Page 36 of The Bargain
“Typical work stuff. I bought a water company that sold me on the glass bottle concept. Now they want to change to plastic. That’s not going to fly. The idea is to stand out and avoid all the toxic problems with plastic.”
“Aren’t glass bottles expensive?”
“Yes. But I knew that going into this. People hate paper. Glass is the alternative that works.”
“Is this your investment or for the family business?”
“Mine.”
“How do you have time to take care of the family side then?”
“I work a lot of hours. Is that going to bother you?”
“Of course not. I have to make Zoey into an empire of my own. I can’t do that without putting in the time and effort.”
“We’ll figure out how to make it work.”
“I’m going to tell my father about you.”
“You meanus?”
“Yes,” I say with a curve to my lips. “About us. A part of me just wanted to go over there tonight, but he’s got his own business to run, and he’s finally dating again. Plus, I recognize that I suddenly want to unburden myself, which is about me, not him.”
“What happened with his investor meeting?”
“I don’t know. I’ll talk to him tomorrow. Why?”
“Get me the information before he signs the deal. I’ll make sure nothing is shady. And if you fear he’ll sign the deal before tomorrow night, I need to look at it sooner than later.”
“Is this a thing?”
“Yes. Investors love to screw creators/owners in exchange for money. I can talk to him. I can help—”
“No,” I say. “Absolutely no, Ethan. I know you mean well, but he wants to earn what he gets.”
“He is. Now that I know more of his backstory, I’m confident in him. I always liked him.”
“No. Thank you, though. I really do appreciate that you want to help. And as for him not getting screwed, he has a good attorney, but you’re an actual investor, and I think your feedback would be necessary. I just need to figure out how to do that.”
“Tell him your new attorney is exceptional, and it’s worth two opinions.”
“Yes. Good idea. I’ll do that.” My phone is in the pocket of my pants, and I shift and retrieve it. “I’ll text him.” And that’s what I do:Dad. I know you have an attorney, but he’s so busy in trial right now. My new attorney is incredible. Let her look at your investment deal before you sign it.
He answers immediately. When, and if, I sign with someone, I will certainly consider it.
My brows dip. When and if?What is happening with the person you met with?
They want a lot of data. We’ll see.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan asks.
I toss my phone to the ottoman. “The potential investor is asking for a lot of data.”
“That’s fairly normal.”
“It feels off. I think he got turned down. You’ve seen his proposal.” I push off the chair and sit on the ottoman in front of him. “What does he need to change?”
“His upfront presentation is good, but when he gives you the backend, it’s debt-heavy in a big way.”
