This… this is a travesty.
If it’s in the cards, if I’m meant to be the queen of books, I want to earn it honestly.
And with declining print sales and no startup money in the tank, it was a pipe dream.
Until now.
But this just makes me feel unworthy.
I don’t know if I really want to take over Sneed’s Pages and save it from drowning.
It’s a nightmare dished out on a silver platter, dressed up like a fever dream.
“What’s wrong?” he growls into the silence. “Can’t you see I’m removing an obstacle and giving you what you want? Have some common sense.”
The obstacle isn’t gone, though.
It’s just my responsibility, if I’m the owner.
Someone will still have to run the place unless I shut down for a while, which will eat into skeletal profits. Not to mention the jobs of the few other part-timers on payroll.
If I own it, I’m also responsible for the upkeep, the taxes, the insurance.
Holy crap!
I don’t have a clue how that adds up.
Closing my eyes, I suck in a slow, ragged breath.
Calm, calm.
Serenity now.
Mom always stressed the importance of finding your happy place and never losing your temper, never letting anger take over. Good advice from her New Agey health classes, I guess.
If only it was remotely possible to follow through.
No one—not another living soul—has ever made me want to lose my temper like Ethan does now.
“Common sense? You’ve just made this a thousand times more complicated than it had to be,” I tell him. “And my dream wasn’t having someone drop six figures on a bookstore for me. Why did you do it? You’re already paying a fortune for my cooperation.”
If I’d been left to my own devices, maybe I could’ve used that money to invest in my own shop one day.
Ethan goes quiet for infinite seconds that pluck my nerves, almost to breaking.
“Pages, here’s the thing,” he starts. Weirdly, there’s no arrogance in his voice anymore. “You’re doing me a big favor, and I know it. Sometimes I can come off rather—” He clears his throat. “Brash. Impulsive. Whatever. But I haven’t forgotten how much I owe you. You’re saving my company and my ass personally by going along with this. Any amount is worth that if it helps make this easier on us. On you. If you’re giving me back my inheritance, why can’t I give you a small bonus?”
My heart twists.
“Oh,” I whisper.
I have no idea what to do with that.
…is Ethan Blackthorn being humble for once?
Doesn’t feel legit.
But it also does.
