Page 43 of Nutcracker with Benefits
She tilts her head, smiling slyly at me. “I don’t know, that sounds like a pretty fun business meeting. Don’t worry. I won’t allow you to make any rash decisions. It’s just a pitch.”
I take a seat and rest my elbows on the table, steepling my fingers and schooling my face into a look of concentration. “What have you got for me?”
“This is a proposal for a transition period of Worth Going.” She clicks the remote in her hand and the screen behind her changes. It’s a calendar for next month, and there are bars of colors running across various days or weeks, each with the name of a business. I read Phuket Hot Flights over one day and Halong Bay Elemental Resort blocked out over a whole week. There are blank days, though not many. “Over the next few slides, you’ll see the commitments I’ve made throughout the first few months of this year.” She explains a few of the notes, then clicks to March, which is similarly filled out. And then April, which has more blank days than March. The next screen is full of statistics. “I’ve identified a few opportunities for me to fly back to New York or trips in which it might be appropriate for you to accompany me. Any questions?”
I’m leaning forward now, my arms folded on the tabletop and an amused smile on my face. I’ve been watching Clara slip from nervous and maybe even embarrassed to confident and thorough. I ask a few questions about locations, as some of these places I’ve never heard of.
“Next, we’ll talk about the financials,” she says when I’ve gotten my geography lesson.
The next few slides cover income, giving me a baseline of information about advertising revenue and commission rates. Clara is impressive—really impressive. Like, she puts some of my teammates to shame, some of my colleagues, and the people outside my company who pitch to me. She’s more engaging than ninety-five percent of them.
And more guilt floods in. I wanted Clara to cut back on her business without understanding the full range of what she does. Her job is so hard. I know how much she loves her family, how much she’s lost connections with friends. Why did I think that holding on to her was more important than just being with her, no matter how we chose to spend the time?
“Now, this part you may want to pay extra close attention to,” Clara says, and I refocus on her, caught.
“I’m a complete dick,” I say.
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. I can’t blame you for spacing out a little bit at the boring numbers.”
Her smile is a little lop-sided, self-deprecating.
“No, I meant that I am a complete dick because of the way I behaved over Christmas. I shouldn’t have made the day all about me and what I wanted.”
She tilts her head, cocking a hip at me. “I didn’t take your suggestions very well either. It’s not like you told me how I should change my business or plans. You took me for a day out in the city and told me that you love me and want to spend more time with me.” Clara traces her finger over a whirl of wood on the table. “I was thrown off and got scared.”
“That’s fair,” I say. “I took the wrong approach and ignored having the hard conversation for too long. I don’t want you to give up anything in your business for me.” Clara looks up at me. “What you’ve built is amazing. You are passionate, and your presentation is perfect. If I was a potential investor, I’d be completely sold.”
“Who says you aren’t a potential investor?” She smirks and straightens, clicking the remote, guiding my attention back to the screen and returning to business. “Here’s my new five-year plan. In the near future, it’s built on the foundation of your own suggestion—me living with you when I’m in the city. I’ll reduce my number of trips for the rest of the year and spend more time with you.”
My heart lurches.
“I’ll save on accommodation costs and,” Clara continues, “combined with my existing savings, I’ll be able to take some time to set up the next iteration of Worth Going. Ad revenue and affiliates will shift back, and I’ll focus on two projects. The first is organized tours around the world, returning to some of my favorite places or using contacts I’ve made over the last few years to plan trips to new destinations. The second is a different project. I’m setting up tours in New York, working with immigrants and their communities to spotlight their home countries, all without leaving the city.”
Her eyes haven’t lost that spark of excitement, but they do soften. “You did show me that I have this great resource directly in front of me. Our day touring the city took me to places I’ve only dreamed of going, and I think I can make that dream come true for other people, too.”
I can’t respond with words, so instead, I get up and walk around the table. Clara tilts her head up and my arms slide around her waist as if they’ve always belonged there. The fabric is thin, the heat of her body radiating through.
“If I’m understanding correctly, you’re asking to move in with me?”
Clara places her hands on my biceps. “Is that all you heard?” she scoffs.
“I think it’s the most important part.” I squeeze her waist, pressing our bodies closer together.
“There is one, teeny tiny other thing,” she says.
I lower my head, letting my cheek graze her forehead, and am rewarded with a sharp inhale from her. “What’s that?”
“You have to go on some of these trips with me.”
“Clara, I’m done trying to make your life fit into mine. That was selfish and short-sighted. This trip is just a start for me. That compromise that I want, I’m ready to hold up my end. I want to take trips with you, and I want to plan some trips with just the two of us to explore places I want to see. I know my job is demanding, but I should take some lessons from Heartly’s mission. The things that are good in my life, the things that make me happy, like you, your trips, and your family, they matter the most. And to get to travel with the best tour guide in the world? That’s an opportunity I’m unwilling to compromise on.”
Clara laughs and swats at my arm, but I capture her up in a kiss. Her giggles die as our bodies turn heated, but I don’t let it burn too brightly; I pull back, easing sweet, gentle kisses on her lips. More than anything, I want to disappear with her, run back to my cabana and forget about the blue ocean and white sand and just lose the day with her.
But she probably has taken time out of her busy schedule to come to see me. And it’s a little easier to pull back when I know that someday soon, she’ll be moving in with me, calling our place home while she’s in the city.
I’m elated. And I know this is Clara’s idea, but…
I pull back and look into her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
