Chapter 35
GRIFFIN
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so sleep-deprived. Last night, I stayed up until very late, brainstorming for my pitch to Jude. As I headed to bed, I was so restless that I knew I would toss and turn the entire night, so I ended up crashing in Jeremy’s bedroom.
This morning, I woke up at six o’clock sharp. I’d gone through the motions at the office the whole day. Not even my team approached me. They could clearly see from a mile away that I was in a shitty mood.
Stella found out that was Jude was playing golf tonight, which was why I showed up at one of the most prestigious country clubs in San Diego at six o’clock sharp.
Frankly, I was surprised that he liked to play the game. I’d tried it once because it was a good way to do business—people liked to talk shop while swinging clubs—but I found it boring as shit.
The parking lot was full, but that wasn’t a problem because they had a valet service. I dropped off my keys, and they took care of everything.
A club employee approached me the second I stepped inside. “Good evening, Mr. Sterling. We’re ready for you.”
The guy was too hyper, but I didn’t have the energy to shut down his enthusiasm. No one could come here without an appointment. Stella had taken care of that, and now they thought I wanted to be a member.
“I’m simply here to meet an acquaintance,” I informed him.
His face fell. He was holding a notepad. I was betting my ass that there was some sort of form on it that he’d expect me to fill out.
“Right. Who is that person?”
“Jude Carson.”
“He’s still playing, but he should be done in about ten to fifteen minutes. Are you joining him on the golf course?”
“No.” I wanted to catch up with him after he’d finished.
“All right. He always uses a cart, so you’re welcome to wait for him either in the bar or outdoors by the golf cart parking lot. We have a refreshment area set up there as well.”
“I’ll wait outside.”
“Please follow me. I’ll show you where it is.”
I was going to tip him well because he was being very professional. I’d expected him to be pushier about getting me to join.
I took a good look around while we walked straight across from the reception area to a huge double door. Even from here, I could see the expanse of the golf course. Once outside, he pointed at the sitting area.
All right, that isn’t half bad.
The golf carts were parked quite a distance away, but from what I could tell, there was no way to get from the parking lot to inside the club without passing the sitting area.
“Perfect. I’ll wait here.”
“Do you need anything else?”
“No,” I assured him. Then I took out a fifty from my wallet and handed it to him.
His eyes wide, he said, “Thank you,” before turning on his heels and heading back inside.
I had too much energy to sit, so I paced around, replaying my pitch. Objectively, I had excellent arguments. His team had already accepted me. I’d contributed with ideas they could work on, and we had a good thing going.
Yet something about the pitch felt wrong. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. What was I missing?
I looked up every time I heard a golf cart approach until Jude came twenty minutes later. Only after parking the golf cart and walking up to the sitting area did he spot me.
Jude paused, leveling me with a cold stare. “Griffin, I assume you aren’t here by accident.”
“Guilty as charged, Jude. I need to talk to you, to apologize.”
He paused before replying. “Fine. There’s a bar inside the building. Let’s go there.”
“Perfect. Thank you for the opportunity.”
We left the parking area and headed inside. We sat down in the bar area, next to a loud group of six.
“How did you know I was here?” he asked.
“I can’t reveal my sources.”
He began to laugh. That was a good start.
“Griffin, I already informed your team of my decision.”
“I know.”
“And it’s not reversible.”
“I understand that too. In your place, I’d do the same.”
His brows rose up his forehead. “You would?”
“Yes. Going into a partnership with someone who lied to my face is unthinkable.”
“At least we agree on that. What the hell possessed you to do it in the first place?”
“Honestly, it was an unexpected turn of events.”
“When did you even meet Phoebe?”
“That very night that you and I went to the restaurant. After you left, I stayed at the bar. She was there with her best friend, waiting to meet with that imbecile.” I frowned, remembering that evening.
It had been bizarre. “I started talking with her friend. One thing led to another, and I went to Phoebe’s table pretending I was her boyfriend so she could get rid of the ex. ”
Jude jerked his head back. “You’re joking.”
“No, I’m not. You should have seen Phoebe’s face.
She was just as stunned as you were. I guess she trusted her friend because she went along with it.
After that, I figured I wouldn’t see her again.
But as luck would have it, I did. We started talking, and she suggested helping me with you, just as I’d helped with her ex.
Thinking back, I can’t even tell you why I agreed to it.
I knew it was a bad idea to negotiate under false pretenses.
But I wanted to spend time with her, and that won out. ”
“Wait… are you currently dating her or not?”
“Yes. Things changed during that weekend at your house.” What was I doing? My goal was to change his mind, not tell him about my personal life.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. We started seeing each other in earnest after that.”
“Another success of my dating app, if I can say so myself.” Jude looked smug, but his eyes were still cold.
“I’m sorry for lying to you, but I can’t say that I’m sorry about everything that happened. Otherwise, Phoebe and I wouldn’t be together right now.”
Jude didn’t reply, and I couldn’t read his expression. I’d gotten used to him being open and fun around me. I hated that I’d disappointed him.
And right here, right now, I realized one more thing.
I didn’t actually care about sealing the deal anymore.
In the past, I would have gone to great lengths to secure an investment, but Jude’s friendship was more important to me than that.
And it was all because of Phoebe. She’d changed me fundamentally.
“My brothers often tease me that I’m too focused. That I go to great lengths to make sure things go my way.”
“I agree with them.”
“I will say that I’ve never lost a deal in my whole life.”
Jude cocked a brow. “I find that hard to believe.”
“It’s true. But now I’m going for something else. I’m hoping to save our friendship.”
He sat up straighter in his seat, pointing at me. “When I told Emma about the ruse, her exact words were ‘Oh, but those two belong together.’ And then she said, ‘I actually liked them. I’d hoped to see them again.’”
“Forget about the deal,” I said. “Honestly.”
“You know what? I do appreciate your friendship as well. Let’s order some champagne and celebrate that.”
“That’s good enough for me,” I exclaimed, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
Jude flagged a waiter, who instantly appeared at our table. “Bring us a bottle of your best champagne,” he requested.
“Right away, sir.”
The waiter quickly returned with a chilled bottle of Dom Perignon. He popped the cork and poured in two glasses. Jude and I clinked them as the server left.
“To interesting developments,” he said.
I started to laugh. “I agree.”
Jude started to tell me about the boat he planned to rent for the Mediterranean to take his wife on a cruise. He showed me several options, and I gave him my honest opinion. I disliked all of them. “They’re far too small.”
“You’re right. If I want to stay with my wife for three weeks, we need something a bit bigger. Thanks for the honesty.”
“Irony intended?” I asked.
Jude shrugged. “Maybe. You know, I really appreciate that you’re not pushing the work issue.”
It was another thing I’d learned from Phoebe—not to see everything in black-and-white.
I opened my mouth to reply, but then I heard my phone was buzzing.
I took it out and tried to silence it, then noticed it was Chase. He usually didn’t call without a reason. “I have to take this.”
“By all means,” Jude said.
I answered right away.
“Where the fuck are you?” Chase demanded.
“In a meeting.”
“And you couldn’t let us know?”
Then it hit me. “Shit, I completely forgot I was supposed to come by the inn today.”
“You don’t say. I understand you had important business to settle, but you could have at least kept Phoebe in the loop. She’s worried.”
“About what?” I asked, then grimaced. I never replied to her message. My focus had been completely shot today. “Fuck. I remember. Is she still there?”
“Yeah.”
“Then tell her I’m leaving for the inn right away.”
“You’d better!”
After hanging up, I focused on Jude.
“You need to go,” he stated.
“Yes.”
“The missus is mad at you.”
Before meeting Phoebe, the use of the word missus would have creeped me out, but now I didn’t mind.
“Yeah. I made a blunder. I need to fix it.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks. It was great catching up with you tonight, Jude.”
“With you, too, my boy. Have fun. Send my best to Phoebe.”
“I will. And please greet Emma for me.”
He nodded. “She’ll be happy to hear about us making amends.”
“I think so too,” I replied.
I’d had a glass of champagne, but my mind was surprisingly clear. Despite having been exhausted all day, adrenaline was running through my veins right now. Jude and I were on good terms again. Fuck yes! But I couldn’t really enjoy the victory. I was apprehensive about Phoebe. I’d let her down.
I looked at her message before starting the car. Fucking hell, I should have reassured her somehow. I vaguely remembered that she’d mentioned it last night too. What had I told her? For the life of me, I couldn’t remember.
This wouldn’t do. My woman had to know that she was my top priority.