That was at 8:04 p.m.
At 9:22 p.m. he sent . . .
JON: I should give you a key so you can come over whenever you want
At 10:47 p.m. . . .
JON: Why aren’t you in bed with me???
JON: I miss you
She texted him back at 11:01 p.m. . . .
TRINITY: I miss you 2 let’s fix this tomorrow
JON: I want to make things even better between us that’s all
JON: If you don’t like what I have to say I’ll drop it and it’s just you and me and Emmy like always
At 11:04 p.m. she ended with . . .
TRINITY: I like it when it’s the 3 of us
JON: I like it when you’re here with me
She should have driven out to see him. They could have cleared the air and spent the night together. She didn’t believe, at least she didn’t want to, that he wanted to buy her company and somehow cut her out of it. It just didn’t make sense. Yes, it would be a good business deal for him. But why buy it from her and reap all the benefits for himself? He had to know that wouldn’t sit well with her.
Which is why he wouldn’t do that to her.
She wondered if it might be something like he did with the grocery stores he helped save. Except she and Adria already owned the buildings they opened the shops in, so that concept wouldn’t work.
She really had no idea what he wanted to propose.
She tamped down the rising hope that maybe it was something more personal.
“How could you lie to me?” Nathan startled her out of her thoughts.
She turned to him, her heart pounding, hands shaking, but she kept her head and didn’t let the panic overwhelm her. “I’m sorry, but—”
“I hooked you up with Bountiful Foods. They made you a great offer, and you turned them down. Now you’re taking an offer from your boyfriend.”
She didn’t understand the anger in his voice and why this seemed so personal to him.
“What I was going to say before you interrupted me was, it’s none of your business what I do with Almost Homemade. It’s my business. My decision. You work for me.” She tilted her head and studied him. “Why are you even here? You should be at the Billings store doing your job.”
“I came to talk some sense into you.”
“Excuse me?” How dare her employee talk to her that way.
“Bountiful Foods is ready to pay you a fortune for your stores. You wouldn’t have to work ever again. They’d expand Almost Homemade in a way you can’t on your own. Take the deal.”
“No.” She didn’t owe any further explanation.
“Why are you being so stubborn about this? If you want more money, I’m sure they can sweeten the deal within reason.”
“You are late for work. Get back to Billings. Do your job if you want to keep it.”
Nathan took a menacing step closer. “You’re being unreasonable.”
She held her ground even though everything in her screamed for her to run. “You’ve overstepped. I’ve given you, and them, my answer.” She held his gaze when his angry eyes narrowed. “Do you want to keep your job or not?”
“You need to listen to me. I have the experience in the food industry you don’t.”
“That’s why I hired you to run the Billings store. And you’ve done a great job. I’ve known you since culinary school. I admired your drive. I appreciate that you’re passionate about the deal Bountiful offered us.”
“I helped put that deal together. It’s extremely generous.”
She had no idea he’d worked with Bountiful Foods to put together the offer. She wondered if there was something in it for him if she took it. “As you know, Adria and I have plans to continue to expand the business. More stores. We’d love to get our products into larger grocery chains.”
“Adria is about to have twins and you’re wrapped up in your boyfriend and his kid. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got married and had kids, too, which means you won’t be able to work.”
“First, that’s a completely sexist and antiquated way of thinking. I can have a family and work.”
The eye roll pissed her off.
“Second, my relationship with Jon is none of your business. I’m paying you to do your job. Third, while I value your input on the operation and the menu, Adria and I make the final decisions about the business.”
“Maybe I should be talking to her.”
“You’re out of line,” Adria said from directly behind him.
Nathan didn’t know it, but Adria had walked into the kitchen and overheard the last part of their conversation.
His eyes went wide, he pressed his lips tight, then turned to Adria. “You’ve been taking more time off because of your pregnancy. You’ll be home with your twins for months. You know you can’t dedicate the time and attention to the business it deserves. Bountiful Foods can see your vision and make it a reality.”
Adria stared hard at Nathan. “Trinity and I are on the same page, the way we always are when we come to a decision. We do not want to sell. As for me, it is the luxury of owning my own business and hiring smart, dedicated employees to oversee things in my absence that makes it possible for me to take the time I need and want for my personal life. I have a loyal partner who has my back and will keep me apprised of the business in my absence.”
Trinity went to Adria and stood beside her. Them against Nathan. “We gave you the job you wanted. If your heart and loyalty are to Bountiful Foods and not Almost Homemade, perhaps you should go work for them.”
“My job was supposed to be overseeing the opening of each new store. So far, all I’ve done is open Billings after you opened Bozeman. Everything else is stalled.”
“Delayed, yes. Stopped, no. The other stores will open. We’re just taking our time, making sure we don’t stretch ourselves or our finances too thin.”
“Bountiful could have ten stores open over the next year.”
“Good for them. Let them open their own stores. We are doing things our way.”
Nathan gave them an exasperated look. “They want the Almost Homemade brand and reputation.”
“It’s not for sale,” she and Adria said in unison.
Nathan stormed out.
Adria turned to her. “What was that all about?”
“Jon.” He started this.
Adria raised a brow in question. “I know I missed the meeting he asked to have with us yesterday. So tell me, what does he have to do with Almost Homemade?”
“I think he wants to buy it.”
Confusion lit Adria’s eyes. “You said he owned a company. Is it in the food industry?”
“A couple aren’t, no. But he kinda helps out several independent grocery stores.”
Adria leaned back against the counter. “How so?”
“He buys the struggling stores’ building, then keeps the rents reasonable so the stores can stay open. He invests in the stores, helps them to expand and modernize, and takes a piece of the profits. From the way he describes it, it’s more about keeping the stores open in low-income and food-scarce neighborhoods than it is about making a lot of money. Which he already has because of all the other types of businesses he owned and sold over the past ten years.”