Page 8 of The CEO's Sweetheart Deal
That's the understatement of the century. It's been more than a day. It's been a nuclear bomb dropped directly into the middle of my carefully constructed life.
Sydney gives me a knowing look as she scrapes the tomatoes into a bowl. "You going to tell me what's really going on between you and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Loaded? Because that was a whole lot of 'complicated history' I witnessed today."
I busy myself with uncorking the wine, avoiding her eyes. "Hand me the glasses?"
She reaches into my cabinet for two wine glasses, then leans against the counter, arms folded. "I'm not letting this go, you know."
"I know." I pour us each a generous serving. "But I need at least half this glass before I can talk about Oscar."
Sydney accepts her wine with a small toast. "To surviving unexpected corporate takeovers."
"And unexpected ghosts from the past," I add, taking a substantial sip.
We work in companionable silence for a few minutes, falling into the rhythm we've established over years of friendship. Sydney seasons the salmon while I prepare the asparagus, and soon my kitchen is filled with the aroma of herbs and garlic as everything sizzles in the pan.
"So," she says, as we settle at my small dining table with our plates. "Are you ready to spill?"
I take another fortifying sip of wine. "Oscar and I go way back. College. We were best friends, inseparable really."
"Friends? Orfriends?" She raises her eyebrows suggestively.
"Just friends," I clarify. "We took the same business classes. Studied together… dreamed together. Tried to get an app going together."
"But?"
"But nothing. We were friends, that's all." I stab a piece of asparagus with unnecessary force. "After graduation, we got started launching our app. We had everything planned out — business model, potential clients, even office space."
"What happened?"
The wine suddenly tastes bitter on my tongue. "He told me he had feelings for me."
Sydney's eyes widen. "And that was… bad?"
"It wasn't that," I say, pushing my salmon around the plate. "It was the timing. We were just about to launch. We had our first investor in the bag. Everything was set, and then he springs this on me."
"Heaven forbid someone have feelings for you," she chuckles.
"You don't understand. We had a good thing going. We were partners, equals. Then suddenly he's looking at me differently, expecting something more."
"Did you feel the same way?"
I hesitate, the question hanging in the air between us. Did I?
The truth is more complicated than I want to admit, even to myself.
"It doesn't matter how I felt," I say finally. "Two days after his confession, he said he was quitting our project. Changed his number, moved out of his apartment. Left me to handle everything — the investor meetings, the paperwork, all of it."
Her expression shifts from teasing to concerned. "Seriously? He just ghosted you?"
"Completely. The investment fell through. I couldn't run the business alone. Everything we'd worked for just… imploded." I take another large swallow of wine. "I had to start over from scratch."
"And now he owns the company. Talk about a plot twist."
"Yeah." I laugh, but there's no amusement in it. "The universe has a sick sense of humor."
"Wait, I don't get it," Sydney says, setting down her fork. "Why did he leave? Just because he told you he liked you?"
"I told him I needed time to think. It was a lot to process. Our whole relationship would have changed."
