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It was shortlyafter I dropped the girls off at day camp that I pulled into the parking lot and saw another car already parked.
Once I opened my truck door, Gunther Ross stepped out of his vehicle. He wore another suit, looking every inch the distinguished businessman.
“Nice weather today, isn’t it?”
In my miserable state, I had barely noticed that summer had started, bringing higher temperatures and fewer clouds. The girls only had a few days left of the outdoor camp they were at. Shit, I needed to figure out what we were going to do this summer. Was Haley sticking around? Was she leaving?
“What can I help you with, Mr. Ross?” I asked, squinting through my glasses. I needed a darker prescription.
Gunther fixed his suit jacket and cleared his throat. “Can we talk inside?”
Fine by me. I didn’t give a fuck. I was still dragging my feet on getting a lawyer to help me undo the signature I gave him for the deal we’d made.
Once we cleared the door, Gunther rested his hands on the counter as I rounded it and began opening procedures.
“She gave up the company.”
My eyes flicked up, but the sun had caught me off guard, so I hissed and lowered my gaze.
“What?”
Gunther placed a new document in front of me that saidRoss Industriesacross it.
“She left, gave it up so there would be no tie from your investment deal to her.”
She did what?
“Why would she do this?” I asked, barely above a whisper. My eyes stayed glued to the paper, as if it could explain her decisions.
Gunther made some sort of sound in the back of his throat which gave me the impression he didn’t like me very much.
“Love, I think. Which reminds me, you should probably hear this.”
He pulled his cell phone out and pressed play.
“Haley?”
“Gunther, hey…I need a favor.”
“What’s going on?”
Haley broke into an explanation, and it wasn’t what I had conjured up in my head about this entire situation.
“I have a business that I want to financially take on. I’m sending over the numbers to you right now, but there’s a few things you should know. The owner is super close to me, and there’s a conflict of interest, so I’d like the offer to stem from your side of the business, not mine. You’d need to be the face entirely. Whatever offer you come up with is fine by me.”
Gunther was quiet on the line for a few moments.
“These numbers overall aren’t bad…why does he need the backing? He already seems well established.”
“He’s in debt…something personal, I think, with his ex-wife and legal fees.”
Gunther was quiet again.
“I see. Well, who is the owner?”
“Liam Croft.”
