I put together a resume to start applying for new jobs and sent emails to recruiters.I have a marketing degree and have run a business...into the ground...so I have no idea what sort of response I’ll get.
My confidence is very low.
“What am I doing to do, Mom?”I whisper so Zoe doesn’t hear—I don’t want her exposed to my insecurities.
“You don’t have to decide today.Didn’t you keep ten percent of Open Leaf?It will pay out nicely if Mr.Carrington turns it around.”
I use all my willpower to not cringe.
I don’t know if that is his intention anymore, and I can hardly stomp into his office like I have previously after what we did.
In truth, I’ve spent a lot of time going over the things he did to my body.Wondering about him buying the Manhattan Diamond—surely that’s not normal, even for a billionaire—and also wondering why he hasn’t texted.
It’s Sunday.
I’m relieved.
And annoyed.
We were intimate, and it’s like we played a game of tennis together.
Unimportant.
“Or he might not turn it around.These companies sometimes sell pieces off.I don’t know, Mom.”
“That would be a shame,” she says.
Mom is a doctor, and while she’s clearly an intelligent woman, she doesn’t have a clue about running a corporation.
Zoe climbs onto my lap with her new plush dolphin and waves it in front of my face.
“So, what would happen to the profit share?”
“The agreement is only for five years.It also doesn’t include any asset sales.”I spoke to my legal team last week, and they said Obsidian hadn’t misled us and that it was all spelled out clearly.
So why do I feel they did?
Perhaps it was my legal team that should have explained it to me better.Then again, the responsibility, like all of this, lands on my shoulders.
I’m tired.
I thought OCP would turn the once-profitable, thriving bookstores around, putting the right people at the helm to compete with BooksNow.
Was I wrong?
Does Drew plan to dismantle the company instead?Well, if he does, that means I’ve just slept with the enemy.
Anthony and his father must be looking down on me and shaking their heads.I’ve lost his family legacy, and I could lose our home.Zoe’s home.
“Well, you have a few months left to work it out.Take your time.”Mom gathers her things, figuring things will just work themselves out.I’m not sure it will.“You might not get the job you want at first, but you’re still young.”
Really?I feel like I’m ninety.
I kiss Zoe’s cheek, mostly to stop myself saying that out loud.When I look up, Mom is watching us.
“I think you should consider,” she mouths, “selling this place.”
“No.No, Mom!”I hug Zoe tighter.