Page 37 of The Bargain
“How does he overcome that? He did get a big new account. He says that’s how he got his investor meeting.”
“Distribution costs money, which was my biggest concern. He doesn’t have the cash flow to fulfill those new orders, and if anything goes wrong, the business can go south fast. My biggest worry would be him taking a bad deal out of desperation. He needs money. Whoever gives it to him will want most of his company because of the risk.”
“My money won’t be enough, will it? It’s five figures. No more. I mean, of course, if I get a big payout years from now that would, but that does him no good, and it’s not even a sure thing.”
“Tell him it’s more. Find out what he needs. I’ll give you the rest.”
“I’m not taking your money, Ethan.”
“You’re doing it for him, not yourself. He’ll pay you back. If you want to pay me back, you can.”
“If? Are you serious right now? I’m not that girl. I don’t want or need your money. No. Just no, Ethan.” I push to my feet and try to walk away.
He captures my arm and holds me to him, not about to let me get away, not about to let this go.
I know right then we’re about to have our first fight. Okay, our second. And it’s going to be a blowout.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sofia
“Don’tdothis,Sofia.”His voice is soft, a gentle prod.
“Don’t do what?” It’s not a coy question. I don’t know him well enough to know what he’s thinking. Right now, I’m starting to question my previous thought that I know myself that well, either. He still confuses me. He’s generous, so very generous, but isn’t anything too good to be true, too good to be true? What if my father counts on him, and then we break up and he pulls the plug? I don’t think that’s Ethan, I don’t, but this is my father we’re talking about, not me.
“I’m not doing this because you’re his daughter,” he says. “You’re simply the vessel that allowed me to see him and his business more clearly. I like him. I was interested in him. I justdidn’t understand why he’d run himself into so much debt. Now I get it. Grief is a wicked beast, and he’s on the other side of that brick wall now.”
“It feels like it’s about me. And I have very confusing feelings about that. It’s special for you to want to be there for me and him, but it also feels a little like your money is another person in this relationship.”
“My money is a part of me, and what good is it if I can’t build new things with it? Or share it with those I care about?”
“See?” I poke his chest. “This is what I’m talking about. I don’t need you to share your money with me.”
He catches my finger. “You’re going to have to get used to my money. You’re essentially living with me in Paris, remember?”
My lips part in surprise. “I—hadn’t thought of it like that.”
“I have. And I’ve never had a woman share my home. I kept Anna at a distance for a reason. I’m pulling you close because you don’t feel like she did to me.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’re different.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You will. I’ll show you, but just remember. Money doesn’t define me. Nor does it decide how I treat people, but it damn sure does how they treat me. They make assumptions about me, like you are right now. Like you have from the day you met me. I’m into you, Sofia.All in, but I need you to stop letting my money be a wall between us.”
“You’re different. In every way.” His hands settle on my shoulders. “And I’m asking you to stop obsessing over my money. Start by being confident in your worth. Do you really think I’d put my name on the line for your designs if I didn’t believe in them and you?”
“We’re not talking about me. This is about my father.”
“Is it? Because it started with you thinking Zoey was personal to me, not professional. For the record, it’s now both. As for your father, I’m ready to root for him. And if that means I give you the money so you can get him going, we’ll do it that way. However, if we could get him to see beyond our relationship, I think I could be of help to him to reach his full potential. But he won’t feel good about that if you don’t. He’ll feed off you. And before you respond, I met with him before I ever knew you. I flew to Denver to talk to him. I was serious about doing business with him.”
Emotions well in my chest, and I bury my face in his shirt. What do I do? How do I handle any of this?
He cups my face and tilts my gaze to his, his touch warm and his gaze piercing. I melt with his touch over and over again, and I’m suddenly not sure what my biggest fear is with him, aside from heartbreak. “I’m crazy about you,” he says, his voice gravely, as if this is a confession from somewhere deep in his core. “Allof you. Everything I know about you, including your love for him. I beg of you, just see where this goes. Stop placing so much pressure on yourself and me.”
He’s right. That’s exactly what I’m doing.
