“Well, I guess now you know.”
“Indeed I do.”
“Hey, everyone!” Willow says loudly, clapping her hands. “Dinner is about to be served. Can we make our way to the dining table?”
“Okay, let’s go,” Brielle says, grabbing Katherine by the arm. “Let’s eat.”
Brielle then whispers to her friend, “Cool it down, Katherine. I know you don’t like the guy, but we’re still trying to get a deal.”
Katherine puts a finger to her mouth and then looks back at us. “Brielle, they might be able to hear you.”
“We can totally still hear you,” I say, laughing. “But good to know you don’t like me.”
“I didn’t want to keep it a secret,” Katherine says, glaring at me. “I mean, especially now that I’m trying to be honest.”
All I can do is laugh, especially when we’re seated next to each other. She looks over at me and lets out a long, deep sigh.
“Am I really that bad?”
“I mean, I don’t know what to say to that.”
“You didn’t seem too upset about thirty minutes ago, when?—”
“When what?” she hisses.
“When I was eating you out and making you come …”
“Fine. You went down on me, and I had an orgasm. Yip-iddy-doo-dah.” She looks at me, leans forward. “Read my lips carefully, Jack.”
“I’m reading them.”
“It’s never going to happen again. And as far as I’m concerned, we’re never going to talk about it again. It was literally a momentary lapse, and I think it was just shock after seeing you again after so many years.”
“Well, technically, you saw me again after so many years a few days ago?—”
“You know what I mean. You and I both know that when I first met you, we were attracted to each other, and obviously, nothing happened. I guess seeing you again brought back some things. But after what just happened”—she laughs lightly—“I don’t think I missed anything.” She tilts her head to the side. “Sure, you made me orgasm, but it wasn’t that special. It wasn’t all that. And, really, I don’t ever need to see what anything else could be like.”
I stare at her for a couple of moments and just nod. I don’t know if she’s lying or telling the truth, but I take her words as a challenge, and I’m very much not going to back down.
By the end of dinner, everyone is having a great time. I can tell that all of the girls are slightly tipsy—even Katherine isn’t glaring at me so much anymore.
Soon, everyone has left, except for Sebastian, Willow, Katherine, Brielle, Santiago, Flynn, Nate, and me. We all head to the living room and have a seat.
“So, the guys and I were speaking. I’m not sure if you know, but we have a weekly meeting at the Magnolia Club.” Levi speaks up and looks around the room.
“Oh, yeah, I knew that,” Willow says, nodding. “Sebastian told me.”
“Well, we didn’t want to waste your time with having to give another presentation,” Levi continues.
Brielle and Katherine look nervous. Katherine looks over at me, and I just shrug. I obviously knew the conversation was coming, but I’m glad I’m not the one who had to give it.
“While we think that you are all amazing and that you’d make great businesswomen,” Levi continues, “we just don’t think you have enough experience or a finalized plan for any of us to invest. For one, you don’t know where you want the location to be. None of you have ever actually owned and run every part of a bed-and-breakfast. We know you did run the Whispering Haven Bed & Breakfast together, but there are still quite a few things that make us think you’re not ready.”
“The fact of the matter is,” Flynn adds, “the Whispering Haven Bed & Breakfast wasn’t successful financially. And we all want to make sure your next venture is.”
“Well …” Willow says.
She looks at Brielle and Katherine, and I can see they’re all slightly deflated.
