Page 48 of Click of Fate

She smiles, just like she used to when she was about to sell me on something I didn’t want.

“Luke,” she says, smooth and warm. “You look… well.”

My stomach tightens the second I hear her voice. It’s not nerves. It’s the realization that she’s back, and I wasn’t ready.

I stand there for a beat too long, her voice settling in before I manage a word.

“This is unexpected,” I say flatly, finally stepping forward.

Claire shrugs like she’s just bumped into me at the farmer’s market. “I’m in town for a few days. Thought I’d stop by. See how things were going.”

“How’d you know I was in Indy?”

“I keep tabs.” She smiles again, it’s tight, deliberate. “You’re part of the brand I always thought I would be part of, Luke. And this is a big move—opening your own location.”

It’s a move I made months ago. Without her. And I haven’t missed her once.

Still, I nod toward the front counter. “You want a tour or something?” Maybe I can hand her off to Alison, our receptionist.

She waves a hand. “Already looked around the other day. You’ve done well here. Clean layout, great energy. Love the color scheme.”

The color scheme was Maddie’s idea. Claire would’ve chosen something sleeker. Something colder.

I fold my arms. “So why are you really here?”

That smile deepens. She wants something.

“I’m consulting now. Startups, growth strategies, brand acceleration—high-impact stuff. When I saw you’d launched a new location, I knew there was opportunity here.”

“There is,” I say, careful. “But I’m not looking to expand.”

Claire steps closer, brushing invisible lint from her sleeve. “You say that now, but this place? It’s franchise gold.”

I shake my head. “This isn’t the place for this conversation,” I tell her.

“Your office, then?” she steps past me toward the back as if she’s already canvased the place and knows where to go.

I follow her and then take the lead when we get to the hall where the break room and offices are. On our way, we pass Maddie in her office. I make eye contact with her as I pass and give her a tight-lipped smile.

Lifting my arm, I make a motion to allow Claire to enter my office first. I don’t close the door, but head to my desk while she takes it all in and looks around.

She wastes no time getting back to her pitch. “You’ve already built the foundation. With a little capital, we could scale fast—multiple locations in the Midwest within two years.”

“We?” I ask.

She meets my eyes. “I’m offering to help you grow, Luke. We built something great once.”

We did. And then she walked away from all of it.

“You left,” I remind her. “You said I waited too long.”

Claire’s smile flickers, just slightly. “You did.”

I bite down on what I want to say—that I had the ring, the words, the plan. That I thought I had more time.

But this version of Claire? She’s all angles now. Business first. No room for nostalgia unless it suits the sale. Don’t get me wrong, if she became this way in order to be successful, I’m proud of her. But it’s not going to work on me. I know her too well. Or at least, I used to.

“I’m not interested in turning Squeaky Bum into a chain,” I say flatly. “That’s not the vision here.”

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