AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am,” I beamed at the thought of Becca. I longed to take her out tonight to celebrate.
“What a wonderful family. I have to check with my wife, but I believe we may be invited to your wedding, of all things.”
“Well, if that’s true, I’d love to see you there,” I added.
Mr. Quinn nodded. I had to double-check, but he was smiling. He looked a bit like a turtle.
Mr. Quinn moved to reply, but Jonathan walked in with the fresh contracts, cutting the conversation short.
Finally, Mr. Quinn got up and tucked the contract into his jacket pocket. He extended his hand and grasped mine with a firm, robust shake.
“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Sebastian,” he said.
“Likewise,” I replied.
“Email my assistant once you have the dates for when construction will start. I have some contacts if you need shelving units.”
“That’d be great, thank you,” I said. Mr. Quinn exited quietly, closing the door behind him. Once I made sure he was a safe distance away, I thrust my fist into the air and jumped.
I checked the time on my phone, still reeling from the thrill of victory. It was after six. I decided to call Becca to see if she was back in Boston.
“Hello?” she asked. The sound was distorted. I could tell she was driving.
“Mr. Quinn signed!” I gushed, too excited for a simple hello.
“Oh, no way! Sebastian, that’s amazing! So, Tim’s email helped?”
“I think so. That, and I threatened to give Amazon the storefront if he didn’t make up his mind.”
Becca laughed. “Did you really? How ruthless. I love it.”
“He tried to throw in a surprise non-compete clause that would screw Liv’s store over. I couldn’t let that happen,” I explained.
“Of course not! And he probably knew your sister had a bookstore. What a dick. I’m glad you didn’t let him get to you.”
“Yeah, he said he knew your parents?”
Becca sighed on the other line, “He was one of my dad’s old golfing buddies. My dad ditched him when he got way too friendly with one of the tennis instructors at the club. She was like my age. It was disgusting.”
“Are you serious? He has to be at least seventy!”
“He’s seventy-five. My dad just declined an invite to his seventy-fifth birthday party.”
“Well, he’s invited to our wedding, apparently.”
Becca moaned. “This is exactly why I didn’t want my mother to be in charge of the guest list! She’s inviting every old perv in Boston who she considers a ‘friend.’”
“Well, did your dad tell her what happened?” I asked.
“No. My mother never listens to anything like that. She’s not exactly the kind of person who believes women.” Becca sounded disappointed. I could only imagine how hard it was for Becca to get her own mother to take her seriously. I thought about the arrangement. Becca and I were on good terms now, but how did she feel when she was twenty when her parents first proposed it? Did she feel trapped, like any and all of her complaints would have been dismissed or ignored?
“I can take him off the guest list if you want,” I suggested.
“No. It’ll look bad if you do it now after you’ve talked with him about it and signed a contract together. He’ll feel snubbed. I wouldn’t want him to take it out on you. I’ll deal with it. It’ll be fine.”
“If he even looks at you for longer than one second, I will yank his eyeballs out of the socket with my bare hands,” I promised.
Rebecca laughed so hard she snorted. “My knight in shining armor. Thank you. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Good for you for finally forcing him to sign. I’m impressed.”
