Page 40 of Bloom and Burn
“There’s no way I’d convince you to tell me now?” I purr, stroking his jawline.
“Nope.”
I glide my fingers down the curve of his shoulder, then his arm, until I have his semi-hard cock in my hand. “Are you sure?”
“No—Yes, I mean. No matter what dirty methods you use, I’m not telling you.”
“Fine.” I kiss the top of his head. “Go now, or you’ll be sleeping here tonight.”
Laughing, he gets in his car and shoots me an air kiss. “Good night. And don’t stay up too late!”
As I watch him drive away, I feel both nerves and excitement. A lot more than just the facility hinges on how well tomorrow goes, including whether or not his parents might finally accept me.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Emily asks the next morning, handing me a piece of the flapjack she’s made.
“It’s fine, Em. I’ve got this.” Despite my words, I feel only like fifty percent like I do, but it will have to do.
She pouts and crosses her arms. “I call bullshit.”
I snort. “You call right. But really, I got this.”
With a dramatic sigh, she follows me out of the house. “Fine. But call me if you need reinforcements. I’m sure Ryan won’t mind it if I have to step out and fulfill my sisterly duties.”
“Roger, M’am.”
“Stop being an idiot and go!”
I comply and get in my car, which is parked next to hers. They are the same model, but hers has been adapted so she can drive it herself. After I strap in, I double-check to make sure I have all the materials in the folder I tossed on the passenger’s seat. Everything is there. Good.
A stop by my favorite café later, and I’m parking on the side of the town hall building. Its wooden façade looks orange under the morning sun, though I am sure the red brick is partially at fault, too. The flower arrangement from the festival over the weekend are still around, which is kind of like having a part of Ryan with me. It gives me extra courage as I slip my game face on and enter the enemy’s lair.
“Good morning,” I greet the receptionist, Millie. I know she’s friends with Ryan, though we haven’t officially met yet. “I’m here to see Mr. Sherwood. I’m Jack Keller. My sister called yesterday and I should have an appointment.”
“One moment, please.” She keys in my name and pulls up a calendar app on her computer. After confirming the details, she hands me a paper clipboard with time, date and name fields. “Please, sign here.”
I am taken down a corridor to the left of the reception desk, then up a set of wooden stairs to the third door on thesecond floor. My heart rate speeds up as she knocks and announces us.
“Come in,” a deep male voice says.
Millie opens the door for me and I enter Ryan’s dad’s office. He sits behind a massive oak desk, pointing at the upholstered chair in front of it. I lower myself in it while Millie excuses herself. There is an old couch in the corner where the bookshelf is, and knick-knacks, photos and documents litter the top of the mayor’s desk. On the edge of the windowsill on his right sits a pastel pink orchid with giant blooms, no doubt courtesy of the Blooming Orchid.
“I don’t suppose it’s a coincidence that you show up when Margaret is running an errand out of town,” Ryan’s dad jibes at me.
I try not to take it personally. “It is, I assure you. I’m only just now finding out.” Whether or not Emily somehow magically knew is a different story, but she didn’t mention anything to me.
I let him stare me down for a couple more moments, using the chance to examine him. He reminds me of Ryan so much so he could easily be the older version of my cute florist. I suspect he takes his build and eyes from his mother, but the rest is definitely from his dad, down to the cut of his jaw, his full lips and the straight shape of his nose.
“Right,” I say when I deem we’ve spent enough time sizing each other up. “You obviously know about me, so I’ll get straight to the point.” I place the folder on the desk and open it, turning it so he can see the diagrams we’ve prepared. “I want to buy the Blooming Orchid out of the building it’s currently occupying. I already own the other two-thirds and the land surrounding it… as I’m sure you are aware, seeing as we submitted the documentation to the town hall already.” I shoot my business smile at him and carry on before he can argue anything, needing to say my piece in full in case I’m not given the chance later. “My plan is to build a medical facility focused on the research and treatment of paralysis.”
I give him a rundown of the experimental procedure I’ve come up with, my background and Emily’s circumstances. His expression remains taut and mostly unreadable throughout, but I don’t let that get to me, plowing ahead like there’s no tomorrow.
“Emily and I also want to give to Estacada’s community,” I state once I’m done with he technical bit, flipping over to the investment proposal she prepared. “We think that grants and zero-interest loans—”
“You are just like the rest of them,” Mr. Sherwood cuts me off with a distasteful look on his face that makes me grit my teeth. “You think just because you have money and are willing to throw some of it at us, we’ll bend over and let you ruin our town?”
Shit. This sounds a lot like what Margaret’s problem with me was. Or one of them. Has she gotten to him already, or if he as cynical as she is? After all, I spent the last twenty minutes explaining to him that I am not interested in exploiting anyone. I just want to live here with Emily and give her a chance to walk again, that’s all. Okay, I also want to see where things with Ryan will go too, but that’s separate.
“Mr. Sherwood, as I explained, I worked hard to build my company with the sole purpose of helping Emily and others like her. I donate a great chunk of my profits to various causes, and I am happy to provide you with a list of those. I can have it emailed over before the end of the day.”
