Page 81 of Some Like It Hott

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Preston

“It’s not the lawsuit itself that concerns me,” says Thompson Merraker, the CEO of MegaStar. “It’s the fact that PowerFun chose not to disclose it.”

Anjali shoots me a look from the other side of the conference table. It says,I know you’re distracted. I don’t knowwhyyou’re so distracted, but I don’t care. You need to pull yourself together and fix this.

She’s right. I can’t be two places—geographically or mentally—at once. I’ve proven that to myself over and over again.

I need to get my act together and save this situation.

What would Preston Hott do if he were here?

Excellent question, Preston. Good talk.

I square my shoulders. Take a breath. Steel myself. “I understand your concern.” I put both hands on the table, to the sides of my shoulders. Lean forward. “I’ve had a long conversation with Julie Ambrose”—that’s the PowerFun CEO—“and she understands your concern, too. What she told me is that they regarded the lawsuit as such a nonissue that it literally didn’t occur to them that they might need to bring it up. But she also intends, going forward, to be much more cognizant of raising issues, even if she can’t see the immediate significance of them.”

I feel weary. I wish adults were like kids, that you could boop them on the nose and make everything okay. I wish they could get outside the narrow scope of their obsessions and see that while they’re locked in this conference room arguing about things that almost certainly don’t matter, there are people outside eating cake and jumping on trampolines and tagging each other with Nerf darts.

Maybe those people are the ones who actually know what matters.

“I genuinely believe Julie was acting in the best faith,” I tell Thompson and the other MegaStar C-suite execs. “That this was a slipup, that it won’t happen again, and that it doesn’t affect the valuation of PowerFun. I think you should go forward with the deal—and you have to believe that I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t feel it in my soul. I’m not in this business to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. I’m in this business to make the best possible deals for everyone concerned.”

I can feel the mood shifting in my favor. There’s a murmur among the MegaStar execs. Their COO, Tanya Sabershaaf, whispers something to Thompson.

Anjali gives me agood joblook, and I wait to feel something, a sense of accomplishment—anything, but mostly I want to get back into bed beside Natalie and eat one of the breakfast sandwiches from Morning Rush. And maybe one of Carol’s chocolate croissants (sorry, Nan).

I want my day to be over so I can sit with Natalie in the dining room at Hott Springs Eternal and tell her about it.

At the very least, I want to call her and hear her voice.

It doesn’t feel like nearly enough, but I still crave it.

Thankfully, Thompson pushes his chair back and says, “We trust you, Preston. If that’s what you see here, then that’s enough for us. Let’s finish up the due diligence and get this deal signed.”

The C-suiters head out, leaving Anjali and me alone.

“Good work, Preston,” she says. “And thanks for coming back here so quickly.”

“I’ll always do what needs to be done,” I say. “You know that.”

“I do know that. And I think the board and the other directors will take this as evidence of that, too. I hope it hasn’t caused trouble for you with your situation at home.”

I shake my head. “No. Things are settled there.”

But they don’t feel settled. Not really. They feel unfinished. Like I’ve left the oven on and gone for a trip.

“Excellent,” she says.

I turn to go.

“Pres,” she says.

I turn back.

“Whatever it is, put it out of your head. You’re almost there. And you need to focus all your attention on getting there. You almost lost that one. You pulled it out, but it might not be that easy next time. I want your head in the game and your eyes on the prize. This isn’t just about you, you know. My reputation is staked on you. That’s not nothing.”

“No,” I say. “No. That’s not nothing at all. I appreciate it more than you know. It means an enormous amount to me.”

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