Megan had been more than her business partner; Reese had thought they were building a life together.
In their second year of business school, Reese had pitched an idea for a hotel management software for one of their projects. Megan, social and affable and vibrant, had given Reese the confidence that the idea had viability.
They’d worked on the project tirelessly, eventually taking it into Stanford’s incubator program for startups and securing their seed funding before graduating.
Megan was the front woman and had happily taken center stage everywhere from TED conferences to meetings with angel investors, a place where Reese had never felt entirely comfortable.
After being told her entire life that she didn’t have the type of main character energy it took to be at the helm of a company, she’d started to believe it.
So while she worked on the engineering and financial sides of things, Megan was focused on getting their name out there and connecting with the right types of properties, the ones who’d be great customers for Checked.
Reese had built the software, one painstaking line of code at a time, tweaking and improving and updating the product until they were ready to go live six months after graduation.
She’d never wanted it to be all hers, but she loved that it was something she’d built, a testament to her hard work and determination.
And in the midst of it all, she’d found more than just a business partner. Megan had kissed her at their business school graduation, and from that moment on, they had become a team, in every sense of the word.
Which was why, even though her company had been ripped away from her, it hadn’t hurt half as much as Megan’s betrayal.
Reese’s skin still felt hot and itchy whenever she thoughtabout the conversation in which Megan had told her that they were selling the company whether she was on board or not.
With their last round of funding, a little over two years ago, they’d owned fifty-one percent of the company between them. If they’d voted as a team, the company was in their hands. Reese had always believed that would be the case. But when Megan put her shares in with the investors, who were eager to see their return realized as soon as possible, it had tipped the scales.
It hadn’t mattered what she wanted because she didn’t have the power to stop what was happening.
Reese didn’t trust herself.
She’d been so blind. So stupid. So trusting.
She’d lost her company. Gotten her heart broken. And then, to prove some sort of misguided point, she’d dumped millions of dollars into a seaside inn, though she had zero practical, day-to-day knowledge of the realities of running a hotel.
So, was throwing herself into this convoluted situation for nothing more than a little ill-advised gratification at her brother’s expense really the right path for her?
By the time her parents’ veritable mansion on the water came into view, she’d talked herself out of the insane plan.
She didn’t need to add this heaping dash of chaos to her life when it was already verging on unsustainable all on its own.
After dinner, she’d go home and let Sydney and Hallie know that she’d made a mistake.
They’d understand. With everything going on, it didn’t make sense.
Easy.
Reese had been inside her parents’ house for fifteen minutes, and already, she was looking around for sharp objects with which to put herself out of her misery.
The fire poker she’d passed when she’d moved throughthe living room had been a suitable option. Too bad she’d been ushered past too quickly to grab it.
She sat across from Grant, who’d been glaring at her since they’d first made eye contact, stabbing at his salad like he wanted the arugula to be her.
“Reese,” her mom said casually, like it hadn’t been a year since they’d seen one another in person, “I’m shocked you didn’t tell us you’d be in town.”
Last summer, she’d taken a weeklong trip to Stoneport, during which she’d made the ultimate mistake of staying with her parents. Her mom hadn’t understood the concept of remote work, her dad was barely home before sunrise, and the few dinners he’d had with Grant had been just as painful as the present one.
But instead of mentioning any of that, Reese smiled broadly. “Luckily, good news travels fast.”
Grant scoffed.
Her mom delicately picked at a cranberry in her salad, like she could hardly stomach the idea of consuming so much food. “Will you be summering in Stoneport?”
