“Ahh.” Aria nodded. “She’d sell it out of spite.”
“Exactly. And in doing so, almost every employee would lose their job.”
“They wouldn’t if you sold it?”
I shook my head. “Not if I find the right buyer. Carmichael Communications is a small player in the scope of telecommunications companies, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have some pull. If I sold or partnered with a larger company, we could turn it into something that might change the world.”
There were innovative companies looking to acquire resources like the ones we had at Carmichael. Our research and development team had made some amazing tech in the area of satellite communications and internet capabilities.
“How does all of this require you live in Arizona?”
“We have a small R&D office in Welcome along with a data warehouse. I’ve moved my best employees out of Vegas to Arizona, where I can focus our efforts on the developments that position us for the big sale. If I leave Welcome, my grandmother will insist we shut the site down and move it all back to Vegas. I don’t want her to know what we’re doing. So far, I’ve managed to keep it quiet. It works because I’m there. She trusts that my incentives are to make the company flourish. After all, I’m inheriting it. That’s why my grandfather set it up that way in the first place.”
Aria frowned. “Complicated. I’m not a fan of your grandmother.”
“You and me both. But I have to play nice. It’s a game I can’t lose.”
“I don’t play games.”
No, she didn’t. “My grandmother is the most tenacious woman you’ll ever meet. Her greatest pleasure is control. Like I said, maybe she’s bluffing. But there are hundreds of employees, including your sister, who can’t take the chance that she’s not.”
Aria closed her eyes. “What a mess.”
“You have no idea.”
“And your brother? Is he part of the mess too?”
“He’s never worked at Carmichael. Probably because he never got along with my grandfather.”
“But you did?”
“In a way.” My relationship with Grandfather hadn’t been one of love and loyalty. He had been just as ruthless as Grandmother, probably why their marriage had lasted. He hadn’t liked Alastair because my brother was lazy and entitled.
Aria blew out a long breath. “Arizona.”
“I know it’s a lot to ask.” I leaned my elbows on my knees. I’d drop to them if need be. “Please. Consider it. I don’t . . . I don’t want my—our—child hating me because I wasn’t there.”
There hadn’t been many times in my life when I’d needed a parent—I’d always been fairly self-sufficient and, after all, I’d had employees as my keepers. But there’d been a handful of times when I’d wanted a parent sitting in the auditorium, like my high school and college graduations. To this day, I resented them for their absence.
I refused to be that kind of father.
Aria’s gaze softened. Maybe she’d heard the truth in my words. She’d realized it was a confession of the life I’d lived. And there was sympathy in her eyes because her parents hadn’t been there either.
“Let me think about it,” she said. “Let me see what kind of work I can find.”
“You don’t—”
She held up a hand. “I have to work.”
“Then how about you run my flower shop?” The words spewed out before I could catch them. Jesus, Brody. What the hell was I thinking? The lie spun in front of my eyes, like a spider weaving a strand of silk, its legs moving faster and faster. The idea formed like a web, ready to trap Aria. For her own good.
“What flower shop?” Her eyebrows creased together.
“I just bought the local flower shop when the owners retired.” Lie. “I often buy businesses in Welcome.” That was true at least. If she talked to Clara, her sister would confirm it.
When a local store was getting ready to close or the owners retire, as long as the finances made sense, I bought it. Not only were they usually good investments, but it ensured my town, my safe haven, thrived.
I employed a business manager to oversee them all and gladly stayed silent. I owned three restaurants, two bars, an insurance agency, a salon and a gym.
And now Welcome Floral.
Not that the owners of Welcome Floral knew this. Hopefully they’d be willing to sell it to me on short notice for a ridiculous price. If they didn’t go for it, well . . . I’d think of something. As long as I got Aria to Welcome, the rest didn’t matter.
“A year. Give me a year,” I begged. “After my birthday and after the baby is born, we can come up with a new plan.”
“I won’t have this baby for months. Seven of them, I think. I haven’t been to the doctor yet. By the time that’s over and we get through a maternity leave, that should be close to your birthday. Why move? Why not just wait?”
“Because I’d miss the pregnancy.”
She blinked. “I didn’t think men cared about that.”
“Devan didn’t care about that.” I spat the name. “I’m nothing like Devan.”
“I guess not.”
“Think about it. That’s all I ask. Consider it.” Please.
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Thanks,” I breathed and stood, pulling on my jacket. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“What about pizza?”
“I’ll get dinner at the hotel.” My stomach was in too much of a knot to eat, even though pizza sounded delicious. But if I stayed, chances were Aria and I would find something to fight about. Best I get out and end this conversation on a good note.
“You’re staying?”
“Aren’t you going to Arizona tomorrow for Christmas?”
“That was the plan.”
“Might as well cancel your flight. There’s no point in flying commercial when I’m going to the same place.”
She frowned, like she wanted to argue, but she’d been on my plane. It was nothing like flying commercial. “What time are we leaving?”
“I’ll pick you up at ten.”
“No, don’t. I’ll come to the hotel.”
“All right.” I walked for the door, but before I touched the knob, I stopped and turned. “I know this probably seems strange, the urgency. Why I want to be there. I didn’t have a good father. And I vowed a long time ago not to make the same mistakes that he made.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me, Brody.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “Good night.”
“Good night.” I took one last look at her face, memorizing the contours of her cheeks and the shape of her mouth.
Her image had dulled some, since the wedding. Now it was fresh. Mesmerizing.
Fuck, but I’d missed it.
Without another word, I left, making it halfway down the block when I saw the pizza delivery car zooming up the road. As I strode down the sidewalk, I pulled out my phone and called Clara.
“Did she kick you out yet?” she asked.
“Not yet.”