Chapter 13
AVERY
Over the next few days, I worked tirelessly on the presentation. I kept working on Fiverr gigs on the side. It wasn’t terribly exciting. People asked for basic logo designs, but that was fine by me.
I also spent more time than I should on my would-be Etsy store, discovering keywords to improve algorithms, making my products easy for customers to find, and designing more merchandise.
I was getting ahead of myself—deep down, I knew that.
Even quick-production batches could take up to a few months.
But I was determined to be positive about this.
I made sure every detail was perfect in the presentation.
I’d drawn up several of these over the course of my business, and I was confident I was doing a good job. My sister, Jamie, offered to take a look at it as well, and on Wednesday at 7:00 a.m., I was waiting on pins and needles for her answer.
Her email came in at 7:05 a.m. I was supposed to send it to Jack at nine o'clock.
Jamie: You’re a pro. The numbers look good. Go get him!
Avery: Thanks, Jamie.
I emailed Jack the next second. From that point on, I pretended to work on more designs, but honestly, I couldn’t really focus.
At 11:00 a.m., he replied, asking if we could chat at 6:00 p.m. my time. Crap. Seven more hours of biting my nails was going to be the end of me, but there wasn’t anything I could do, so I agreed. Then I messaged Sam to let him know, just in case he wanted to come home in the meantime.
Avery: I’m talking to Jack at 6 p.m. Do you mind if I do it from the living room? The internet connection is better.
Sam: I don’t mind at all. Good luck! By the way, after that, you’re mine for the rest of the evening.
Avery: ???
Sam: That’s right. I promised to behave until today. Time’s up.
I was completely giddy, and for a few seconds, I even forgot all about my nerves.
Avery: Okay. Game on.
I wanted to celebrate tonight, but I was afraid of making any plans until after I spoke to Jack. But he wouldn’t have suggested a call if he didn’t like what I sent him, right?
At ten to six, I paced the living room, trying to ignore the knot in my stomach.
At six on the dot, I clicked the Zoom link he sent me.
Jack was in his late fifties, possibly early sixties, with dark brown hair cropped short.
“Avery,” he said curtly. His background was a sterile white office with a cactus in the corner.
“Hi, Jack. Nice to meet you.”
“I’ve looked over your presentation.”
Straight to the point—I could get used to it.
“Do you have questions?” I asked.
“No. Look, I didn’t want to cancel this because we'd already set it up.”
My stomach plummeted.
“I googled your previous company," he continued. "You’ve got a bad rep since you still haven’t paid Austin Production what you owe them.”
I took in a deep breath. That wasn’t readily available information, but with a bit of digging, anyone could find it out. He might not be a man of pleasantries, but Jack did his homework, and I respected that.
“Jack, I’ll be honest. I’m still working on paying that off. But in order to do it, I need to be able to sell more products. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m blaming someone else, but my previous business partner embezzled funds.”
“Then you have a legal case against them.”
“I don’t. I made a classic beginner mistake and didn’t hire a second lawyer to go over our contract.”
His face fell. I knew how that sounded. At best, I was making excuses. At worst, I was a moron. I couldn’t deny it—I’d been exactly that. Too broke to seek out a lawyer and too excited that someone believed in my ideas.
“I take full responsibility, and I will pay them," I insisted. "I’m making monthly payments from my savings.”
“I’ll be honest. I don’t want any part in that. Sounds like you could get into cash-flow issues.”
“Jack, I—”
“I’m sorry, but it won’t work out. After your issues with Austin Productions are gone, feel free to contact me again.”
I swallowed hard. It could take years until I paid that off. And without another business up and running? It was impossible.
“Thank you for your time, Jack.”
“I wish you the best of luck, Avery.”
I stared at the screen for a long time after the call disconnected, giving in to tears. None of the other factories had replied to me. They probably all did their research and found the same thing.
I didn’t even blame them. I just wasn’t sure what to do next.
My phone beeped next to my laptop.
Mom: How did it go?
My heart broke. I didn’t want to disappoint her. She’d gotten her hopes up even more than I had.
Avery: It didn’t work out after all.
Mom: :( I’m sure it will soon.
Avery: I’m sure as well. Love you, Mom.
Mom: Love you more, baby girl.
I didn’t want to worry her, but I wasn’t sure this would work out at all anymore.
I called my sister, knowing she was waiting for my news as well.
“Hey, girl. That was a short call. How did it go?” she asked.
“He doesn’t want to work with me. Did his due diligence and knows about my debt.”
“Crap. That’s frustrating.”
“I’m not sure what to do now.”
“Listen, you’re talented, and your customers love you. Don’t put any pressure on yourself. I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”
Her faith in me gave me energy. “Thanks, Jamie.”
We chatted a bit about my jewelry, but she had a date tonight, so we said our goodbyes only a couple minutes later.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I texted Sam.
Avery: Call is already over. We’re not going to work together.
Sam: Sorry about that! I’ll be there soon.
To my surprise, he came in a few minutes later.
"What happened?" he asked, sitting down next to me.
"He’s not confident in working together because I’ve yet to pay what's owed to our last manufacturer."
“You’re still paying that? But it’s not your fault.”
I closed my laptop, pushing my chair back and rising to my feet. I needed to walk for a bit. I had too much adrenaline. I wasn't a runner, but in moments like this, I understood why people said they did it for stress relief.
“The contracts were in my name. That’s why she cleaned out all the money.”
“Declan can look over your contracts. He’s good at that stuff and will find a loophole.”
My heart swelled. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. But I don’t think he can do much. I was way too stupid when we drafted the contract and agreed that I couldn’t sue her for taking out funds from the company.”
“Avery, you’re not stupid. You just let your heart get in the way.”
“That shouldn’t happen in business. But I’ll figure something out. I’m just drawing a blank right now.”
"I know you will." He looked at me intently. "I have full confidence in you. But it's also okay to admit that this just sucks."
"Of course it sucks, Sam. But if I allow myself to fall apart because of this, I don't think I'll get back up. It's been a few months now of hitting roadblocks." Which was true; I felt like I was taking one step forward only to take two steps back.
"Come on, let’s go out.”
“I forgot about that,” I said, not totally in the mood to enjoy myself. I wasn’t one for pity parties, but I could throw myself one tonight.
“I’ll cheer you up, the way you did for me the other evening.”
"Sam, you'd had a terrible day at the hospital and lost a lot of patients. People died. That's nothing compared to this."
"It's not fair to compare people's problems. Each of our struggles are unique to what we do.
It doesn't mean they're any less important.
" He stepped closer, pushing strands of hair from my chest and my shoulder.
The gesture was strangely intimate and comforting.
He looked me in the eyes. "What do you want to do? "
I cocked a brow. "You don't have a plan? The secret one you've been working on for a while?"
"I do, but I thought I'd ask just in case there was something specific you wanted to do."
"I trust you fully tonight," I told him. "Do with me whatever you want."
He grinned, and his blue eyes darkened a notch.
I pressed my lips together. "That was not an innuendo."
"I see.”
“You do?” Because I was totally lost.
“Yes.”
“Don't make me regret it."
"Not a chance."
Sam
"Where are we going?" She looked at me, moving her lips playfully from one corner to the other. Damn, I forgot she did that. She was cute.
"Do you still like ice skating?"
"With you? Hell yes." She clapped her hands once, shimmying her hips.
I wanted to push her against that wall and sink inside her. First I’d capture her mouth, then mark the rest of her body.
Shit, this is already escalating.
"I've reserved slots at Maggie Daley Park. Let’s go."
"I don't have ice skates."
"We’ll rent some."
"I need forty minutes to get dressed."
I stared at her. "Wait, you're… Are you serious?"
"Oh yeah."
"You look great. Let's go."
"I’m wearing sweatpants."
"You look hot." In fact, she was so damn gorgeous that it was hard to look away. The pants were a simple black fabric, but they were plastered to her, showcasing the curve of her ass. It was mouthwatering.
"Sam, I can't go out like this."
I growled. "Whatever. Go change."
She put her hands on her hips. "That was an awfully quick change of heart."
"You're right. No one should see you like this. No one but me."
"Sam."
"Yeah, I'm possessive and territorial, and there's nothing you can do about it."
She threw her head back, laughing. The sound was intoxicating. "So, if it were up to you, I'd wear a garbage bag and a coat tonight.”
“Something like that. Or a tent."
She pointed at me, closing the distance and poking my chest.
"You, Sam, are going to find out that not everyone likes to play by your rules, and I the least of everyone.”
“Let’s take a break tonight from all our guidelines, okay?”
“Genius idea.”
I was barely holding myself back from grabbing her wrist and pulling her even closer until my mouth was on hers. Instead, I exhaled sharply, watching her saunter through the loft, then up the stairs to her room.
I needed to be with her out in public so I wouldn't devour her. I wanted Avery more than anything else. I wanted to get to know her intimately again. I craved the closeness we’d had years ago.
Why the hell did I ever think we could just be roommates?