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Vincent smiles brightly and takes a couple of steps back. It feels like defeat for him. He’s taking it harder than he’d like to, I can tell. “That’s cool. I can try for the weekend, too, if you want…”
“You know what—absolutely,” I reply, deciding to give him that smidge of happiness. Vincent knows that we’ll only ever be friends and coworkers, so I know that every emotional reaction he has where I’m concerned is just that and not something I should take seriously. “Hook us up with some weekend tickets, and Elliot and I will take you to our favorite restaurant in this magnificent city. They serve the best mac and cheese you’ll ever have in your entire life; I promise you!”
“Ha. I will hold you to it, then!” he exclaims, and we’re both about to laugh again but freeze when Piper walks into the kitchen, heels clicking across the marble floor. “Hey, Piper…”
“You, scram,” she replies bluntly.
Vincent doesn’t wait to be told again. The temperature has just dropped back into the Ice Age as I watch him scuttle away so as to steer clear of the lioness that just claimed this entire room. Suddenly, I’m small and paralyzed, unable to move as Piper takes a step toward me. Her tight skirt and crisp shirt hug her in all the right places, and she’s got legs for days.
“You and I need to talk,” she says.
“Okay…” I reply, trying to keep my defenses up. I know what this is about. I reckon she’s finally decided to come over and try to bully me into changing my mind. She has a harsh way of dealing with difficult people, and I fear I became difficult the moment I told Todd that I wouldn’t agree to his offer. “How can I help you today?”
“You can just shut up and listen!” she snaps, then proceeds to pour herself a cup of coffee. Unlike Vincent, she has the wisdom to smell and briefly taste it before adding any sweetener or cream. Judging by the sour look on her pretty face, it’s not what she would’ve liked, so her cup ends up in the dishwasher next to mine. “This is horrid. How do you put up with it?”
“Oh, right, ’cause you’ve got the snazzy pod machine up in your executive lounge,” I shoot back with a dry chuckle. “Our mortal brew is ages beneath you.”
“Indeed. So, anyway, I want to talk to you about something.”
“Todd,” I reply.
She rolls her eyes like a petulant teenager. “Yes. He wants me to be nice to you, but it’s hard for me sometimes. It bears no reflection on you, Becky; I’m just looking out for him, and I tend to get overprotective, that’s all. And right now, your refusal to help Todd is hurting him.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not obligated to agree to his proposal… I thought I made myself clear.”
“You did. But I’m still hoping you might change your mind. Becky, you need to understand a few things about Todd. He might come across as distant or hard to reach, filthy rich and out of this world on so many levels, but… truth be told, he’s a good and honest man.”
“Honest…”
“Except that stupid lie. Maybe don’t hold it against him,” she snaps. “He did what he thought was best for the company, and now he’s struggling to make sure nobody suffers because of it. If you took a minute to get off that high horse, you would understand that Todd is trying to keep everybody safe while he retires.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little too early for him to do that?”
Piper crosses her arms. “Frankly, it’s none of our business. I would probably do the same if I had the opportunity, especially after all the hard work he’s put in for this company. He built it from scratch—did you know that?”
“No…”
“His family were against it from the beginning. They’re all Ivy League preppy perfectionists. Doctors, lawyers, engineers. Not one of them dropped out of college. Todd did. He lost his trust fund, his right to an inheritance, everything. It didn’t matter to him. He was just like you and me for a long time, working two jobs while he built HeartMatch with Rick and the others from the original team. The platform, the servers, the initial marketing… it was hell on wheels and they managed to do something with it. Todd lost everything and everybody in pursuit of his dream.”
I take a deep breath, briefly imagining a younger Todd scraping his elbows in my world, working a nine-to-five and a six-to-ten in order to pull through. I know that struggle well. He never gave the impression that he knows it too. At first glance, anyone who’s familiar with the Connors name will easily recognize him and place him within that particular East Coast dynasty. I think at least one of his grandparents or great-grandparents worked in the White House at one point or another.
“I had no idea,” I tell Piper.
“He’s a very private man. He keeps the struggle to himself and makes sure he only projects strength and confidence. It’s why HeartMatch is such a hit, why people like John Douglas-Mackie are drawn to him, and why he has this opportunity to leave the company in good hands while he goes on to take the much-needed break. This man hasn’t had a holiday in a decade. Do you get me?”
I nod.
“So… I’m just asking you, Becky. Please reconsider. All you need to do is show up for a barbecue lunch and play pretend. It will be barely any effort on your part, and you will get a sizable bonus on top of what Todd’s already offered. Most importantly, though, you’d be helping the company and yourself in the process. He’s not a bad man. He’s not a selfish man. He needs you.Weneed you.”
Deep down, I know I could easily just say yes and help the guy out. Hell, part of me is already imagining how the whole thing would play out, secretly wondering if the fantasy has any chance of slipping into reality, if only for a hot minute. It’s crazy. I would be crazy to do it. But Piper brings some reasonable arguments into the conversation.
Whatever this deal for the company entails, it’s clearly the best avenue for all of us, not just for Todd. I wouldn’t be helping him solely to protect his reputation and perhaps his vanity—the entire scheme has potential for everyone involved. For me. For Vincent. Piper. I can’t afford to lose this job, and a takeover of HeartMatch that would be anything less than the original bargain might end up costing me in the long run.
“Thanks for sharing this information with me, Piper,” I say calmly. “I appreciate that you trust me with such intimate details about Todd. I’m going to think about it, okay?”
She stares at me for what feels like forever, but even she can tell that this is the most she’s going to get out of me right now. “Okay. Don’t think about it for too long, though. There’s too much at stake already.”
I nod slowly as I watch her leave the kitchen.
