, and before you start worrying, I’ve landed a few large contracts, but distribution to meet those demands requires money. It’s a tricky part of getting the brand out there in a bigger way. At this stage, an influx of cash is what will get me to the next level.”
The next level must have been what appealed to Ethan.
“I actually need to go,” he adds, and downs the rest of his taco—following it with warm coffee—and stands. “Keep me posted.”
