Page 93 of Knot Your Sunshine
"I do wonder though, have you thought about what comes after?" Noa asks carefully. "After you've built your empire?"
My shoulders tighten. "What do you mean, after?"
"Building the franchise will likely take years," Noa says. "Years of travel, training, constant involvement. Have you considered having an endgame?"
"Maybe bringing in help eventually?" Josh suggests. "A general manager to handle operations so you can—"
"I haven't thought about that." The words come out clipped. "Now isn't the time for exit strategies. Now is about making it work."
They exchange a look that makes my jaw clench.
"Fair enough," Noa says slowly. "But having something to work toward helps. A vision of what success looks like beyond just the business."
"Successfully franchising IS my vision." I pull back to look at each of them. "That might not change. Would that be a problem?"
"Of course not, Sunshine," Keanu says quickly. "Your passion is amazing—"
"But?"
"But we've walked that path." Noa's voice is gentle but firm. "We know where it can lead. Burnout. Missing everything that matters because you're chasing the goal."
"Maybe that happened because your goal was just money." The words have bite. "Mine is creating sanctuaries. Safe spaces. That's not something I'll get tired of. Or hand off to some manager."
"We understand, we just want you to have everything," Noa says. "The business and a life. Us. Happiness, health. Maybe eventually a fam—"
Keanu suddenly holds up his hand. "Guys, listen."
We all freeze.
"Nothing," he says slowly. "No rain. No wind." A grin spreads across his face. "Storm's passed."
"We should head back," Noa says, already standing. "Before the weather changes its mind."
"Right." I stand too quickly, brushing sand from my legs. "Let's go."
As we pack up our makeshift camp, my mind churns. Was Noa about to say family? We've known each other less than a week. Scent match or not, that's... a lot.
But I also feel something else needle at me as we douse the fire and gather our things. Though I'm not exactly sure what it is yet…
Chapter thirty-six
Josh
My shoes squelch against the marble floor of the lobby, leaving dark puddles with each step.
A couple in evening wear pauses mid-conversation as we pass, their eyes tracking our group. Can't really blame them, seeing four drenched people stumbling through the lobby at 1:18 AM… We probably look like we've been shipwrecked.
"Welcome back." Claire, our assistant, glides over carrying our phones on a silver tray. "I was starting to worry."
"Just a bit of weather," Noa says smoothly. His hand finds Mia's lower back, but she doesn't lean into him like she did earlier. "Thank you for waiting up, Claire. You can head home now."
"Good thing I practically live here then." She smiles, handing us our phones before departing.
The screen lights up immediately, emails, messages, missed calls. My thumb hovers over the first notification when Noa speaks beside me.
"Hey, look at this! The numbers bounced right back." He angles his screen toward Mia, his other hand squeezing her shoulder. "We're back on track from the dip."
I pull up the same report. The revenue line curves upward, true, but we doubled our marketing spend yet the revenue barely matches yesterday's levels… which means profitability is down. Noa's conveniently omitting this crucial detail.
