Page 97 of Knot Your Sunshine
My throat tightens. "And if they can't?"
"Then you'll have your answer before irreversible commitments are made." Her voice gentles. "Better to know now than after getting bonded."
A weight lifts slightly from my chest. "Thank you, Naomi. For being available."
"Anytime, Mia. I mean that. Your dreams matter. Don't let anyone, no matter how wonderful they seem, convince you otherwise." She pauses. "Get some sleep if you can. Clear heads make better decisions."
After we hang up, I sit in the dark for a long moment. The suite doesn't feel quite so suffocating now. Or maybe I just don't feel so alone with my concerns.
And I know what I need to do now.
Chapter thirty-eight
Mia
I walk down the hallway, the words I've been practicing dissolving and reforming with each step.
Hey, I couldn't sleep after our conversation around the fire...
No, that sounds weak. Apologetic. I stop at a hallway mirror, meeting my exhausted gaze in the dim light.
I need to talk to you about what you said at the fire.
Better, but still not right. I start walking again.
Look, I'm not ready to continue not taking scent blockers after all. Not until we're on the same page about my future.
Too confrontational? Maybe. But at least it's honest.
The corridor branches ahead. Left leads to Noa's suite. I'll knock on his door first, then gather the others so we can have this conversation properly.
But as I pass the office door on my right, a voice stops me cold.
"—an illusion, I'm afraid."
The sound leaks through the door crack, tinny through what sounds like computer speakers. I freeze, one foot still raised mid-step. That voice, that particular brand of smugness…
Chadwick.
My stomach drops. They're on a call with him. Now. At two in the morning. Without me.
I edge closer, barely breathing.
"The revenue recovery is entirely artificial." His satisfaction drips through every word. "The marketing spend required to achieve those numbers was astronomical. We're hemorrhaging money and are in a worse position than during the initial dip, actually."
The wall holds me up as my legs go weak. Noa's face flashes behind my eyelids, his phone screen angled toward me.Look at this! The numbers bounced right back.
He knew. He had to have known.
"Now that we've resolved the location attribution data issue in our systems," Chadwick continues, papers rustling on his end, "I can confirm the problematic locations. The ones dragging down overall performance are all Ms. Everly's selections."
My fingernails bite into my palms hard enough to leave marks.
"Her franchises?" Josh's voice, uncertain.
"Every single one." Chadwick doesn't even try to hide his satisfaction. "The data is conclusive. Her locations are generating thirty percent less revenue than mine."
Thirty percent. The number echoes in my head. My franchises…
