by Ward, Alice
I swept through the narrow aisle to him and planted a light kiss on his mouth. He accepted it, but I instantly felt reservation in his energy. My heart plummeted into my stomach. He’d come with bad news. I was sure of it.
Warily, I studied his face. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to tell you something.”
In a normal relationship, that sentence would’ve been cause for concern about a grievous mistake like infidelity. With us, I wasn’t even a little worried about that. Everything negative thus far had been directly related to the Pennington’s-Auras battle. The problem was that I’d already taken on so much in that particular fight that the very thought of having something else to deal with was virtually crushing.
“I’m not so sure I want to know.”
“You need to know.” He didn’t reach out for me, didn’t pull me to him, offered no sign of comfort to help me through the bomb he was about to drop. It had to be a doozy. I braced myself as he exhaled harshly. “The board is going to push the sale of your property through without your consent.”
It didn’t make sense. “What do you mean? How is that possible?”
“They use a form of eminent domain. By making the Fawn Town Council an off-the-books offer, the municipality will find cause to claim or condemn this property. Once they have control of it, they’ll sell it to Pennington’s.” His words were clipped and his tone sharp, and his aura pulsed with poorly disguised anger. “In short, they’ll coerce the town into stealing the land out from under you to then turn over to my company.”
“Your company?” My ears were ringing. I wished more than anything that I would’ve felt Gram’s presence at that moment because the thought of being forced out of the only place where I had this deep connection to her broke my heart. “It sounds like you’re telling me this isn’t just the board’s decision.”
His nostrils flared, and he reared back slightly as if I’d hit him. “Why are you always so quick to assume I had something to do with it?”
I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t know, Cash. Maybe because you’re the CEO of the company? Seems to me the CEO would have a hand in it somehow.”
“Well, I don’t.” He stared at me, willing me to believe him through his gaze. “This was decided without my knowledge or input.”
Whether he was telling the truth or not, I didn’t know. What I knew for sure was a lot of things had happened in my life since he’d first arrived in Fawn only a month ago, and most of those things were relative to Pennington’s. Coincidence? I didn’t believe in coincidences. More than that, I didn’t believe in accidents. It was no accident that Cash came to Michigan, nor was it an accident that, despite all my best efforts, I was looking at losing everything I’d built for myself. He had something to do with it regardless if he knew it or not.
That, or we had something to do with it.
“They’re doing this because of us.” He raised his eyebrows as I vocalized my sudden epiphany. “They think you can’t do what you came here to do, or won’t do it, because of our relationship.”
“My thoughts exactly,” he replied, shoving all ten fingers through his hair. There was enough bitterness in his voice to make my tongue curl in disgust.
I buried my face in my hands, shook my head, and backed myself against the counter for support. “I guess it doesn’t matter, though.”
“What doesn’t?”
“The why. Who cares what their reasons are?” My eyes were starting to burn, and my skin was warming to the touch. “I’m still going to lose everything anyway.”
“You still have the option to take the deal, you know.”
I looked up at him, stunned into speechlessness. Cash looked back at me evenly, though there were still scraps of irritation on his face. If the irritation was with me or with the board, I didn’t know.
He shrugged when I didn’t reply. “I’m just saying. You’re not doomed. My last offer is still active, to pay you for the property and fund a new store and residence for you.”
“You’re not serious. You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?” He rolled his shoulders again as he took a step closer to me. “It’s an excellent offer, darlin’. You’ll have a brand new house, and your business will be up and running better than ever before you know it. Plus, you’ll have a nice shiny check in your bank account. Where’s the downside?”
“The downside is bowing down to a soulless corporate machine because they’re threatening me and grabbing at whatever straws they can to get what they want!” I was nothing short of seething. His little speech about all the benefits of accepting his offers had managed to send my temper through the roof, and I didn’t bother pruning it back. “I’m not going to be their doormat, and I’m certainly not going to give them any reason to think bullying is an acceptable and effective way to do business!”
Cash scratched his chin. “I understand where you’re coming from, but when you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, sometimes you have to pick one.”
“In other words, I have to take your deal or lose everything?”
His mouth tightened into a thin line of regret. “Unfortunately, yeah.”
“No.” I almost stamped my foot like a child for emphasis. “I don’t buy it. This can’t be legal.”
“You wouldn’t think so, but it’s a legal loophole.” He spread his hands out to either side, and I spotted sorrow in his eyes. “Darlin’, I’m sorry. I’m only passing on what I found out today.”
“From who?”
The sorrow was replaced with anger in a blink. “Harlan.”
“You mean the guy who called me to harass me? The one who seemed to know everything about us?” I demanded.
“Yes, but I’m not so sure he knew when he called you.” I narrowed my eyes at him, waiting for him to elaborate. “He has a way of getting things out of people without them realizing it. If I know him like I think I do, he probably worded something in a way that indicated he knew more about us than he actually did. Then, in the heat of the moment, you said something to prove him right.”
My claws came out. “Are you suggesting it’s my fault that your board is a bunch of thieves trying to steal what’s mine out from under me?”
“I’m suggesting he didn’t know about us until that phone call, and finding out about us was what spurned the board to make this move.” He stepped toward me again, this time in close enough range to take my chin between his thumb and forefinger and force me to look right at him. “I’m going to fix it, Gretchen. I refuse to let them do this to you.”
“How on earth do you plan on fixing this?” The tears were back, welling up and fogging my vision. I was afraid to blink because I knew they would start rolling down, and I didn’t want to fall apart.
He glanced down at his unburdened hand, checking the shiny watch on his wrist. “I have a flight back to Oklahoma in two hours. They’re either going to cut the bullshit and leave you alone, or they’ll cut me.”
I couldn’t help myself, and I blinked. Two fat tears started tumbling over my cheeks. Cash released my chin to brush them away, but they were no sooner dried than two more took their place. “So, you’re leaving again?”
“I have to. I can’t let them do this to you.” He sounded defeated, which made me surer than ever that I was about to lose something dear to me. He’d already gone back to Oklahoma once, and by some miracle, they’d allowed him to return to me. If he succeeded in convincing them to get out of my hair and let me keep my store, it would mean his work here was done, and he’d resume life in the south pre-Fawn. If not, if they canned him, there was the possibility he would come back, and we would continue our relationship — though I hadn’t an idea how that would work — but Auras would be gone.
“Are you flying out of Escanaba?” My whisper was just as defeated as his.
“Yes.”
I nodded sullenly. “Then you better get going if your flight is in two hours.”
He studied me, flicking his gaze ac
ross my features as if trying to memorize my face. I bit back a sob. Gently, he leaned down and kissed me. I carved the sensation of his mouth on mine into my brain in case it was the last time I ever felt it. When he pulled back, he had an expression like he was about to embark on the walk to the electric chair.
“I’ll let you know what happens,” he promised.
I nodded again. With one final kiss on my forehead, he left the store, and a throaty wail of misery burst from my throat as I whipped around to scramble for my phone.
“Pick up.” I ferociously slashed my arm across my face to dry my skin and listened to the line ring. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”
“This is Laughlin.”
My brother’s voice was all I needed to hear to send me into a full breakdown. I doubled over, my torso collapsing against the display case, and started weeping uncontrollably onto the glass. The phone was poorly balanced between my ear and shoulder, and it threatened to fall with every shuddering gasp.
Greg’s idle greeting morphed into his stern, no-nonsense police officer tone. “Gretchen? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“No.” Even I could hardly understand my reply. “I’m losing everything.”
“What?” He sounded extremely concerned now, and I could picture him snatching the keys to his cruiser, preparing to come to me in case it was an emergency. “I can’t understand you.”
I choked on a few more sobs before unwillingly pulling myself together enough to make some discernible sense. “The store. It’s gone. Or it will be.”
“Is there a fire?” His first inclination was always to assume disaster.
“It’s Pennington’s.” Saying the name made my stomach hurt. “Greg, you know the laws. Please, tell me it’s not legal for them to take my property.”
“Of course they can’t. Not without your consented sale.”
My chest was aching, and it felt like I was swallowing fire. “No, I mean the town. Can Pennington’s work with the council to have my property condemned so Fawn can take ownership of it and sell it to them? That can’t be legal, right?”
He didn’t say anything for a second, though I thought I could hear his sigh of relief that I wasn’t in any imminent danger. “Gretch, I’m a cop, not a lawyer. I don’t know much about those kinds of things.”
“I’m sure you know more than I do.”
“Well…” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I can tell you a municipality has the right to condemn a property if it’s deemed unsafe. Remember when I was sent out to Judd Dilmore’s place? He’d been ordered to vacate the premises even though he owned it because he’d crammed it so full of junk that it was a fire hazard. We had to lock him up for failure to clean up the home, and then for failure to comply. So, I guess if the town council decides your store is unsafe beyond reasonable repair, then you could forfeit ownership. But, like I said, you’d be better off asking a lawyer.”
I remembered the anecdote about Judd Dilmore very well, but I hadn’t thought about it as relevant to my situation until this moment. There wasn’t anything else I needed to hear. He may not have known much about the subject, but Greg confirmed my fears that Fawn was able to seize Auras from me and sell it to Pennington’s, and I couldn’t handle that.
“Okay.” My voice was thick with dammed emotion. “Thanks.”
“You okay? Want me to come over there? I’m on shift until six, but I can come by after.”
I didn’t respond because I didn’t want to alarm him by breaking down again, so I just hung up. Then, waves of frustration, fury, and fear started to crash into me one right after the other, and I buckled onto the floor.
Time passed without my knowing. All I could do was cry, and in the moments when I couldn’t cry anymore, I stared blankly at the floor. The same floor I’d played on as a toddler. The same one that used to creak when Gram trotted freshly baked pies, cakes, cookies, and pastries from the ovens to the display cases. The same hardwood I’d felt under my back while Cash made love to me in the middle of a wicked thunderstorm.
I heard the chimes jingle on the door, but I didn’t have time to scramble to my feet and whip up a measure of composure to present to a customer before two sneakers strode right up to my nose. Gentle hands curled around my arms, and I was carefully eased into a sitting position.
It was Elena. Her mouth was turned down, her eyebrows were heavy, and the sympathy in her eyes was tangible. “Greg called me.” She lowered herself onto her knees so we were eye-level. “He told me what happened. He wanted me to come over here to check on you because he was worried.”
I nodded. She didn’t wait for me to explain anything or justify my dramatic reaction. She just pulled me into her arms and hugged me tight as I started to weep again.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Cash
I walked into headquarters in a state of relative numbness. The receptionists at the front desk all greeted me as I passed them, but I hardly noticed and continued walking toward the elevator with only a nod of acknowledgment. It wasn’t my intention to be an asshole, but I had tunnel vision. My focus was on one thing and one thing only, and nothing or no one was going to divert my attention.
“Mr. Pennington! I didn’t know you were back.” One of the marketing execs, a tall woman named Beverly with thick black glasses, sidled up beside me as I punched the button to call the elevator. When my father had still been alive, and I’d been lower on the totem pole, Beverly and I had worked together often. We weren’t friends, but our working relationship was pleasant. Nevertheless, I considered conversation a distraction at the moment.
“Good to see you, Beverly.” I nodded politely and sidestepped around her. “Don’t mean to be rude, but I’m late for a meeting with the board. I think I’ll take the stairs.”
Her thick black ponytail swung like a pendulum behind her head as she looked around in confusion. “Up twenty-two floors?”
“Yeah. I need to get some cardio in, anyway.” I bid her goodbye with an abrupt wave and made a beeline for the stairwell.
The truth was I didn’t want to lose focus on the elevator ride, and idle chatter was sure to do just that. I had something important to do, something important to both Gretchen and me, and I needed all of my nerve to do it because I was potentially throwing away the only future I’d ever known for myself.
***
The loathsome conference room was full by the time I entered, my brow covered in dribbling beads of sweat and my lungs screeching for oxygen. Surprised eyes turned to me from every chair around the table, but I ignored them. I didn’t bother sitting in my designated seat, either.
“Let’s get this started,” I said brusquely.
There was no doubt in my mind they all thought I’d gone off my rocker, and Harlan confirmed it. “Son, maybe you better sit down. Have a drink of water.”
“I don’t want to sit down. I don’t want water.” I turned a venomous glare onto him. “And don’t call me son.”
He carried on without pause. “Fine. Cash, I’m sure you called this meeting to discuss our decision to work with Fawn Town Council, but—”
“Wrong.” Harlan reacted to my sharpness this time, twisting his head and shooting daggers at me with his eyes. I didn’t recoil. “There’s nothing to discuss. Call it off, retract whatever offer you’ve already put in, change your plans. Whatever you have to do, I don’t care. Just make it stop.”
He addressed the rest of the board. “As you can see, this is a prime example of why it’s critical we maintain a clear line of separation between us and our—”
“Victims?” I snarled. Again, he looked at me with blades, but I didn’t give a rat’s ass. “Because that’s what they are. The people you harass and bully and cheat are your victims.”
“Now, wait a minute, boy.” Silas stabbed a knobby finger in my direction. “You’re not tryin’ to deny you’re sleepin’ with the shopkeeper, are ya?”
I laughed acidly. “No, and you know what? If you want to fire me for that, then fire m
e. You’re so unwilling to admit to yourselves what you’re doing is wrong that you’ll point to anything you can to explain away your guilt. I’m falling in love with Gretchen, so that must mean I’m biased, right?” I barked out another harsh laugh. “If that’s what you have to tell yourselves to sleep at night, so be it. But I can tell you this… if my father, your hero, built a legacy on taking livelihood and sentiment from good people, I have no desire to continue that legacy. As long as I am CEO here, I refuse to stand by and let that kind of bullshit happen.”
My outburst was met with shocked silence, but I wasn’t through yet.
“What amazes me is that you each have a chair at this table.” I shook my head and tapped the solid wood with my knuckles. “This table is supposed to be for the best businessmen and women in the field. That was my dad’s intention, anyway. But here y’all are making the kinds of choices an amateur would make because your heads are so far up your asses you can’t see the light.”
“Shut your mouth,” Silas hissed. He wasn’t the only one. Several others were muttering or protesting along with him.
I ignored them. “If you were truly great businesspeople, you’d understand the value of loyalty, partnership, and long-term payout. What you’re doing right now is making enemies, and you’re making a lot of them fast. Sooner or later, there’s going to be more enemies than advocates, and when that happens, you’re out of business.”
There were more protests, but most of them weren’t personal this time. They were contradictory debates against my point, throwing the financial success of Pennington’s out as a lifeline to their mutated argument.
To my surprise, Harlan swished an arm out in a chopping motion, and quiet fell on the room. “Hear the kid out.”
I stared at him. I couldn’t believe he was sticking up for me when our mentorship had revealed significant cracks in recent days, and I considered the possibility that he was doing it with something up his sleeve. Regardless, I continued with my chastising rant.
