Page 26 of The CEO's Sweetheart Deal
Oscar asks a few questions about recovery time that I'm too distracted to process. The relief that nothing's broken mingles with the embarrassment of having injured myself acting like a competitive child.
After the doctor leaves, Oscar helps me off the table. "I'll get your prescription filled on the way home."
"No need," I say quickly. "I have ibuprofen at home."
"Alice—"
"Oscar." I meet his gaze directly. "You've done enough. More than enough, actually. I appreciate the ride here, but I can handle it from here."
I see the argument forming behind his eyes, but then he relents with a nod. While I wait for him to bring the car around, I pull out my phone and call Sydney.
"Hey, I need a favor," I tell her when she answers. "Can you pick me up from Urgent Care? I’ll send you my location.”
"What about…” She trails off, then seems to reconsider. “Sure. I’ll be there soon.”
When Oscar returns, I don’t move toward his car.
"Sydney's coming," I explain. "She can help me get settled at home."
"I could have done that," he says quietly.
"I know. But it's better this way. You have work to do. I know you’re probably busy."
We both know that’s not the full reason.
He rubs the back of his head and just looks off across the parking lot. “I would love it if things could be cool between us.”
My throat thickens. “I’m not sure they can be. I can stand us working together… but other than that…” I shrug.
His lips twist. “I didn’t leave because I wanted to hurt you, Alice.”
“I know.”
But that doesn’t change the fact that he left our startup because he didn’t think it would get anywhere. The kicker is that, without him, it didn’t go anywhere. With our combined efforts, though, it might have had a real chance.
"Call me if you need anything, Alice. I mean it."
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. There's genuine concern in his expression, and for a dangerous second, I consider reaching for his hand.
"Thanks for rescuing me today," I manage finally.
"Anytime." He gets in his car and drives away, and I know I’ve made the right decision, but there’s still a brick in my stomach that I have a feeling will always be there.
CHAPTER 11
OSCAR
For the third time in an hour, I check my phone. No messages from Alice. Not that I expected any. The image of driving away from her yesterday is still fresh in my mind — the way she couldn't push me away fast enough, despite my attempts to help.
"You're still checking for her messages?" Cole observes from across my desk, tapping his pen against his legal pad. "She made it pretty clear where things stand between you two."
I set my phone down. "I'm just making sure she doesn't need anything. I care about all of my employees."
"Right." His tone is knowing, but he mercifully changes the subject. "I've updated the board presentation with your notes about preserving Rooted Pantry's brand integrity. It's unusual, but I see why you don't want to dismantle what Alice has built."
Since the laser tag fiasco, I've been throwing myself into work, reviewing every aspect of Rooted Pantry's business model, financial statements, and long-term strategies. Not just because it's what I always do with acquisitions, but because diving intospreadsheets and market projections is infinitely preferable to thinking about Alice's clear disdain for me.
"The board isn't going to be thrilled about abandoning our usual playbook," Cole continues. "Halston especially wants those quick returns."
