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She set the papers down on the table and pulled a pen from her purse. She signed and handed the papers back to me.
“That’s it?” I asked. “No questions. Concerns? Changes?”
She shook her head. “I just want the deal done.”
I frowned. “Your father would have slept on it. Taken it to his lawyer.” The minute I said it, I knew she wouldn’t like it, but it was the truth. It wasn’t wise to sign a business deal just because you need fast cash. I wasn’t taking advantage of her and Ben, but if they were doing business like this elsewhere, chances were someone else was.
Her eyes narrowed. “My father is dead. So is his lawyer, to think of it. I’m not an idiot—”
“No. I don’t think you are. If it were me, I’d have someone read it. It’s just good business, Beth.”
“Are you taking advantage of us?”
“No.”
“Do you want the club? I know it’s not part of Raven Industries. You’d own it outright.”
“I’ll admit that’s appealing, but—”
“So sign and let’s get the deal done.”
I took out my pen and hovered it over the line I was supposed to put my signature on. But I couldn’t do it. I set the pen down.
“What are you doing?” She looked nearly panicked. I could hear the mix of annoyance and despair in her tone. I didn’t want to torture her, and yet I couldn’t sign it. Not yet.
“I’m going to sign it, Beth. But before I do, I want to know why you never mentioned that your father’s business was falling apart.”
10
Beth – Friday
I recoiled in shock and humiliation, although I shouldn’t have been surprised that he knew about my family’s financial situation. For one, the business world wasn’t that big. He’d have heard it through the grapevine. Second, if he hadn’t heard, he’d have certainly done his research. It stung a little that he dug into my family’s issues, but I guessed he’d argue that he wouldn’t have if I’d been upfront and told him about it. I wondered what else he knew. Did he know about Ben’s drinking problem? About Hannah? No, he didn’t know about Hannah. There was no way he wouldn’t have asked about her if he did.
“You said yourself, I needed to be smart in business. If I told you we had to sell, you might lowball your offer.”
He frowned and looked offended. “I wouldn’t do that.” He studied me for a moment and then leaned forward resting his forearms on the table. “I’m the only one of us that didn’t seem to get the memo that we weren’t friends and partners anymore. All you or Ben had to do was ask and I’d have helped. In fact, I’m ready to help now. So why not ask?”
I held his gaze, hating that he was holding my contract hostage. All I wanted was a signed deal, money in the bank, and then to get me and Hannah out of town.
“I get why you wouldn’t want to come to me,” he said. “I hurt you. I regret that more than I can say, and I do want to say more about that. But Ben, what’s going on with him, Beth? Is he sick?”
“You’re right. You’re the last person I’d trust with something like this.”
He flinched but took it like he knew he deserved it, which he did. “Alright, let’s talk about that then. I’m sorry about how I left. I didn’t want to Beth. God how I didn’t want to.” Emotion swept through his eyes, making my heart thump in my chest.
“So why did you?”
He sat back as the waiter served some sort of canape. When the waiter left, Ash stared at the food but didn’t take any.
“Because I wasn’t strong enough to stand up to my father.” He paused for a moment. “Or yours.”
“What?” What did he mean?
“Exactly what I said. That last night we were together, I got back to my parents’ house ready to come clean to Ben about my feelings for you and hopefully, he’d still want to start the club, but if not, I figured I had other options.” He looked me directly in my eyes, making my heart race. “I intended to be with you. That wasn’t a lie, Beth. Or just words so I could fuck you finally. I meant them.”
I swallowed as tears threatened. Everything I thought I knew about that night was suddenly getting topsy turvy.
“So, what happened?” I managed to ask.
“When I got back, my father was waiting for me. He said he knew what was going on between us and it had to stop. He was going to pull the money he planned to loan me to open the club. I hated that because I knew it would be a double blow to Ben; he’d learn I was with you and by choosing you, there wouldn’t be a club.”
