Page 73 of Wishing for Love

“I think the first step is doing what you know. What you need. Cash for this big deal. We’ve got more contacts than you,” Laken said. “I’ve got a list of manufacturers that we use that we can touch base with. I’m sure we could get things set up for this order to be filled and any others that you might need.”

“Okay,” he said. “That’s a good first step. I have no idea what the cost of anything you’re talking about is going to be. I know what I’ve got invested in the company. I know what the worth is.”

“The worth is your patents,” West said. “We aren’t asking you to sell them to us, but without them, you wouldn’t be getting this offer. Let me ask you, do you miss being in the lab?”

“Shit yeah,” he said.

His cousins all looked at each other. “What would you say about going back to that and doing your thing? We can find someone to help run the business. A Director of Operations. It will allow you to do what you love to do and keep your hand at being the CEO. You’re going to need the help anyway.”

“Just when I think things are slowing down and getting under control. I feel as if I went from one headache to a migraine but not in a bad way.”

“It’s overwhelming,” Braylon said. “We know.” He pulled out an envelope. “I can send this to your father to look over too and I’ll explain it all. For now, it’s an agreement for the cash and the order filled to get you moving on that. Laken will have more details. The second group of papers is the starting point of negotiations on everything else West lined up, the money he’d be willing to invest, the work it’d take, and then the percentage of the company he’d own.”

Phoenix took a deep breath. He never wanted to give up much of his company, but it was still going to family.

“I need time to process this. How long before you need answers to that?”

“We’ve got time,” West said. “We’ll agree, I’m positive, but I don’t expect you to just take the first offer.”

West was grinning. “So you’re being greedy with the first one?” Phoenix said.

Braylon laughed. “Not greedy at all, but this is your baby and you’re entitled to fight for it. He’s only telling you that because youarefamily.”

“Got it,” he said. “Can I get you guys something to drink while I look these over?”

“I’ve got it,” Laken said. “You look like you need some water. Kitchen in the back?”

“Yes,” he said. “Help yourself. Crystal is bringing back food for lunch too.”

He pulled out the first sheet and glanced it over quickly. It was pretty cut and dry and his father would help him through that. It was the money for the big order. He was going to take his cousin at his word that they’d get the order filled in time.

“I can’t believe how much juice you’ve got in the fridge,” Laken said, coming back with four bottles of water and handing them out. “And cookies. Oh my. Do you have yourself a grandmother living upstairs and caring for Elsie? These are awesome.”

Laken was munching on a monster chocolate chip cookie that Crystal had baked yesterday afternoon to have here for his cousins.

“Hardly a grandmother,” he said, laughing. His cousins would see for themselves soon enough, though he doubted they’d be as shocked as he was just now with the news he’d been given.

Rather than being relieved, he wondered how much stress he was going to feel not to let them down.

Then he reminded himself being in the lab was where he was the most confident. Where he wanted to be.

Maybe it was time to step back and let someone else do the things he was struggling with and focus on what he knew best.

Just like Crystal was better with running the house and Elsie than he was at times and he had to accept that he couldn’t be great at everything.

That he couldn’t do it all alone either.

26

DATING HER BOSS

Crystal opened the door from the garage and heard laughter in the kitchen. Guess Phoenix’s meeting didn’t last that long.

She came around the corner with the box of food she picked up at the restaurant.

“That’s your nanny?” a woman, who she was assuming was Laken, asked, laughing. “Jesus, Phoenix. I asked if she was a grandmother.”

“What did I miss?” Crystal asked.

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