Chapter Thirty-Two
Tessa woke exhausted and dehydrated the next morning.
She guzzled the bottle of water on her nightstand, took the two aspirins she’d thoughtfully set out for herself the night before, and smiled.
She’d had the best time of her life with the women she loved most in the world, not to mention about three hundred brand-new besties.
And Grant had been there at her side. He hadn’t asked her for anything.
He’d only helped in every way he could. And he’d told her repeatedly how proud he was of her, for her strength and tenacity, for her ability to inspire and motivate so many others, and for loving her friends and community so unabashedly.
She was pretty proud of herself, too, for all those things and more. Like not giving up when she really wanted to.
She and Grant were the last two standing when the barn cleared and the caterers went home. Hallie’s family swept her away in a parade of riotous love. Sam danced Kate to his car, dipped her beneath the stars, then kissed her before helping her inside.
Grant had stayed. He cleaned, swept, and worked alongside Tessa until no evidence of the party remained, and they shut out the lights.
Then he’d told her how much he liked dating her and suggested they make it official.
They’d only date one another. They’d keep being the best humans and businesspeople they could be and help as many others as possible in the process.
Her smile widened with the memory.
She pulled the phone from her nightstand, ready to tell him she couldn’t wait to see him again, and she stiffened at the sight of a dozen missed messages from her dad.
Every horrible possibility flashed through her heart and mind, striking down her feelings of bliss.
Was he ill again? A second heart attack?
Or was this about her brother? Sickness welled in her gut as her mind spun.
Had Devin relapsed? Had he vanished? Had her mother shown up again after decades of being gone? Was she okay?
A knock at her door set her on her feet. She opened the messages on her phone as she walked, torn between the desire to sprint and the need to prepare herself.
Her steps faltered when she saw images of her dad and brother smiling, arms raised high in victory, a television in the frame beside them. In one photo, they exchanged high fives.
Then she read the messages.
Dad: You made the news!
Dad: My little girl is a rock star!
Dad: Come over for dinner! I’ll make your favorites! Devin will build another fire! We’ll have s’mores!
Dad: This is so exciting! Wait until the guys at work hear about this
Dad: Who am I kidding? They watch the news!
She laughed as she opened additional messages from Devin.
Devin: You nearly gave Dad another heart attack. Good job.
Devin: Just kidding. We’re crazy proud of you big sis
The doorbell sounded again, and Tessa wiped away tears of laughter as she jogged the last few steps to answer. Through her peephole, she spotted a mass of women, all of whom she recognized from Hello, Marketing, each loaded down with bags, boxes, and goodies.
She opened the door and spread her arms wide. “Oh my God! What are you doing here? Come in!”
Nina blew air kisses and headed for her kitchen counter, where she deposited a tray of lidded coffees from a local café.
Millie dropped a cardboard filing box onto a stool at the island and dusted the torso of her blue lace blouse. “We quit,” she said.
Josephine and Jenny unloaded canvas tote bags from their shoulders, then looked excitedly at Tessa. “Surprise!” Josephine said.
Tessa frowned but accepted a cup of coffee. Clearly her addled mind had some catching up to do. “What is happening?”
“We quit,” Millie repeated. “We left. We’re coming with you.”
“Which is absolutely your choice, of course,” Nina amended, eyes on Tessa. “But we’d like it very much if we could come along. We have experience and capital to bring to the charge.”
Jenny helped herself to a coffee and shrugged.
“I’m still going home at the end of the semester, but I like you, and I’ve sent you the client list. None of them will return anyone’s calls now.
They say they’re waiting out their contracts, or flat out breaking them.
Apparently, they organized.” She scrunched her features, as if the thought of client organization was absurd.
“They called it 4H or something. I thought that group was for kids building bird houses and taking hikes, but maybe that’s a Minnesota thing.
I’ve only lived in Virginia a few years. ”
Tessa leaned against her countertop, certain she’d collapse otherwise. “They’re the Harbor Heights Helping Hands.”
Jenny shook her head. “Never heard of it.”
Tessa laughed as the details of the moment began to take shape.
“My dad is also ready to help, if we need him,” Millie said. “He’s done supporting Xavier. There have been problems there for years.”
Tessa remembered the snippet of conversation she’d overheard at the gala. The older man had seemed upset. What had he said? She reached into her memory archives for the words that hadn’t seemed relevant to her a month back.
“Don’t change the subject.” She heard Millie’s father’s stern voice in her head. “Last month you had a network issue, now it’s accounting, and I want an explanation.”
“I overheard him asking Xavier about accounting and network issues,” Tessa said. She looked at Jenny, understanding that both of those problems likely linked back to Xavier’s protégé, Peyton.
Millie looked exhausted. “I told Xavier this was coming. He’s been distant and distracted. Then he promoted Peyton, thinking he would keep things going while Xavier did whatever he’s been doing. He knew he needed help. I’ll never understand why he chose him.”
A smile formed on Tessa’s lips as the moment began to fully take purchase. “Holy shit!” Her eyes widened. “You all left Hello, Marketing?”
“Yep.” Nina cracked the lid off her cup and blew a steady breath across the steam.
“And Cindy and Elaine, but Cindy’s kid has soccer this morning, and Elaine is ready to retire.
Now, tell us you’re open to the possibility of partners for your new adventure.
We brought everything we need to pitch ourselves to you. ”
Tessa sat on a barstool cautiously, worried she might collapse from shock. Her eyes misted as she looked around at the bags and boxes. “You want to work with me?”
“We want to be business partners,” Millie said. “Silent partners, if you want, but yes, we do, very much.”
“Michels Marketing is going to be a wild success,” Nina said. “With or without us. We believe in you.”
It only took a moment for her to understand how these women knew the name of her business when she’d just decided last night. “You saw the news!”
They nodded.
“Hon,” Josephine said. “Everyone saw the news.”
“We’d be here anyway,” Millie said. “We knew we weren’t coming back when we left work Friday afternoon. We plan to tell Xavier in the morning.”
A wellspring of laughter broke inside Tessa, and she bent forward at the waist, overcome with unexpected, unstoppable delight. When she straightened, her friends smiled back at her. “I’m starting an all-female marketing firm.”
“Yeah, you are,” Nina said.
“And you’re my partners.”
“We accept,” Millie said. “We’ll probably be sued by Hello, Marketing, but I suspect we’ll be okay if that happens.”
Tessa grinned. “I know a corporate attorney, and I think her brother is in love with Kate.”
“I’m in love with Kate,” Jenny said. “I can’t believe you know MC Kate.”
Nina cocked her head. “You know I hate to gossip.”
The women waited for her to continue.
“Elaine’s been upset about the company’s spending, specifically by Peyton, for a while, but Xavier keeps signing off on it. I’d give up a kidney to know what that’s about.”
“Mm.” Millie lifted her drink, a sip of coffee still in her mouth.
She swallowed and frowned. “Dad thinks Xavier is sleeping with a mutual golf buddy’s wife from the country club,” Millie said.
“I guess the accusation came out on the green a while back, but Peyton swooped in and caused a big distraction. As usual. The conversation was dropped, but Dad can’t let it go.
Xavier’s whole schtick with Hello, Marketing is supposed to be family values and transparency with the customers. Their golf buddy is a customer.”
Tessa slumped over the counter and rested her stunned face in waiting palms. “Holy cow.”
“If Peyton heard all of that, he’s probably using the information to blackmail Xavier,” Jenny said. “My boyfriend thinks I read too many mystery novels, but it makes perfect sense to me.”
Nina scoffed. “Too many novels? Get a new boyfriend.”
Tessa considered the dump truck load of unexpected information, then looked to Millie. “Could any of this be the reason Xavier was in meetings with a corporate attorney?” And in such an angry, awful mood?
“I don’t know what to think,” Millie said.
“Xavier hasn’t told me anything, even though we’re business partners.
Probably because I filed for divorce after he cheated on me, and because Dad is his biggest investor.
He knows that if he told me he’s been sleeping with a married woman, I’d dissolve our partnership and hit him with my car. ”
Tessa had no idea an infidelity was behind the couple’s split. She never would have idolized Xavier the way she had if she’d known.
“Anyway,” Josephine said, “none of that has anything to do with us. I’m sure Xavier will get through this, and Peyton will find someone else to manipulate, but that’s none of our business anymore. Our company will be one we can be proud of.”
The women looked at Tessa expectantly.
“Are you ready for our pitch?” Millie asked.
“Not even close,” Tessa said, a few renegade tears falling over her smiling cheeks.
She dragged them into a group hug as the glorious possibilities for their future opened before her. “I accept.”