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She nods, thinking it over. “So, what would this fake engagement entail? Wearing a ring around the office? Going to a party as a couple? What?”
That’s pretty much what I was planning, but hearing it out loud I realize that’s not going to be enough to convince the more suspicious board members.
“All of that,” I agree. “And you’ll move in with me.”
She chokes on her coffee. “What?”
“If we were getting married, you’d be living with me by now,” I say. “I’m certainly not moving into whatever shoebox you live in.”
“Hey,” Amelia says defensively. “I love my apartment.”
I wait.
“But yes, technically speaking, it is a little challenged in the size department,” she admits.
“Sounds like you’re describing an ex-boyfriend,” I say, and she laughs. I lean in, elbows on the table. “You won’t have that problem with me.”
Amelia blushes just the tiniest bit, and I feel a surge of victory.
Then, despite all the progress I thought we were making, Amelia shakes her head. “Faking an engagement? We can’t be serious about this. It sounds like something out of a bad movie.”
“It doesn’t matter what it sounds like if it works,” I argue.
She chews on her lip.
“Ok, maybe I’m coming at this from the wrong angle,” I say. “Let’s not talk about the engagement. Let’s talk about what it can get you.”
“Cole, I don’t—”
“Tell me about your company,” I say, pitching my voice low and seductive. “What are you going to call it?”
“I don’t know,” she admits. “But I have the fonts for the website picked out.”
“Yeah?” I say, smiling.
That’s all the prompting Amelia needs to pull out her phone and scoot along the booth so that she can show me the font she’s thinking about. And the color scheme. And some of her favorite company’s logos that she’s using for inspiration.
She shows me competitor’s businesses that she’s watching closely, so she can get an idea of the business landscape she’d be stepping into. She shows me examples of the type of products she’d want to work on. She shows me her own portfolio, pointing out the work she’s especially proud of.
It’s enchanting.She’senchanting. Her excitement for this company is so pure, and for a moment I’m envious. I never had the thrill of a blank page to dream on. Instead, I inherited a company on the brink of bankruptcy and turned it around. Insome ways, my task was easier. I had business infrastructure, employees, resources, my family’s reputation.
Amelia has none of that.
But she also has none of the baggage I had.
She doesn’t want to build a company to spite someone, or to save hundreds of peoples’ jobs.
She wants to build it forher.No one else.
And suddenly I want to be a part of helping her make that dream a reality. Even if it’s just by giving her some money and introducing her to a few people.
“You’re in love with the idea of starting your own company,” I say.
Amelia looks up at me. And that’s when I realize how close we are. When she moved over so I could see her phone screen, she ended up practically tucked up against me.
Just like before, she smells like oranges and sunshine. I wonder if that’s perfume, or soap, or just what she smells like.
“At first the idea of starting my own company was just because I wanted more control over where I worked,” Amelia admits. “But the more I plan for it, the more excited I get.” She wets her lips. “I can do this.”
