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I had little choice in the matter. I had to put on the wet suit and follow Jared out to the beach directly below his house. He handed me a surfboard and I watched him tuck it under his arm and did the same. Then we walked down the boardwalk to the sea.
He dumped the towels on the beach and sat down. I sat down next to him. We sat in silence for a while, looking at the waves crashing onto the wet sand, the seagulls soaring overhead. It was a magnificent day, and it was hard to stay mad at him for changing our meeting. I leaned back on my elbows.
“This is really impressive,” I said, looking at Jared. “How long have you lived here?”
“Six years,” he said, looking straight at the ocean. “After Patti and I got married, we found this place and made it our home.”
I had read about his wife, a former kickboxing teacher, who was now part of his fitness empire and helped run the business. She seemed like a typical Californian girl, thin and blonde, the picture of good health.
“No kids?”
“Not yet, we’ll get there. I’m in no rush though,” Jared said. I sensed there was more behind the words. I had met Jared at a business conference years ago and had liked his direct approach to business. When I had to decide whom to approach about the protein bars, the MC Gym group was one of my first choices. Fortunately, my call had come at the right time and Jared had like my approach.
“She wants ‘em, the kiddies,” he then said, obviously meaning his wife. “I don’t. It’s causing a bit of stress as you can imagine.”
“Sure.”
“But you know, we’re in such a good place now. Business going well, life is good. Going on vacation twice a year, hop over to the Caribbean whenever we feel like it. No soccer practice or piano lessons to cramp your style.”
He gave me a sideways glance. “My brother never stops complaining about his lack of sleep, the kids yelling and messing up the house, the lack of sex with his wife, who is always tired and crabby. Doesn’t exactly sound appealing.”
“No.”
“Of course, they have twins, and he did leave it quite late.”
Jared got up to go surfing after all.
He asked me, “You want kids?”
I didn’t know what to say. “I… haven’t thought much about it.”
That much was true. I had not thought about having my own family or getting married. The whole business with Taya and my mother had been the first time anyone had talked about me settling down. After the weekend in the Hamptons, I had told Taya that I wanted to take a break from our relationship. She asked if I was ending it and I said I wanted some space to think about everything. She was clever enough to know what I was getting at. There were no fights, no arguments.
“If that’s what you want,” she said, her voice devoid of any emotion, before she hung up.
I’d wanted to nip all wedding talk in the bud, fast. Over the past two weeks, I’d been enjoying the single life and had made sure to spend as little time as possible in the house to minimize the chance of bumping into my mother. I wasn’t in the mood for one of her talks.
“You’re young, though,” Jared said. “I got married in my late thirties.” He seemed to consider. “Maybe that’s the problem? I’m too settled in my ways?”
“I think it’s good to know who you are,” I said. “And what you want. Children aren’t for everyone. The picket fence and the Labrador and meatloaf on Thursdays?”
Jared laughed. “Exactly!”
Then he said, “Listen, I’m happy to go ahead with the deal. Have your people draw up the papers and we can get it signed and approved.”
“You’re happy with the price?” I hadn’t expected him to agree so quickly. I’d been prepared to offer him more too. On the phone he’d sounded less amenable to my terms but sitting with him now, his whole attitude was more relaxed.
“It’s not about the money,” he said. “I couldn’t care less about that. I like the idea that the product is going to go out under an Egal branding.”
“Really?”
He nodded. He told me that the protein bar was created by a local guy who had died of a heart attack a few years back. His wife had kept the business going and Jared had kept renewing the deal with her to support her. “There is a lot you could do to promote those protein bars better. But I have too much on my plate right now. Besides, I like how you’ve revamped the Egal health range. There have been some really cool videos promoting the brand lately, Patti showed one to me last week, I was laughing my butt off!”
This was Lauren’s work, I realized. She had been posting videos and doing all kinds of funky stuff to promote the vegan products. I knew which product line he was talking about.
“That’s our new community manager,” I said. “She’s young and switched on, knows her stuff.”
“Can’t wait to see what she comes up with for these protein bars!” he said, jumping up and grabbing his board. “I’m going to test the water, you coming?”
