Page 2 of Matchmaking the Rival

"All this coffee talk just reminds me of you and her. It's such a pity you didn't keep in touch."

"People grow apart after high school. It's normal."

Grandmother smiled knowingly, making me even more suspicious. She’d taken up meddling lately and was far too serious about it. She’d conspired to bring Jake and his fiancée, Natalie, together, and the success had clearly gone to her head. But in the end, Natalie was the perfect match for my brother.

I decided to be up-front about it. “Are you planning something?”

She didn’t reply, and the look on her face almost made me burst out laughing.

Jake shook his head. Next to him, Natalie was also fighting a smile.

“Jeannie, just because it worked out for Jake and me doesn’t mean it will every time,” Natalie said gently, practically voicing my thoughts. She could say things to our grandmother that none of us could.

"But I've turned ninety, dear, and still don't have any great-grandkids. Isn’t that a sign to take matters into my own hands?"

Suddenly, Natalie had nothing to say—probably for fear of Grandmother badgering her.

"No, Grandmother, it’s not." Spencer sounded uncharacteristically serious. “Things take time, and you can’t butt in on something so personal.”

I almost spit out my drink.

"Oh, well, I don’t know, Spencer dear. Jake didn't mind," Grandmother said.

Jake chuckled, taking Natalie's hand and kissing it. The change in him was still shocking to see. He'd been distant for years, and not just physically, but Natalie came along and changed all that.

"No, I didn't mind... at least, I don’t mind now, but I don't mean that as an encouragement, Grandmother." He squeezed Natalie’s hand, kissing her cheek. He was clearly at peace, and I was happy for him. But I wasn’t going down that path. At thirty-one, I knew I never intended to settle down. I liked to play the field—although I was never double-dipping my wick. I wasn’t my father. But marriage wasn’t for me.

"I’ll take it as encouragement anyway. Who knows which of you is going to follow in Jake's footsteps?"

"I have a feeling you do," Spencer replied flatly, looking me squarely in the face.

Huh?

I cocked a brow at him again.What is it with him today?

I had no idea why Spencer was so up in arms. Yes, Grandmother was meddling sometimes, but she'd only mentioned Meredith twice.

Well, whatever was going on didn’t matter because I had my hands full with the competition. To increase profits, my father had completely forsaken the fair-trade principle that was very dear to Grandfather. He’d kept production at a high standard, which included sourcing coffee from places where farmers and workers had acceptable working conditions. Father didn’t care about any of that.

I'd worked very hard these last years to rebuild our reputation. This prize would mean a great deal to my family. I would do everything in my power to win and right some of the wrongs my father caused all those years ago.

***

Meredith

"Meredith, I think you’llenjoy your new office,” my boss and CEO, Sonya, said.

"Oh yeah. Most definitely," I agreed, glancing around my quaint space in the Winthrop Building. Looking outside, I smiled, loving the view of the street below. I was on the fifth floor, and this room was such an improvement over the one I had before my promotion. There was so much light coming in, whereas the previous office only had a slim window with a view of a fire escape. “Thank you for this opportunity, Sonya.”

I’d been with the company for six years, having started as a marketing trainee. Now I was an executive and would be responsible for the bottom line of the company. It was a lot of responsibility, but I relished the challenge.

“You’ll do great. I’m sure of it.” The confidence Sonya and others at the firm had shown in me was invaluable, and I was so lucky that I liked the people I worked with as much as I loved my job.

“Okay, I’ll hit the ground running, then, and ensure everything is ready for the competition. I’m going to go over today to check our booth myself.”

“I’m glad I went with my gut and didn’t hire someone externally. I knew you’d go above and beyond.”

“Of course. I want us to have the best shot at winning.” Coffee was my lifelong passion. I started drinking it when I was only fourteen years old. My mother was fine with it once she realized I functioned much better after a cup in the morning. But only one cup; Mom teased that she didn’t want it to stunt my growth. Over the years, my passion for the product evolved, and I’d become more of a connoisseur, especially as I started working in the industry.

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