Page 11 of The Bargain
“To what end? Making things awkward?”
“Making thingsright, Sofia.”
“That’s what I’m doing now. I appreciate you believing in me and my designs, and I should have said that sooner.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t. I fretted over it seeming personal because I was making everything too personal.”
“You know there’s no good way to respond to that considering the current circumstances, not now, and not on the phone.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You will.”
“I don’t know what that means, either.”
“You will,” he repeats. “Sign the contract.”
“My attorney’s been in court all week. If I can’t get with him tomorrow, I promise I’ll use Harper.”
“She would never screw you over. Neither will I.”
“I know that.”
“You don’t know, or a lot of things would be different right now, but that’s not your fault. I have to go. I have a late meeting. I’ll be expecting that contract. I’ll hold you to your word that it’s forthcoming. Goodnight, Sofia.” He disconnects.
I swallow hard and allow the phone to slide away from my ear, and I don’t know if I just made things better or worse between us. And I’m really not sure why I want to call him back and ask him, but I won’t. I push to my feet and shove my phone in my pocket. He has a meeting. He wants the contract. After it’s done, he lives an hour from where I’ll train. I may not even see him in Paris. I may not ever see him again. And I can’t seem to stop that from feeling bad.
Really, really bad.
Chapter Seven
Sofia
Idon’tgohome.
I sit in my office and read the contract.
Again.
I want to sign it, and as if she senses what’s in my head, Harper lights up my phone. I answer this time and do so without hesitation. “Hi,” I say awkwardly.
“What are you doing, Sofia?”
She says this as if she’s known me forever and has a deep understanding of how fucked in the head I am right now. “I wish with all my heart and my mental facilities that I knew how to answer that.”
“Then let’s dissect this, shall we? I’m emailing you the contract, which I marked up.”
Warning bells go off. “I thought you said it was a good deal for me to sign?”
“I always do my thing and add protections, but they’re common. Moore’s isn’t going to push back on my standard add-ins, but I can expedite those changes through Ethan to ensure you make the seven-day deadline.”
“You know about the seven days?”
“I know. I’m emailing you now. Look over the changes. If you like what I did, we’ll hit Ethan up in the morning and get this done.”
“Is it a lot?”
