And it was only one-thirty.
After taking the elevator to the top floor, I pushed open the door to my office and stepped inside with a sigh, rolling my shoulders as I crossed to my desk. I dropped onto my chair, the leather groaning beneath me as I pulled my cell out of the inner pocket of my suit jacket.
I had set it to silent during my impromptu lunch with my mother, something I didn’t second-guess since it had been a rule of hers growing up. No distractions at meals.
Plenty of emails had come through, along with a text from my assistant.
Sophie
Snagged you a chocolate chip cookie from the bakery down the street while I was at lunch.
When my long-time assistant was out for maternity leave, my mom had suggested I hire the youngest daughter of one of her closest friends to cover for a few months. Sophie had just graduated from college, and since Langford Tech preferred to hire and promote from within, working for me was a great way for her to get her foot in the door. It had been the quickest way to fill the position, so I’d agreed. Which turned out to be a lucky thing because Lucy decided early on that she wanted to take another three months with her baby, and Sophie was happy to stay on longer.
I fired off a quick reply to thank her, not bothering to remind her that she didn’t need to do stuff like that because she never listened. I wouldn’t be surprised if my mother had told her to make sure I was eating enough or some bullshit like that.
Then I opened my missed calls, and my brows drew together when I saw one from my wife.
There was no voicemail. No follow-up text.
I frowned as I stared at the screen. Just the one call, about forty minutes ago.
Callie normally texted during the workday. She only called if it couldn’t wait.
Worried that something might be wrong, I pulled up her contact, my thumb hovering over the call button just as my boss walked into my office.
Even though we were friends, Gage Langford wasn’t the kind of man you kept waiting. Especially lately, since he was grumpier than usual while going through a messy divorce from the wife he never wanted to marry in the first place.
“Hope I’m not interrupting any number-crunching miracles.”
I stood to greet him, offering a firm handshake. “Nope, I just got back in.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want to disappoint the board by distracting you.”
Despite being my boss, Gage never acted like he was above anyone else. He was sharp. Even ruthless when necessary. But always fair.
We’d gone to college together, and although I’d started here under his father-in-law’s leadership, Gage had been the one to promote me to CFO after the old man retired. He trusted me with Langford Tech’s finances, and I was determined not to let him down.
He dropped into the seat across from my desk, stretching his legs out as he loosened his tie. “Got a sec? Just needed to go over the numbers with you before I finish prepping for the Andrews call.”
I nodded, already pulling up the financial model I’d built for that scenario. “Projections are still tracking. Their Q2 dip gave us more leverage than we expected, so there’s no reason to let them squeeze us on valuation.”
Gage raised a brow. “Think we could close the deal lower than we originally planned?”
“Only if you want to play hardball.” I leaned forward, adjusting the data slightly and shrugging at the outcome. “You might be able to get them to come in just shy of six.”
He raked his fingers through his hair with a sigh. “But they could just as easily get offended and walk away from the deal entirely.”
“With the assets we’ll acquire from them, is saving half a million worth taking the risk?”
“Nope,” he murmured, shaking his head. “Which is why I came to you for the data before the meeting. So I don’t fuck up this deal and give Vanessa something to hold over my head. That’s the last damn thing I need right now.”
I had no doubt he was right about that. His hopefully soon-to-be ex-wife wasn’t happy about their marriage ending and had inherited half of Langford Technology from her father, just like Gage had from his. If the company lost significant value in the middle of the divorce, she’d assume he did it to be spiteful and make him pay some other way.
I felt bad for my friend, but he knew the risks he’d been taking when he agreed to marry her in the first place. “Anything else I can help you with?”
“Nah, I’m just glad you got back from that appointment before my call.” Gage stood. “Callie doing okay?”
The question hit like a sucker punch, and my body locked up.
