wasn’t feeling well.” I walked out and headed to my car.
As I climbed in and held the envelope in my hands, I decided just to look it over really quick to get an idea of what he was proposing. Pulling the thick stack of white papers out, I scanned the first few lines and nearly stopped breathing. Was he serious? Oh hell no! I punched in his building address on my GPS and headed straight to his office. Taking the elevator to the tenth floor, I stepped out and looked around.
“Excuse me,” I spoke as I stopped a nice-looking man in the hallway. “Where can I find Nathan Carter’s office?”
“Keep going straight and make a right. You’ll see his secretary sitting at her desk. She’s the redhead.”
Of course she was.
I approached her desk and looked at the nameplate that was sitting proud and center on the desk.
“Hello, Belinda. Is he in there?”
“Yes, but he’s—”
I didn’t wait for her to finish her sentence as I abruptly opened the door to find him and Will sitting at a round glass table.
“Fiona? What the—”
“Really, Nathan? You want to invest in my company and take controlling interest? Are you fucking serious?”
“Calm down.” He got up from his chair. “Will, we’ll resume this meeting after.”
Will got up and gave me a smile. A smile that I wanted to smack right off his face.
“Good to see you, Fiona,” he spoke as he walked past me and out the door.
“Have a seat,” Nathan spoke as he pulled out a chair for me.
“NO! I’m not sitting because I’m not staying. There’s nothing to discuss. You are not taking over my company! Investing is one thing, but to take controlling interest is absurd. How the hell do you even have time for that?”
“You need me and the bottom line is I need to do what’s best for me and for your company. I’m taking a huge-ass risk. You’re on the verge of bankruptcy and shutting down Winslow Wines forever. I’m simply trying to help you. I need to make sure that my money is well invested, and I can do that if I own controlling interest.”
“So you don’t trust me? You don’t think I can bring life back into MY company that MY father left me?”
“Fiona, face it. He left you in the red and with a shitload of troubles. You should consider yourself lucky that I want to step in and help. Not many other businessmen would want to invest in your company right now. And to be honest, you’ve never run a company before. But don’t worry, sweetheart, you’ll still be in charge. You’ll just have to run all decisions by me first.”
“First of all, asshole,” I pointed my finger at him, “don’t call me sweetheart. And second of all, I don’t have to run anything by you because I’m declining your offer.” I threw the stack of papers on the table. “I knew you were up to something, but I never thought you’d want to take over. I thought you genuinely cared about helping us, but I was wrong. You’re a snake in the grass just like every other asshole man out in the world.”
“Ouch.” He placed his hand over his heart. “You’ll sink without my help. Remember that.”
“Then I’ll go down with the ship but on my own terms.” I turned on my heels and began to walk out.
“By the way,” he shouted, “if something happens to my car, I’ll know it was you.”
“UGH!” I stormed out.
Rage consumed me. It consumed me so badly that I couldn’t think clearly or see straight. I needed to go somewhere. Somewhere quiet to process everything that was going on and be alone where I could harvest my inner calm. Little Tokyo was the first place that came to mind. I drove to the Japanese American Cultural and Community center and made my way to the James Irvine Japanese Garden. It wasn’t anything big. Just a small garden lined with rocks, flowers, blooming trees, and a stream that flowed from a waterfall. It was the perfect place to sit down, relax, and gather my thoughts. Sitting on a rock, I took in the serene sound of the
As I climbed in and held the envelope in my hands, I decided just to look it over really quick to get an idea of what he was proposing. Pulling the thick stack of white papers out, I scanned the first few lines and nearly stopped breathing. Was he serious? Oh hell no! I punched in his building address on my GPS and headed straight to his office. Taking the elevator to the tenth floor, I stepped out and looked around.
“Excuse me,” I spoke as I stopped a nice-looking man in the hallway. “Where can I find Nathan Carter’s office?”
“Keep going straight and make a right. You’ll see his secretary sitting at her desk. She’s the redhead.”
Of course she was.
I approached her desk and looked at the nameplate that was sitting proud and center on the desk.
“Hello, Belinda. Is he in there?”
“Yes, but he’s—”
I didn’t wait for her to finish her sentence as I abruptly opened the door to find him and Will sitting at a round glass table.
“Fiona? What the—”
“Really, Nathan? You want to invest in my company and take controlling interest? Are you fucking serious?”
“Calm down.” He got up from his chair. “Will, we’ll resume this meeting after.”
Will got up and gave me a smile. A smile that I wanted to smack right off his face.
“Good to see you, Fiona,” he spoke as he walked past me and out the door.
“Have a seat,” Nathan spoke as he pulled out a chair for me.
“NO! I’m not sitting because I’m not staying. There’s nothing to discuss. You are not taking over my company! Investing is one thing, but to take controlling interest is absurd. How the hell do you even have time for that?”
“You need me and the bottom line is I need to do what’s best for me and for your company. I’m taking a huge-ass risk. You’re on the verge of bankruptcy and shutting down Winslow Wines forever. I’m simply trying to help you. I need to make sure that my money is well invested, and I can do that if I own controlling interest.”
“So you don’t trust me? You don’t think I can bring life back into MY company that MY father left me?”
“Fiona, face it. He left you in the red and with a shitload of troubles. You should consider yourself lucky that I want to step in and help. Not many other businessmen would want to invest in your company right now. And to be honest, you’ve never run a company before. But don’t worry, sweetheart, you’ll still be in charge. You’ll just have to run all decisions by me first.”
“First of all, asshole,” I pointed my finger at him, “don’t call me sweetheart. And second of all, I don’t have to run anything by you because I’m declining your offer.” I threw the stack of papers on the table. “I knew you were up to something, but I never thought you’d want to take over. I thought you genuinely cared about helping us, but I was wrong. You’re a snake in the grass just like every other asshole man out in the world.”
“Ouch.” He placed his hand over his heart. “You’ll sink without my help. Remember that.”
“Then I’ll go down with the ship but on my own terms.” I turned on my heels and began to walk out.
“By the way,” he shouted, “if something happens to my car, I’ll know it was you.”
“UGH!” I stormed out.
Rage consumed me. It consumed me so badly that I couldn’t think clearly or see straight. I needed to go somewhere. Somewhere quiet to process everything that was going on and be alone where I could harvest my inner calm. Little Tokyo was the first place that came to mind. I drove to the Japanese American Cultural and Community center and made my way to the James Irvine Japanese Garden. It wasn’t anything big. Just a small garden lined with rocks, flowers, blooming trees, and a stream that flowed from a waterfall. It was the perfect place to sit down, relax, and gather my thoughts. Sitting on a rock, I took in the serene sound of the
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