Talk about being damned by faint praise.
It wasn't the enthusiastic welcome I'd hoped for, but at least she hadn't asked her brother to send me away. I could almost see her, that polished, perfect shell firmly in place as she gave her permission for my presence. I was looking forward to pulling her into a dark corner and messing her up a little. I loved her polish, but I loved her even more with her lips swollen from kisses and a pink flush in her cheeks, that wicked sparkle in her eye.
My memory of a freshly kissed Parker fueling me, I went on the offensive. They'd started with the personal. I was going to finish it. "I don't know how much Parker has told you about my relationship with my brother, but we've never been close. He's a special breed of asshole. If I'd met Parker before the wedding, I would have found a way to talk her out of it."
Hope drew in a breath of air and leaned forward. "Did you know he'd–" She cut off with a glance at Royal. I understood in an instant.
Griffen and Hope knew Tyler had hit Parker, but Parker hadn't told Royal. I gave a sharp shake of my head. "Absolutely not. He had a million faults I knew about, but I never thought he'd go that far."
Royal's attention moved between Hope and me, but he kept his mouth shut. If Parker hadn't confided in him, I wasn't going to share her private history. To Hope, I said, "If I'd known how this was going to end, I would have stopped the wedding." I looked away, glancing through the tall french doors to the barren gardens beyond, gathering my thoughts. "My mother and I both feel responsible for everything she's been through."
"It's not your fault," Hope said, her voice low, gentle. Griffen made a rough sound in his throat.
"Disagree," I countered. "Right now, it feels very much like our fault. We knew he could be an asshole. We knew he was probably cheating. We knew he was irresponsible and immature. We knew enough."
Hope shook her head. "Parker is a grown woman. She can decide for herself, and she did. You went above and beyond to help her move the divorce forward. You can let yourself off the hook."
Another rough noise from Griffen. I met his hard, green eyes with a nod of agreement. "It wasn't enough, but I plan to make it up to her."
Those green eyes transformed to jade ice. Griffen leaned forward. "If we come to an agreement, and at any time after that, Parker tells me your presence here is undesirable, you leave. No questions asked. Understood?"
ChapterSixteen
NASH
"Understood," I said immediately. "I have no interest in making Parker uncomfortable in her own home."
"Fine." Griffen gave a decisive nod. Sitting back, he picked up a folder from his desk and flipped it open. Hope slid an identical folder my way.
I picked it up as she said, "Do you want coffee or tea before we get started?"
"I wouldn't mind coffee," I said, opening the folder. Hope tapped at her phone for a minute, then set it down and opened her own folder. Royal did the same.
"As you can see," Griffen began, "We're not interested in an investment as much as a joint venture. We have appropriate office space, and when we get there, an adjacent location that can be retrofitted for manufacturing and assembly if we decide not to send that overseas."
It only took me a few seconds to take in the value of what he was offering. My team was small at the moment, but it was going to grow. By a lot. Eventually, there would be a hardware component, and while some of it would likely be manufactured overseas, one of my sticking points with investors was the insistence that, at a minimum, the final assembly would happen in the US.
Sawyer Enterprises had an office/industrial park in a prime location and they were willing to dedicate the most modern building to what could be our joint venture.
The location was ideal in some ways, and less than perfect in others. On the downside, Sawyers Bend was an hour from the airport, though the office park was on the highway, exactly in between. And while the area did have its own airport, there were few direct flights, potentially adding hours to any travel.
On the upside, the proliferation of video conferencing meant we were all traveling far less. And this area of the country was a magnet for people who liked the outdoors. As a tourist destination, it had plenty to offer employees in their free time. The cost of living wasn't cheap, but it was a fraction of what most of my team was paying in Northern California. Most importantly, I'd discussed Sawyers Bend with my people and all but two had agreed to make the move. The two that had declined would stay on working remotely.
Rifling through the proposal in the folder, I said, "I wasn't looking for a corporate headquarters. I had my eyes on a cash infusion to get us to the next level. I'm not sure I want a partnership."
Royal pulled a sheet of graphs from his folder and pushed it my way. "If you take a look at these projections, I think you'll find–"
And we were off. What followed wasn't the toughest negotiation of my life, but it was the most fun. I could see what Griffen, Hope, and Royal were after. It wasn't just about money, it was about bringing something to Sawyers Bend. Jobs. Industry. The future. I respected that. And I wanted what they were offering. I just didn't want to give up too much to get it.
It ended, as all the best negotiations do, with each of us giving up something and gaining most of what we needed. And little did they know, I won on the most important point of all. Once we'd hammered out a basic agreement, I'd leaned back in my chair and propped my ankle on my knee as if I didn't have a care in the world now that business was out of the way. "Looks like I'll be in Sawyers Bend for the foreseeable future. Any suggestions on a place to stay?"
"You'll stay here," Griffen said.
It wasn't a question. Perfect. He wanted me here so he could keep an eye on me. Excellent. He could keep an eye on me all he wanted as long as I could be close to Parker. Living under the same roof was ideal, even if that roof was larger than some hotels.
"Works for me," I agreed easily. "I need to fly back to California, make some arrangements. I can be back by the end of next week. Does that work for you?"
"Absolutely," Hope said, beaming as she held out her hand. "We'll have a preliminary agreement drawn up in the meantime."
