How do you think Trevor’s son’s feeling?
He had to put his mug down, lest he spill it. He may have initially hidden his history for his father’s sake, but it was also simply too difficult for him to think about, let alone share with another human.
He’d go shower, and get dressed, and try to forget all these feelings Trevor and Rhi had stirred up. He couldn’t handle them, not right now.
His phone rang, and he welcomed the interruption to his trip down memory lane. He grabbed it, relief coursing through him when he saw who was calling. “Aunt Belle.”
“Hello, Samson.”
He frowned. Aunt Belle sounded like a timid, hesitant version of herself. “Hey there. I was talking about you with someone yesterday. Are you stateside again?”
“I am. I got in last night.”
“Are you up north?” Belle’s main estate was a lovely home near San Francisco, surrounded by tall redwoods.
“Yes.” She paused, then spoke in a rush. “If you’re mad at me, can you get it all out?”
“Mad at you?” Samson sat down on his couch. “Why on earth would I be mad at you?”
“Because I left everyone in the lurch.” His aunt’s tone grew thick. “I called William first, and he told me . . . well, it doesn’t matter what he told me.”
Samson’s frown deepened. It wasn’t William’s place to chide his boss. Jennifer may have been the former CEO, but Annabelle controlled the company now. “You didn’t leave me in the lurch.”
“Well. I suppose I should have thought before I got overwhelmed and ran away, especially when the company isn’t having its best year. I was in fairly constant contact with Tina, but not as much as I should have been. Not as much as Jennifer would have been.”
“I think everything ran fine even with you gone for a few weeks,” Samson said soothingly. “I didn’t notice any hiccups.”
“I saw you changed the campaign. That was smart, after that mess of a date.”
The amusement in Aunt Belle’s voice was a relief. “I guess match percentages can’t promise perfect dates.”
“They can’t, but I will defend my test. I accessed your account and you didn’t have the highest match percentage with sweet Rachel.”
Samson shook his head. Joe had once privately told him Belle had made him take the damn test, in hard copy, before agreeing to go on a first date with him. What their match percentage had been, Samson didn’t know. As far as Samson was concerned, the infamous test was nothing more than a personality questionnaire.
“I found another girl in your matches who would work so much better. I asked Tina to set up a date with her for you this week.”
Samson leaned forward and placed his arms on his knees. “Uh, I still have one more filming session with Rhi.” They hadn’t talked about when that meeting would be scheduled yet. “And my schedule is pretty tight this week. Podcasts, some other interviews, a photo shoot. It’s not all in the city, so I’m going to have to travel.”
“You can do the last session with Rhiannon later, and we can make some room in your schedule for another date. I don’t want you to miss this woman. So pretty and such a high percentage match, dear.”
Samson could tell she wasn’t going to budge on this. What did it hurt, to go film a fake date with another woman? Rhi wouldn’t care.
You wished she cared.
He grimaced. “Sure. Did you watch the videos with Rhi?”
“I did. And I know you and the company didn’t need my blessing, but Tina and I talked about the change in the campaign, and I was on board.” There was a defensive lilt to those words.
William must have really made her feel guilty for going off the grid for a while. “Teaming up with Crush wasn’t so much a change as it was a detour. The campaign that you came up with will go on after.” He emphasized the fact that she had come up with the idea to put him on the site. Aunt Belle wasn’t a bad businesswoman. She was just different.
Aunt Belle’s voice warmed. “I like the idea of working with our competitor for mutual gain. The world has become far too cutthroat. Not to mention, that Rhiannon girl is lovely.”
“Rhi’s great.” He thought about what Rhi had confessed about her fear. “Have you heard anything about her?”
“Oh, no. Tina says she’s a good person, and that’s all I need to know.”
Phew. “You know, she’s actually the reason I left you a message. She wants to meet you.”
“Oh. Why?”
“She wants to talk to you about buying Matchmaker.” When the silence stretched, he rushed to fill it. “Of course, it’s talk. It doesn’t mean you have to sell.”
Her voice was very small. “William said he has at least three buyers interested in the business as well. He recommended I consider selling if I wasn’t interested in running the company like it deserves.”
Fresh annoyance struck Samson. “Well, William has no say in that. It’s your company.”
“He’s not wrong, though. I understand Jennifer was far more hands-on than I ever could be. No doubt William misses her. Of course the sharks have been circling since she passed.”
Samson hated hearing his aunt so sad. “You’ve had a hard year, losing Jennifer and then Joe. You don’t have to decide this right away.”
“Oh, trust me, my instinct would be to procrastinate on this forever. But people’s jobs are on the line, if the company continues to do poorly. An ad campaign is nice, and William says we’ve seen a boost in sign-ups and traffic since we started this—especially since you released those videos with Rhiannon—but that’s a temporary fix. Jennifer wouldn’t have dillydallied if she’d ever considered selling. She would have ripped the Band-Aid off immediately. Or at least, met with the buyers to see what they might offer. I could talk to them.”
“I don’t think that would hurt. You don’t have to commit to anything.”
“I don’t, do I?” She paused. “Are you free next weekend?”
“Yes. You want to meet them that soon?”
“Like I said, Jennifer didn’t dillydally.”
“You don’t have to be Jennifer, Aunt Belle.”
“I want to do right by the employees. I’d like you there if I meet with a potential buyer. You do have some stake in this, after all.”
A very small stake. Against Uncle Joe’s wishes, Aunt Belle had transferred her partner 5 percent of the company. Samson had inherited that when his uncle died.
Should he disclose his and Rhi’s personal relationship? Only he didn’t know what way that might sway Annabelle, and he didn’t want Rhi to not get a fair shake. He’d simply recuse himself from advising her on Rhi’s offer. “Okay.”
“I have to think about how I’ll do this, what I feel most comfortable with. You know I don’t much like conventional meetings and lunches and so on with people.”
“I know.” Before his dad had gotten sick, it hadn’t been uncommon for Aunt Belle to ring their doorbell at midnight for an impromptu tea, or come and stay for a couple of weeks because she was craving domestic life.
Like business, Annabelle socialized according to her mood. Or horoscope. He had no idea how she’d handle meeting with potential buyers. “Tell me what you need from me. I’ll be there, wherever there is.”