Chapter 5 Eliza
Eliza
I’m fucked. And I fucked up.
For some reason my goats listened to Mandy Warnick, clacking around in her spike heels.
At least long enough for me to usher them outside, where I’m now standing by the destroyed temporary fencing, awaiting my fate.
Reed Nicholas, the saintly dweeb who should not be this damn hot, slumps against the door panting, his dark hair sticking up at odd angles where he runs his hands through it every few seconds.
Reed is not wearing a suit or fancy pea coat. He apparently came to set up dinky trees in jeans and a flannel and damn if he doesn’t grime up good. But I can’t think about that right now.
My goats are now safely loaded in the trailer after twenty minutes of humiliating animal wrangling. I’m not entirely certain Reed isn’t going to eat them.
Once I triple-check the trailer, I take a few deep breaths and turn to face him. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I’m really not sure what happened.”
He looks at me with wild eyes. “You’re sorry?”
I nod. He nods. He swallows.
I knew the temporary fence had weak spots, but I don’t have the capital to replace it. I fucked around, and now I’m going to find out the cost. The silence stretches until I want to climb out of my skin, broken only by the soft clicking of his stylus against the screen.
“Equipment damage,” he mutters, obviously struggling to remain calm. “Custom grow lights, hydroponic systems, display materials…” More tapping. “Lost research time, replacement seedling costs, specialized nutrients…”
“Just give me a number,” I say, my voice coming out rougher than intended.
Reed looks up, his eyes hard behind those thick glasses. “Not accounting for my time… fifteen thousand, one hundred and thirty-seven dollars. And forty-two cents.”
The number hits me like a head butt from Ursula. I was expecting bad, but not this bad. Not “sell-my-truck-and-still-be-broke” bad.
“That’s…” I swallow, my mouth suddenly dry. “That’s very specific.”
His nostrils flare, and his brows twitch. “I keep detailed records of everything.” Reed’s voice is clipped, professional. “Bear in mind, this represents approximately eight months of research and development. How would you like to handle payment?”
The question hangs in the air like a challenge. How would I like to handle payment for thousands of dollars I don’t have? “You don’t have insurance or something?”
He takes another breath, twitches a bit, and squints. “Do you have liability insurance?”
This is very bad. I could ask my sisters for help, but Esther’s already bankrolled me more than I deserve, Eila sinks all her spare cash into her hops farm, and Eden’s still building her bee company.
I could try to get a loan, but my credit history reads like a cautionary tale about what happens when you’re self-employed and forget to make regular payments.
“I…” I start, then stop. There’s no good way to say this. “I can’t afford it.”
Reed’s jaw twitches. “Excuse me?”
“I can’t pay that. Not right now.” Heat creeps up my neck. “My business operates on really tight margins, and I haven’t been paid for my last three city contracts because of some quarterly processing bullshit, and—”
“So you’re saying you destroyed my work, and you can’t make it right?” Reed’s voice rises slightly, his composure cracking again.
“I’m saying I need time to—”
“Time?” Reed stands abruptly, flailing one arm in the direction of the goat-poop-smeared atrium. “The investor pitch is in a few days.”
Chiron bleats from inside the trailer, traitorously agreeing with Reed.
I purse my lips and close my eyes, trying to think. This isn’t like being evicted with a trash bag of school uniforms and second-hand shoes. I’m older now, and I have more resilience. “What can I do to make it right? Other than pay money…”
Reed’s face vibrates, and I worry he’s actually having a seizure. I wave an arm at the back lot. “I have a contract with Bramblewood. They’re going to pay me. On Monday.” I don’t mention that they’re not going to pay me that much, and most of what’s coming in is earmarked for the farrier.
Reed wrinkles his nose and seems to come back into his body. “What do you have in mind?”
“You need to get more trees ready for the thingy, right? I’m really good with plants. Maybe I could work off the debt?”
“Absolutely not,” Reed says immediately.
We’re both so quiet I can hear the ticking of a watch. Is he actually wearing an old timey watch with hands on it? Of course he is. Meanwhile, I’m fifteen more thousand bones in the hole, and my business is in ruins.
I look at Reed, who’s staring at me with an expression I can’t quite read. Anger, definitely. But maybe something else underneath it.
Reed runs both hands through his hair. “Do you even know anything about hydroponics? You probably think nitrogen is laughing gas.”
“Hey,” I snap. “Don’t assume for one minute I’m ignorant about nitrogen-rich soil. Just because I don’t use fancy equipment doesn’t mean—”
“This isn’t about fancy equipment. This is about science.” Reed gestures sharply. “You can’t just throw some seeds in the dirt and hope for the best.”
“I’ve been growing things since before you learned what chlorophyll was, pretty boy.”
“Pretty boy?” Reed’s eyebrows shoot up.
I stuff my hands in my pockets. “What’s your alternative? You going to sue me? You’ve got limited time, right? I’ve got limited funds. But I’m good with plants. It’s in my blood or something.”
I swear he mutters something about bloody farm animals, but then he seems to melt into the wall of Bramblewood.
I hear Mandy Warnick inside thanking the custodians for cleaning the atrium, her tinkling voice insisting they find some local artwork to hang while they wait for the replacement display trees.
“This is insane,” Reed says finally.
“Tell me about it.” I cross my arms and wonder how I ended up here.
“But,” he says bluntly, “apparently this is the only way forward that doesn’t involve court.”
We size each other up for a long moment.
He looks different than he did at the permit office—less stiff, more human.
And, okay, he’s really got the stern vibe that’s got my insides churning.
The tempest in the atrium cracked his perfect professional facade, and now I can see the stress underneath… the desperation.
“Right,” I say, certainly recognizing that emotion. “But I have conditions.”
“You have conditions?” Reed’s voice climbs higher. “You destroyed my work, and you’re making demands?”
I hold up a finger. “No talking down to me. I am not some ignorant farmer.”
Reed’s jaw works as if he’s chewing on the words he wants to say. “And?”
“And no funny business at your place. I’m not in the market for bullshit harassment from lab assistants or maintenance guys.”
“You actually think I have staff, who would—” Reed stops himself, takes a breath. “Fine. Obviously, nobody will act inappropriately at the greenhouse.”
“Good.” I stand, suddenly exhausted by the whole disaster. “I need to get my goats situated, and then I’ll head your way. Where’s this laboratory of yours?”
Reed pulls out his phone and taps at it. “I’ll send you the address.” Reed nods stiffly. “Don’t be late.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“So let me get this straight,” Eden says, passing me the bowl of pasta she made for family dinner.
The five of us Storm sisters have always been tight, depending on one another when everyone else let us down, including our absentee mother.
“You destroyed this guy’s work, can’t pay him back, and now you’re gonna help him grow new trees? ”
“That’s the extremely simplified version, yes.” I stab at my dinner with more force than necessary. “But it’s not like I had a choice. Either I help tree boy, or I get sued.”
“Tree boy?” Eila grins from across Esther’s dining table. “Is he cute?”
“He’s a pompous ass,” I say quickly, trying not to think about how he looked in those glasses. Or why I’m interested in his buttoned-up mad scientist vibe. “Rich, entitled, probably never worked a real day in his life. You should have seen him robotically calculating damages down to the cent.”
“Yikes.” Eva winces. “That’s cold.”
“Right? And now I’m supposed to spend the next week learning his precious methods because apparently my twenty years of actual plant experience doesn’t count for shit.”
“Twenty years?” Eila’s boyfriend Ben asks mildly. He’s very literal.
“Fine, ten. The point is, this guy thinks technology is more important than good goat manure.” I take an angry bite of pasta. “He probably waters his houseplants with a measuring cup.”
“Okay, but Liza,” Eden says carefully, “if you destroyed his work, isn’t it fair that you help fix it?”
I glare at her. “Whose side are you on?”
“I’m on the side of you not going to jail,” Eden shoots back. “This could have been so much worse.”
“Could it?” I gesture wildly with my fork. “Now I’m stuck working with someone who thinks I’m some kind of hillbilly who doesn’t know science from sheep dung.”
“Do you know science from sheep dung?” Eila asks, grinning.
“I know enough,” I snap. “I’ve been managing ecosystems while Mr. Fancy Pants was still trying to figure out which end of a plant goes in the ground.”
Esther sets down her water glass with a sharp clink. “Eliza Storm, you are being ridiculous.”
“I’m being realistic.”
“You’re being defensive,” Esther corrects. “You messed up. This man is offering you a way to make it right instead of destroying your credit forever, and you’re sitting here acting like he’s the problem.”
“He is a problem. People like him always are.” I cross my arms. “Rich guys who think money and fancy equipment solve everything. He probably has no idea what real work looks like.”
“You don’t know that,” Ben says quietly. Eila’s boyfriend knows a thing or two about being misjudged. “Maybe give him a chance before you decide he’s terrible.”
“I gave him a chance at the permit office. He was a jerk then, too.”
“Wait…” Eva straightens up. “This is the same guy from downtown? The one who was arguing about permits?”
“Yep. My luck is just that good.”
“Okay, now it makes sense.” Eden laughs. “You’re embarrassed.”
“I am not embarrassed.”
“You totally are,” Eila chimes in. “You had a bad day, took it out on some random guy, and now you have to work with him. That’s mortifying.”
“It’s not mortifying, it’s—” I stop myself before I admit… yes, it’s absolutely mortifying. “Look, the point is I’m stuck. Ten days with someone who thinks I’m an idiot, doing work I apparently don’t understand, all because my stupid animals got spooked.”
“How did they get out, anyway?” Esther asks.
I shift uncomfortably. “Chiron found a rip in the temporary fencing and pushed on it. I knew it was loose, but I didn’t want to spend money on new hardware when the old stuff still worked.”
The table goes quiet for a moment.
“Oh, Liza,” Eden says softly.
“Don’t. I know it was stupid. I cut corners, and it bit me in the ass.” I push pasta around my plate. “Story of my life. Pathetic.”
“Hey…” Esther’s voice is gentle now. “That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it? I’m always scrambling, always behind on bills, always making do with equipment that’s held together with duct tape and prayer. Now I’ve proven that my half-assed setup can destroy someone’s life’s work in about thirty seconds.”
“Their life’s work is pretty fragile if a few goats can wreck it,” Eva points out.
Despite everything, I snort out a laugh. “That’s what I said. Who designs trees that can’t survive a little chaos?”
“Someone who’s never met your goats.” Eden grins.
“Exactly.” I feel some of the tension ease from my shoulders. “Look, I’ll do the work because I have to. But I’m not pretending this guy and I are going to be friends. We’ll grow his precious trees, I’ll finish my contract, and then I never have to see Reed Nicholas again.”
“Reed Nicholas?” Ben’s eyebrows go up. “As in Nicholas Industries?”
“How should I know?”
“That’s a big company. Construction, development, energy stuff.” Ben looks thoughtful. “His family has a hand in basically every project in the county right now.”
“Great,” I mutter. “He’s not just rich; he’s dynasty rich. That makes me feel so much better about this whole situation.”
“At least you know he can afford to lose fifteen grand,” Eila says cheerfully.
“Not helping.”
Despite my grumbling, I feel a little better surrounded by my sisters’ support. Even when they think I’m being unreasonable, they’ve got my back. And I’ll need it.