Page 50 of So Wrong It Must Be Right

Now she just had to jump over one more hurdle to make sure she got to keep everything she’d been building with Carter.

* * *

Carter wasn’t sure what he’d expected exactly. The cozy meeting room with exposed brick walls and comfortable seating had certainly not been it.

There was a big oblong table that people sat around after they filed into the room. Most of the members were older, and definitely dressed in suits. Carter immediately recognized Craig Gallagher, the man who’d so condescendingly tried to buy his land.

He should hate the guy for that, but he found after hearing Dinah talk about him, he was even angrier that Craig Gallagher treated Dinah so poorly. That she had someone in her family who would sabotage her, who would follow her like some kind of creepy stalker.

It wasn’t right. He’d had his share of family disagreements, his share of downright awful moments, but his family had always clearlylovedeach other, and supported each other as much as their opposing viewpoints would allow them to. He couldn’t imagine anyone in his family purposely hurting him or his chances to do what he wanted to do.

So when Craig Gallagher sneered at him, Carter sneered right back. Dinah’s hand rested on his leg under the table. She gave a little squeeze and he knew it was a signal to ignore Craig. She wanted him to put the business face on.

The problem was he had no business face. No poker face whatsoever. When he felt disgust or discomfort, which he felt in equal measure here, it was really hard to mask his expression, but he gave it a shot.

The last person to walk into the meeting room was an older woman. She was so well put together and steady, Carter couldn’t quite discern her age beyond much older than everyone else in the room.

Which was when it dawned on him she must be Dinah’s oft-spoken-about grandmother, whom Dinah feared and revered in equal measure.

It was surprising how seeing someone else’s grandmother could remind him of his own, could hit him with a visceral pang of grief out of the blue.

Once he breathed through it though, it was an odd comfort. His grandmother would have approved of this venture so much. She would’ve loved it, and so he would renew his efforts at a poker face and succeeding for Grandma as much as for Dinah.

Craig Gallagher opened the meeting with roll call and personnel issues Carter had no interest in whatsoever. He was here for one reason only.

“Dinah, you have a proposition for the board.” Dinah’s grandmother’s voice was crisp and authoritative and Carter couldn’t help but fidget a little when that shrewd hazel gaze landed directly on him. He felt as though he was being summed up and wholly found lacking.

“Yes.” Dinah pushed back from the chair and stood. “I know Craig has had an idea in place to buy the land around Gallagher’s for expanded parking and a brand new neighborhood farmers’ market. While we’ve managed to obtain some of the properties, most of the remaining owners are steadfast in their loyalty to their land. Ms. Mila Washington and Mr. Carter Trask have both flat-out refused to sell.”

She was so incredibly smooth. It didn’t surprise Carter in the least as she began their spiel. She spoke with authority and confidence and everything about her looked sleek and polished. It was amazing to see. Intimidating, actually. But not too much, because he also knew how to make that woman writhe and beg underneath him, and he thought maybe he knew the real Dinah beyond all of this business stuff, in a way he didn’t think her family did.

Oh, they understood her dedication, but he didn’t think they understood her passion. Shefeltthings, she didn’t just do them. That had gotten to him from the beginning. Shebelieved. She tried to dress it up as business and family legacy, but the bottom line was, she was a very emotional person.

Dinah turned the presentation over to Simone, the head chef. Carter had had a long discussion with the woman this morning and he liked her. She had a no-nonsense demeanor about her, and she was passionate about ingredients and food. They would likely argue over what he grew, the quality of the produce, but that was the kind of business relationship he wanted. One that was about quality and care, not the bottom line.

Carter noticed that most of the board was rapt. They had listened to Dinah’s presentation and now Simone’s, but the more the two women spoke, the angrier Craig appeared.

And the more Dinah’s grandmother’s gaze focused in on Carter.

Once it was his turn to speak, he’d have been lying if he’d said he wasn’t sweating a little. Dinah’s grandmother was really unnerving him.

He stood as Dinah had instructed in their preparations, and he began his practiced speech.

“It’s no secret that I have no great affinity toward Gallagher’s. I have been treated poorly at the hands of some of you, and I have been underestimated by I think a lot of you. But I also know how much you love Gallagher’s, because this is the same thing that drives me to hang on to my land and my farm. I’m not giving up my piece in this world. There’s nothing that Gallagher’s could do to make me give up my roots, my family, and my heart.”

It didn’t escape Carter’s notice that Craig snorted and leaned back in his chair, clearly agitated and angry. For some reason, it only spurred Carter on to make this more personal and more honest.

“When Dinah approached me with a compromise that would allow us both to have something that we wanted, and help this neighborhood, I was skeptical. I don’t trust a lot of you, and I’ve been shoved off land by the likes of you people for decades.” He was going a little off script, but he thought it was working. Some of the people who’d clearly gotten a little bored had sat up and taken notice again.

“You can’t have my land, but I do think we could create an effective partnership. One that would extend your local food and sustainability reach, and one that allows me to keep what I will not give up. I’ve been selling at farmers’ markets for years now, and my farm has grown in profits exponentially. I’m an expert at getting the most out of my yields, and as Simone discussed, working one-on-one together would allow her to create a unique menu that only Gallagher’s would have. This is the only way I will work with Gallagher’s, and quite frankly, if you say no, it’s no skin off my nose.”

Dinah nudged him under the table, but for as much as he understood business maneuvering and faking it, he had to be honest. He had to put all of his cards on the table so everyone understood what they were doing here. It was going to be a partnership, not a fiefdom.

“I can tell you, few people take as much pride in their produce as I do. My product is my everything, and I know that’s something Gallagher’s understands. I think a partnership would be beneficial to both of us. There’s just no good reason to say no.”

With that, Carter sat down. He felt oddly exhilarated andright. That certainty Dinah was always asking him to have, he felt it now. Because they could say no. It didn’t matter. He knew it mattered to Dinah, but surely if she felt half of what he did, she would see it really didn’t. Not once she got over the shock.

“This kind of endeavor requires a vote.”

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