Winnie spreads her own fingers for inspection, nails trimmed short. Her hands have spent decades kneading dough and hauling sheet pans. It’s a good look.
“Not sure it’s worth it. And I don’t think yourbusiness dinnercompanion is going to care.” She pulled out the air quotes. Must be serious.
“I’m not trying to impress Jeremy.” The lie is so lame it almost apologizes for itself.
Winnie just laughs. “You keep telling yourself that, girlie.”
17
JEREMY
I try notto keep glancing over at Avah in the passenger seat as my Range Rover eats up the miles between Skylark and our dinner in Denver. The late afternoon sun slants through the windshield, catching the gold strands in her hair.
She rolls her head lazily, like a cat stretching in warm sunlight. “Have I mentioned how much I love this car?”
Three times now, starting with the moment she’d climbed in. “I can’t remember.”
I’ll buy you five. Ten. A whole fleet.
At least that’s what I want to tell her, but I keep my mouth shut. I’m not down that bad, but you can bet I’m brand-loyal to Range Rover for life. My assistant picked out this six-figure SUV. I don’t give a shit about cars, except now mine smells faintly like sugar and Avah’s floral perfume, and I’m going to have a hard time ever selling it.
I’m so far gone it’s pathetic.
“Walk me through your pitch.” She shifts toward me in the leather seat. “How are you opening the conversation?"
“I’m planning to lay out the partnership structure I’ve been developing, along with the timeline and growth projections. Showthem exactly how much we could scale the platform’s reach within eighteen months.”
Avah gives a full-on, head-thrown-back laugh. And it makes my stomach dip like I just dove off the edge of a cliff.
“What’s the problem?”
“Between drinks and dinner, you’re going to ram a spreadsheet down their throats?”
“Spreadsheet is an oversimplification. It’s a comprehensive strategic?—”
“Jeremy.” Her hand lands on my forearm, the contact sending a jolt straight through me. “These people built NorthStar from grief and love and the desire to make their daughter’s death mean something. You can’t treat a potential partnership of something so precious like a hostile takeover.”
“I wasn’t going to?—”
“I get that you’re used to being the smartest person in the room.” Her blue eyes seem to see through every wall I’ve constructed. “And people fall all over themselves to get a minute of your time. But Joel and Mariel need to trust you before they’ll take that leap.”
I grip the steering wheel tighter. “What do you suggest?”
“Ask questions and listen to the answers. Talk about why this matters to you.” She tucks one leg beneath her. “Maybe tell them about being fourteen and scared and feeling like a burden to your parents. Share how it’s been supporting Sloane the past year. Let them see who you actually are instead of who Forbes says you are.”
I turn her words over in my mind as the downtown skyline comes into view, the mountains to our west postcard perfect.
“You want me to use vulnerability as a strategy?” I draw in a slow breath to stem the panic rising in my throat. The thought of sharing the private parts of my life with anyone, let alone people I consider business associates, is…just no.
“I want you to be real.”
“You’re good with people for someone who claims not to like most of them.”
“I never said I don’t like most people.”
“Just me, then?”
The question comes out before I can stop it. I hold my breath in the silence that follows, the Range Rover so insulated from the highway noise that I can hear every second she doesn’t answer.
