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He closed his laptop. “Of course. Is everything okay?”
“For the most part, everything is great, but it could be a lot better if I could just fix one thing.”
“I’m listening.”
“You and Jacob. I’d really like to see you two find a way to be civil to each other and stop the fighting. It’s gone on for far too long.”
He shook his head. “I thought you said this was personal. Sunny Side is not personal. And we agreed to table that.”
“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about me.” Did she have the courage to say what had to come next? She had to do it. Now or never. “Me and Jacob. Together. Personally. Very personally.”
His eyebrows drew together. “I don’t understand.”
“Me and Jacob. You know...”
“Working together?”
“Do I have to draw you a map, Adam? Jacob and I are involved. Romantically. Not business. Personal.”
He reared back his head as if she’d just told him that the world was flat. “How in the hell did that happen? You can’t be serious.”
She took a deep breath to steel herself. She’d worried this might be his reaction. “I don’t want you to be angry, but I went away with him. To his house upstate. About six weeks ago. That’s where things started.”
“Why in the world would you do that? Did he kidnap you?”
“Will you stop? That’s just mean.”
“Anna, this is making zero sense.”
It was time to come clean and she knew it. “I went behind your back and met with the founder of Sunny Side.”
“You what?” The fury in his eyes surfaced, just as it had the night they’d first discussed this.
She thrust her finger into the air. “Hold on, Adam. Let me finish. I was certain that I could convince you to come around if I had a better sense of the numbers. We need a strong financial upside these days, don’t we?”
“That’s not the point...”
“Just answer the question. Yes or no.”
“Yes. We do.”
“Okay then. That’s what I was trying to do. And things just sort of happened between Jacob and me. And then it continued when we got back to the city. I want to see where it can go. We mesh together really well.”
He twisted his face. “I don’t even want to think about you two, meshing.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it.” She scooted to the edge of her seat, folding her hands before her and resting her elbows on her knees. It was no coincidence that she looked as if she was praying. “I can’t be with Jacob if you two are at odds. Family is too important. I can’t be torn between the two. I understand that there’s bad blood between you, but I need you and Jacob to sit down and work it out. Once and for all. It’s been six years, Adam. You were both new in business. You both made mistakes.”
He shook his head so vigorously that his normally perfect hair went astray. “If I made any mistakes, I made them because I was reacting to the things Jacob did. He could’ve ruined a multi-million-dollar idea.”
“But he didn’t.”
“It doesn’t matter. Jacob was willing to put our business venture at risk to prove a point. That told me that he was unreliable as a business partner.”
“I just feel like this whole thing has gotten blown completely out of proportion. You used to be friends.”
“So what are you hoping for? That I apologize and we start playing golf together? That’s not going to happen.”
“I’m not asking you to be best friends. I’m just asking for enough of a truce that you two can be in the same room without trying to kill each other. That’s it. Although I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be happy if you rekindled your friendship. That would be nice to see.”
“You’re deluded.” He leaned forward in his chair, his eyes pleading with her. “He’s scum, Anna. I don’t know what kind of line he fed you to get you into his bed, but I’m sure he was just trying to get back at me. You need to stop acting like a girl and walk away from him now, before you get hurt.”
Anna was so offended on multiple levels that she wasn’t even sure where to start. “Sometimes I think you just don’t want me to be happy, Adam. You know, you and Melanie found a way. I don’t see why you can’t do one thing for me. For your sister.”
“I’m not doing a damn thing to help my sister ruin her life. Believe me, some day you’ll thank me.” He opened up his laptop and stared at the screen.
