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Standing, Parker comes to my side. “Well, he’s not gonna be moving the whole building.” He glances around. “I mean—” He shakes his head. “—even for a multi-millionaire, that’s a big chunk of money just to placate you.”
“No, I don’t think so, either.” I shake my head. “But he’s making some heavy changes, though.” I hold my arms out, palms up. “But I don’t know what they could be—and he wasn’t telling me—only that he’s making things right.” I hear my voice wobble with the stress of it all.
“Sweetie, come sit down.” Shaye pats the couch next to her.
I walk over and plop down on the soft cushions and she gives me a hug. “I think maybe it’s time to cave. What’s the point in wrecking my business to make a stupid point? Perhaps I should tell him I want a deal?“
“No!” Parker shakes his head and fists his hands. “You don’t want to give that bastard the satisfaction of folding your hand and surrendering to him.”
If only he knew how many times I’d already surrendered to Neal. But it wasn’t even him I was fighting anymore, it was fate.
I look at my brother, seeing the taut curve of his jaw and mouth. We’re both so alike. Stubbornness is our go-to reaction, and we like to cling to our decisions, whether they’re right or wrong. “Right or wrong,” I mumble.
Shaye sets her hand on mine. “What’s that, hun?”
“Oh, nothing really.”
Parker paces the same path I’d been on just minutes ago. “We’ll find someone to back you. A solicitor who’ll take on your case pro-bono and sue the living shit out of that—”
I stand. “I’m not going to do that. I appreciate your enthusiasm for my cause and you wanting to protect me. But I can now see what I hadn’t before.”
Shaye stands, too, and sets her hand on my back. “What is it, Dani? What do you see?”
I walk to the case with Gran’s vases. “I want to honor Gran, keep it going, but how am I doing that by losing the inheritance she worked so hard to squirrel away for me?” I turn and look at Parker and Shaye. “I want your honest opinions. If you were me, what would you do?”
“You go first…” Parker gestures for Shaye to start.
She takes a breath. “I love this building, and I love what you’ve created here.” She gestures around the room. “But I think it’s in the wrong place.”
I nod. “Exactly. If I were perfectly located, I wouldn’t be losing money and sending flowers to the garbage.”
“Yeah, but—” Parker starts, then shakes his head. “It’s hard to think straight. But the fact remains, if you stay put, you won’t have the income to advertise, and without advertising, you won’t get online customers you need to survive. If I were you, I’d take the cash.”
He looks defeated.
“And you can start again.” Shaye attempts a smile. “Use some of the money you get and have a business advisor figure out where a prime location for a florist should be.”
I nod again. “That’s what I should have done before buying this place.”
I loved it here the second I walked in the door. But loving four walls does not translate into revenue. I’m learning this the hard way.
“So I should take the offer—if it still stands.”
Shaye puts her arm around my waist. “Yeah, you should.”
Parker wraps his arm around my shoulder. “Loathe to say it, but I have to agree it’s the logical decision.”
“Okay, then. But I won’t reveal that until I know what his new plan is. I’ll play the silent game until I know it all and then I’ll decide for sure.”
To my mind the burden of this decision is now lifted. Once Neal reveals his hand, I can backtrack,hopefully, take the money and look for somewhere new. And I’ll have a lot more cash to choose more wisely next time. I can move on with my life and follow my dream.
But what about Neal?
My insides contract at the thought of him. I need this man in my life. Will he still be around after this is over? Or will he move on to another project and forget all about me in his glitzy moneyed world?
My cellphone bleeps and I take it from my pocket.
A text from Neal pops up.
