Chapter 12 #2
I know I can still get five farms signed on in Sapphire Falls, but those farms are all smaller than the ones here. And we’ll still need five more. We’ll be starting from scratch. I’m sure if Eduardo pulls out, getting four more farms on board here will be impossible.
I take a deep breath and hit the button to dial Everett’s number.
He answers after one ring.
“Ginny?”
My stomach swoops at the sound of his voice simply saying my name. Oh, wow, I’ve missed him. Damn.
“Uh, hi.”
“Is everything all right?”
I wince. “Not really.”
“What’s wrong?”
His tone is immediately concerned, and I can picture his face with a frown.
“I think I pissed Eduardo off.”
There’s a long pause on his end, then he blows out a breath. “You’re calling about the meeting?”
“Well…yeah.”
“Oh. Good. I thought you meant something was wrong with you. Or someone in your family.”
Oh. My heart squeezes. He was worried about me. Or my family. That was his first thought. Not business.
“No. We’re all fine.” I pause. “I mean, I might be getting fired.”
His tone is immediately lighter. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, I pressed Eduardo in a way I thought for sure would work, trying to appeal to his ego, and I think I insulted him instead.”
“What did you say?”
“Just that he should be bold, and he should want to be first to put a full farm in. That he should lead the way. I, uh…” I sigh. “I kind of insinuated that he was afraid and letting other people talk him into making a mistake.”
“I see.”
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “I misread him. But I will do what I can tomorrow to fix it, I promise.” I pause again. “If he’ll talk to me.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Everett says.
I shake my head even though he can’t see me. “I can fix it. I’m sorry, but…I think he’s a little biased against hearing me. Or Graham. He wanted to talk to you. I think Jack might have given him some good things to think about, though.”
“Ginny—”
“I’ll be sure to take Jack with me,” I say. “I promise.”
He chuckles.
That makes me pause, too. “I’m sorry if I screwed this up.” I swallow. “What’s the plan if Eduardo pulls out?”
“There’s no plan for that.”
I tip my head back. “Dammit.” I take a breath. “Okay. Then, I’ll definitely fix it.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I do. I’m not going to screw up the first thing I do for you guys.”
“You didn’t.”
“But I—”
“Ginger, Eduardo called me an hour ago.”
“I—” I stop. Frown. Then say, “What?”
“Eduardo called me, we chatted, and he sent the contract over about thirty minutes ago. For all six buildings. He’s going ahead.
He wants to be the first in the area. But he wanted me to add a provision that every time another farm completes its final building, he has a chance to add another to his farm, if possible. ”
I feel my mouth drop open.
“Are you still there?”
I nod. Then remember we’re on the phone. “Yes. I’m here. So…”
“So you did a great job. Perfect, in fact. Just like I knew you would.”
I feel my heart squeeze again. I love that he believed in me. And that I could deliver. I clear my throat. “Why didn’t you make this trip? Eduardo wanted to talk to you.”
“Because you needed to be there. He needed to meet you, since you’ll be working on things going forward, and I knew you’d do a great job with it.”
“But just because I’m here doesn’t mean…” I trail off as a thought hits me. I sigh. “You didn’t come because I would be here?”
“Right.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Everett… come on. This is how it’s going to be? Really? We can’t be on the same trip? We can’t be friends?”
There’s a long pause on the other end of the phone. Then he says, “Not yet.”
My heart squeezes again, but not in the warm, happy way. “I hate that.”
“I just need time.”
“But…” Dammit, this isn’t what I wanted. “This is your company. I can’t run you out of business meetings, Everett.”
“You’re not. I’m doing plenty of meetings. I just need some time to… adjust. I know we’ll get to the point where we can be in the same room together, but it’s not right now. I still want you too much.”
That makes me hot and sad at the same time.
That also sounds like he knows he’ll eventually get over me, and that should be what I want, too. I should appreciate it. But the idea of him getting over me hurts. I’ll admit it.
“If it’s any consolation, I miss you,” I say.
He groans, and the sound is husky, hot, and also pained. “That is not a consolation, no.”
I press my lips together, then say, “I know you’re doing this to respect my boundaries and…I really appreciate that.”
“You don’t want to be involved with your boss or a co-worker,” he says. “I get it. I heard you. But IES needs you, so this is how it has to be right now.”
I don’t know what to say to that. He’s…a really good guy.
Who I’m probably in love with.
So yeah, avoiding each other is probably the only solution.
But I’m really going to miss him. We need to get to the point of being friends by the next family holiday in Sapphire Falls. I think quickly. That will probably be Easter. Then Mother’s Day. Then the annual summer festival.
Oh, he definitely needs to come to the festival. But all the others, too. He needs to hang out with my family. He needs to be included, and I want to sit around the table and laugh with him, and I really want to see him playing carnival games, and I want to take him on the Ferris wheel.
Okay, not the Ferris wheel. Couples who go on the Ferris wheel at the Sapphire Falls summer festival end up kissing at the top.
We can’t kiss.
He’s my boss, and if I kiss him… I’ll never want to stop.
I want to be his friend.
His friend who very secretly wants him, has dirty dreams about him, and hates every woman he dates. Forever.
“Thanks, Everett,” I say softly.
“Anything for you, Ginger.”
“I…”
“Good job with Eduardo,” he says, almost as if afraid of what I was about to say. “Goodnight, Ginny.”
Yeah, there’s nothing else to say. Because what else can I say? Other than ‘I quit, meet me in Sapphire Falls tomorrow night’.
“Goodnight, Everett.”