Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Fletch
She wasn’t at the café. She’s not answering my calls or emails. What the fuck?
We made love last night. I’ve all but confessed that I’m falling in love with her. Everything was great. And now, she’s ghosting me? I don’t understand.
I knock on her door and Drew opens it. I step back because this man looks like he’s about to rearrange my face.
I put my hands up in defense. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I swear I didn’t intentionally do anything to hurt her,” I start.
He snarls at me. “Really? Is that so?” Drew asks, crossing his arms. His biceps bulge and for a split second I want to ask what gym the guys in this building go to because they all look like they could take down the most hardened criminal.
And I have a feeling Drew might try his left hook on me if I don’t figure out how to explain whatever it is that he thinks I did, that apparently Camryn thinks I did.
“I have no idea what’s going on. Everything was going great and then she left this morning and took all her stuff,” I explain.
Drew sighs. “You are sort of an idiot, you know that?” he asks as he steps aside and motions for me to come into the apartment.
I look around him to make sure I’m not going to get ambushed, but he appears to be alone.
I hesitantly step inside, and he shuts the door.
“Did you get what you needed from her?” he asks as he leans with his back against a wall.
“Get what from her? I don’t understand. Whatever rivalry we had, it’s done, over,” I state.
He raises an eyebrow. “Over? Really,” he says, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“Listen, are you going to explain what’s happening here or am I going to have to park myself on your sofa until Camryn comes here to tell me herself,” I say with a challenging raise of my eyebrow.
“You fucking plotted with your brothers to get intel on her café so you could figure out how to take her customers and drive her out of business. And then you just failed to mention that to her after you called a truce?” he asks, waving a hand in the air as if to say, see.
“I-I was, but…that was weeks ago, before we won the competition. Before I…” I trail off, not wanting to put all my cards on the table for Drew to see.
“Before you what?” Drew asks, narrowing his eyes.
I sigh and turn to the window, looking out at her café.
The lights are off now. I look at the business next door, the one I just bought, the one I was secretly hoping to use to add to the café’s size.
My plan, the one I’ve spent two weeks trying to work out is to sell the McDowell’s current spot to a chef friend of mine and instead act as a silent minority partner in Cam’s Café.
My concept is that McDowell’s can partner with smaller bakeries and cafés to broaden our portfolio while helping small businesses.
I’d be Cam’s partner, not her enemy. I could fund all the great ideas she’s talked about as we lie in bed at night.
We could make the greatest neighborhood café ever.
And if my family vetoes the idea, then I’m prepared to step away from it all and invest my own money in the café.
I’ve already used my own funds to buy the place next door and I’m prepared to buy out the building leasing the café space.
We could own the whole thing. I know with the show starting next week, Cam’s Café is going to see a huge uptick in its business.
It’s the perfect time to invest. If I don’t, I bet someone else will.
And no one is going to care more about helping her than me.
I put my thumbs in my pockets. Fuck it! I’ll put all my cards on the table. If anyone can talk sense into my woman, it’s Drew.
“Before I fell in love with her,” I admit, not turning around to see his reaction.
But I hear it. A single sharp intake of breath.
“You love her?” he repeats.
I nod. “I don’t know when it happened. She pissed me the hell off.
She drove me nuts. And then…somewhere between saving her from a spider at the hotel and taking her on a real date, I fell for her.
I don’t want to shut down the café,” I state as I turn to Drew.
“I want to expand it.” I let out a long breath.
I haven’t even told my family yet, but I have to tell him or he won’t believe me.
“I bought the building next door and I offered to buy the building where the café is located. The dry cleaners was going out of business and the building’s owner wanted to sell.
So, I bought it. I want to be a silent minority partner in Cam’s company.
I want to invest capital, let her do all the great ideas she has.
I believe in her business. I want to see it grow.
I’ve already talked to a chef friend who wants to buy the McDowell property for a sandwich shop.
I think it’ll do really well in this neighborhood,” I explain.
I meet his gaze. He’s eyeing me with suspicion.
I can see him warring over whether he should trust me or not.
I put my hands up in surrender. “I love her, Drew. I don’t want to hurt her. I’m not sure what she saw to think I want to ruin her business, but that’s not how I feel any longer. She even admitted to essentially spying on me to get intel. We were doing the same thing,” I offer.
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, but she admitted it and you never said fuck all.”
I grimace. He’s right. I just felt stupid at that point. “You’re right. I should have told her. I just figured…it’s water under the bridge. What’s the point of telling her something that I sort of figured she’d already know.”
“You sort of figured wrong, bro,” Drew says deadpan.
“Yeah, I see that now. I’m an idiot, but I’m an idiot that’s fucking head over heels in love with her,” I lament.
I pull an envelope from my pocket. I had grabbed it this morning. I wanted to show it to her in person.
I pass it to him, and he opens it, reading the copy of the deed and my business plan. Then he passes it back to me.
“How do I know that’s true and not some made-up shit?” he asks.
I pull up my email and hold up my phone, showing him email chains with a realtor and the building’s owner. Then I show him call logs and play two voicemails. By the time I play the second one, he holds up his hand.
“She had Kasen try to get her intel on your company while you were attempting to do the same to hers. He got it, but after you all shacked up for two weeks. He sent it anyhow and I guess she didn’t know what to believe.
She thought you might still want to put her out of business.
She’s had douchebags do stupid shit to her before, so she doesn’t give trust easily.
I think she felt like an idiot that was getting taken advantage of.
You really fucked up by not telling her what you were doing sooner.
Anyhow, you both suck at communicating and need to work on that shit,” Drew says.
I shrug. He’s not wrong. “So, how do I fix it? Where is she?” I ask, looking around.
“Elsewhere. You won’t be able to talk to her tonight. You need a real plan.” He pauses and looks at his watch and then grins. “I’m late for a meeting. And you’re coming with me.”
* * *
“Classic mistake right there,” Hutch says with a laugh.
He snaps his fingers. “It’s like that one enemies to lovers we read three months ago.
What was the name of it? Anyhow, you all fell in love but also secretly were still suspect of each other because it all happened too fast. The enemies part was blurring with the lovers part. And you suck at communication.”
I groan. “Yeah, sort of already heard that tonight. How do I fix it, then?”
“Grand gesture,” Kasen says as he leans back. “You fucked up, bro. Your girl is as headstrong as they come. Also, next time you text shit, just remember, anyone can get that. I don’t care that you were on your company’s super secure chat app. You all didn’t even encrypt it, novice fucking mistake.”
I glare at him. He’s the reason my woman is mad at me, and I sort of want to beat the shit out of him.
He smirks. “Cam is going to need the biggest grand gesture ever. She’s stubborn as fuck.”
Sighing, I nod. “I know. Trust me, I know.”
“Well, what’s your plan?” Drew asks.
I stand and walk in a circle as ideas roll around my brain. “I’m going to need two weeks and a lot of help,” I finally say as the perfect plan starts to form in my mind.
Drew looks to Bray, Gray, Hutch, and Kasen. “We’re in.”
I smile. “Time to do some epic shit. If I can’t win her back with this, then…well, I guess I don’t deserve her.”
Drew gives me a stern look. “No one deserves her. She’s too good for any of us. But I think you both are in love with each other and I’m all for an old-fashioned love story. So, let’s go help you win back your lady.” He pauses. “Prepare for a lot of groveling. She’s a…well, she’s Cam.”
They chuckle and give me looks of sympathy. But that only invigorates me. My lady is as headstrong as they come and that’s going to make this even more worthwhile when I prove to her how much I love her. Holy fuck, I love Camryn Tanner!