Page 72 of Tangled In Tinsel & Knots
A small, petty part of me wants to fist-pump. The rest of me is too busy panicking because if he’s taking Scot off the board, that means all eyes are on me.
“But Iamgiving you something,” Giuseppe continues. “In fact, I’m giving you more than you deserve. Because this is not just about the celebration. It’s about the business.”
Kane’s fingers curl slightly against my back. I can feel the tension rolling off him.
“What does that mean?” I manage, though my voice wobbles.
“It means,” Giuseppe says, “that this is your one chance, Hannah. If you pull off the Whispering Grove Christmas Tree Lighting celebrations and if it runs smoothly, the council is happy, the town is happy, and there are no major disasters, then I’ll be drawing up papers to make you the owner of Confetti and Meatballs.”
My breath punches out of me. That’s… that’s everything. Security. Control. Finally being more than the temp he could cut loose. My throat tightens.
Silence hums on the line, sharp as broken glass.
“And if she fails,” Scot says at last, voice suddenly very calm. Too calm. “If she can’t make it work… it comes to me?”
A cold shiver slides down my spine. I already know I’m not going to like this.
“If there are serious problems because of Hannah,” Giuseppe says slowly, as if he hates the words even as he says them, “if she fails to deliver and we lose the five-year contract because of that, then the business goes to you, Scot. All of it. I sign over my shares, and you take full control of Confetti and Meatballs.”
The world narrows to the sound of my own heartbeat.
So if I succeed, I finally get a real place here. If I fail, I hand everything to the man who would happily shove me into traffic.
“Let me be sure I understand,” Scot says, every word clipped. “I’m forced to sit out the biggest job we’ve ever had, and if she screws it up, the entire business comes to me?”
“That’s right,” Giuseppe replies.
Kane’s hand tightens on my back, fingers digging in just enough that it almost hurts. It anchors me to my body instead of the roaring fear trying to drag me out of it.
This is insane. This is—this is?—
Kane shifts closer, shoulder brushing mine, silent and solid.
Scot is breathing hard enough that I can hear it over the speaker.
“So that’s it?” he grits out. “You’re gambling the entire company you built on her? On an Omega you barely know? I can run this celebration and ensure we get it for another five years!”
Giuseppe’s sigh crackles down the line. “We’ll also be having a very serious talk about how you speak about the people who work for you,” he says. “And about the fact that you blocked Hannah’s number on my phone. I know you did it, Scot. We’ll discuss that later.”
Silence.
“Good luck, Hannah. You’ll need it,,” Scot says finally, the words tight and poisonous.
The line goes dead.
I realize I’m on my feet as Kane rises beside me, moving with that smooth, contained energy that always makes me feel like he’s ready to catch me if I fall.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I whisper, the words directed at no one and everyone. At Giuseppe. At myself. At the universe for thinking this is a fun game.
Because this isn’t just pressure. It’s an open invitation for Scot to root for my failure, and if he can’t touch the celebration directly, he’ll look for other ways to knock things sideways for me to fail. Accidentally-on-purpose vendor issues. Misplaced invoices. A rumor here, a concerned query there.
“Hannah,” Giuseppe says quietly. I glance up. He’s pushing himself to stand, one hand on the armrest for balance. The effort puts new lines around his eyes, and guilt spears through my panic. He appears exhausted. Older than he did a year ago. “This isn’t a gift. It’s a test. I’m putting my faith in you, and I’m putting the business on the line. Don’t make me regret it.”
“I… I understand.” Do I? I’m not sure I do. All I can really grasp is that one wrong move and everything I’ve worked for slides straight into Scot’s hands.
And Iknowhe heard the conditions like a challenge, not a warning.
Kane’s fingers lace through mine, squeezing hard enough that it jolts me out of the spiral.
