He curls and uncurls them to deal with whatever he’s really experiencing, while his face doesn’t show emotions.
It’s such a human detail about him, I almost reach out to squeeze his hand. But that’s not who we are. That’s not who we can ever be.
“Explain why!” Corm stands up, his chair rolling back.
“How do you know about it?” I ask, finally regaining my spot in this conversation.
Corm opens a cabinet in the corner of his office where he keeps his favorite whiskey. He pours himself an inch and yanks the door shut.
He takes a generous gulp. “Because they called and said that they would like to keep the forty percent for four years instead of three. Catching me fucking unprepared.”
My gaze finds Liam’s, and I almost hug him. His grin is wide, but mine is probably wider. We did it. We fucking got them on board.
“You have nothing to gloat about,” Corm snaps,and I whip my head back to him. “That’s not what we discussed. That’s not what Vireon approved.”
“Hearthstone Foods is a family business. They care about their legacy more than about money. We updated the proposal to meet their needs,” I explain.
“And how do you propose we explain that to Vireon, Ro?” He finishes his whiskey and glares at me.
“Don’t call her that,” Liam snaps.
We both look at him. The energy in the room shifts. From tension to more tension.
“You know she doesn’t like it,” Liam adds.
I gape at him. Not only does he know I hate them calling me that, but he intervenes on my behalf? At the worst time ever, but that’s beside the point.
Corm clears his throat, and I turn back to him, finding my voice. Just barely.
“Our job is to bring the two companies together.” I cross my legs, hoping I can appear calm. “The Millers would not have sold it outright. You know that as well as Vireon. Presenting them with the original offer was pointless. Besides, Vireon doesn’t need to know we proposed that.”
Corm continues to glare, standing on the other side of his desk. It takes a lot of control not to stand up.
Not that I would match his height, but I wouldn’t feel like I’m being sent into detention.
“We can tell them this is Miller’scounteroffer. I ran the numbers; it’s still very beneficial for them.” If this backfires, I’m toast.
“So you ran the numbers.” Corm snorts. “That makes me feel much better.”
“We got the deal,” I snap, emotions burning my throat. Shit, I can’t get emotional. I can’t afford to show him a weakness.
“And we got it much faster than with your approach. We’re dealing with a counter-offer instead of a refusal,” Liam says.
God, I almost forgot he was here. If he hadn’t just made that point, I would have thought he had stayed quiet to let me drown.
But he is on my side. And I hate how much that steadies me.
“None of it changes the fact that I was kept out of the loop. Not only did you not seek my approval before going in, you didn’t tell me about it afterward.”
Fuck.
“That’s on me,” Liam says. “Roxy came up with the idea, but I thought it was easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.” He shrugs, a picture of nonchalance. “If there’s blame, direct it at me.”
Corm’s jaw ticks.
“And I’d dial back on the attitude,” Liam adds.
A pulse jumps in my throat. Too fast. Too telling.Fuck. My spine snaps straight. The room tilts for a second.
