“Before you say yes, there’s a catch.”
Oh no. “A catch?” I say.
“I want you to find a new man for Caroline. Prove to me you can handle both sides of the business.”
“But Blake—”
“It’s only a matter of time, honey.”
“I don’t know. I mean, I feel at least partially responsible for the initial demise of the two of them. If things completely fall apart between them I couldn’t imagine setting her up with someone else.”
“You weren’t responsible, trust me.” She waves the waiter over and orders an expensive bottle of champagne. “If it’s truly completely over between them, it was a long time coming. Besides, we should be celebrating right now. We’re going into business together!”
She looks up at the ceiling and smiles. “We’ll call the business Shopping for Love.”
My mind is already going a million miles an hour. How am I supposed to find Caroline a man when she won’t even talk to me? I can’t even find a man of my own!
It’s almost like Diana can read my mind because she says, “I know you can do this. All Caroline really needed was a little adjustment to her wardrobe to wake up and find herself. She’s not the person that she was when she and Blake first met. She’ll end up the CEO of her father’s company, without a doubt, and she’ll need someone who is just as driven to take that company to great heights. Blake is not that person. He’s wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but that is not his life’s passion, and they both deserve better.”
Maybe Blake and I were pushing Caroline to be more like us.
“I have some ideas,” I say. “But I need some time.”
The waiter pops open the champagne and pours us each a glass. “To Shopping for Love!” Diana announces.
We clink glasses. I’ve got my work cut out for me, for sure.
Chapter 14
Three weeks go by and I dive into projects for a few other clients to make ends meet. I don’t hear from Caroline or Blake at all, only Diana, who checks in every other day to ask about progress.
I’ve been going to her office to look through profiles of men, but none of them seem to be a good fit for Caroline. Even if they did, what am I supposed to do? Call her up and I say I found you a man, and some new clothes? I have to figure something out.
A few days later I find myself sitting in Frankie, waiting at Crompton Enterprises for Caroline to leave. I’m literally stalking her now.
I see her exit the building and the first thing I notice is that she is wearing the leather jacket I picked out for her, over the dress, tights, and boots we had gotten together. She looks stylish, and it looks like her hair is curled. Wait, yes, her hair is curled. Wow, what a difference.
I get out of the car and shout across the parking lot. “Caroline! Can I talk to you? Just for a minute?”
I fully expect her to look startled and run, but she doesn’t. As she gets closer, it looks like she’s wearing a small smile.
“Hi, Hayden,” she says, approaching me as I stand near Frankie.
“Caroline, there’s so much I want to say to you. Your friendship means more than me ever spending a minute with Blake. Please believe me.” And I’m not just saying that.
She looks down at the ground. “You did help me, Hayden. I was mad at you. I felt betrayed by both of you, but I also learned something about myself in the process.”
“Well, you look fantastic.”
“Thanks to you. But that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“What is it?”
“I do want to work here. This is my passion. This company. I told my dad there were parts that were missing in my life, like this.” She draws her hand up and down gesturing to her clothes. “I told him I need self-expression. I need music. But I can have all of those things and still kick ass at this job.”
“I believe that, Caroline, I really do,” I say emphatically. “What did your father say?”
“He understood. I feel like for the first time in my life he was seeing the real me. He told me I was unlike my mother, and unlike him.”
