“You couldn’t pay me enough,” Heather said. “I will get more champagne, though. Can I get you a glass for when you get back from loading the car?”
“Absolutely,” Chelsea agreed. “And then we’ll watch our friends eat pureed carrots.”
She went over to the gift pile and scooped up an armload of board books and onesies. Someone had taken the time to lay everything out on one of the tables, which was good as far as giving everybody the opportunity to ooh and aah over the gifts, but it definitely made Chelsea’s job harder. She had to arrange the gifts in piles before taking them out to the car.
Maybe there’s something to the idea of putting all this on me because I don’t have kids at home,she thought as she tried to arrange everything in the trunk so that it wouldn’t spill out.But on the other hand, if they’re all in there doing the same things they’d do at home with their kids anyway, I don’t see why they can’t do this job.
She made a resolution to herself. The next time she was at a shower, she would make herself unavailable. She would walkaway when the mother of the bride or pregnant woman bustled in her direction with a notepad in hand. She would dodge chores. She liked being helpful, and it wasn’t in her nature to say no to a friend, but she had to let them know that they couldn’t keep relying on her for these things. Her friends were going to have to treat her more fairly.
And she made herself another promise, too.I’ll at least consider Heather’s idea.She didn’t think her friend had actually intended what she’d said to be a suggestion. It had been an idle comment. But it had lit a fire in Chelsea’s mind.
I could have a child now. She didn’t have to wait to figure out the all-but-impossible dating scene, which seemed like a problem she was never going to be able to solve. Dating was hard, but Chelsea was sure that parenthood would be easier. It would have its challenges, but she would be able to handle them. She would be a good mother to her child. She couldn’t wait for that to happen.
I don’t have to wait for it to happen.
She’d never been the kind of woman to sit back and wait for life to come to her. When Chelsea wanted something, she had always sought it out and taken it for herself. Why should this be any different? Why shouldn’t she go ahead and do all she could to make her dreams of motherhood come true.
This is probably just a daydream. I’m letting my emotions get the better of me because I’m at a shower and I’m thinking about babies. That’s all it is. Once I go home and sleep on it, I’m sure I’ll wake up realizing just how crazy I was being. I’ll be laughing at all this tomorrow.
That was probably true. But for the moment, it still seemed plausible. It seemed like something she might actually be able to do. And Chelsea couldn’t seem to shake off the idea of a beautiful little baby in her arms… even if she did have to do it on her own.
CHAPTER 3
MILES
“Ihave to say, you really talked me into something here,” Roland Bastion said. The expression on his face, Miles saw, was mildly displeased. “I’m not sure now why I agreed to this sale.”
It did Miles no good for the other man to leave unhappy, even though he thought Bastion had reason to doubt himself. It wasn’t a very good deal from his end, after all. But the reputation of Gold Standard was important to him, and he didn’t want Bastion walking out of this meeting feeling as if he’d been taken advantage of.
“Would you like to go over the particulars again?” he asked.
“No, everything is in the packet you put together,” Bastion tapped it, distractedly. He seemed even more perturbed by the fact that he’d been given paperwork. Miles was used to that. A lot of people approached these deals with more of a handshake-and-a-grin mentality, but Miles knew better. If you didn’t put things in writing, you couldn’t expect to remember them the same way.
“The percentage you’ll continue to earn on original BasTech products is laid out in there,” he said. “It’s more than enough to keep you in good financial shape year-to-year for the rest of your life.” That was true. Miles might be a hard negotiator, but he didn’t relish the idea of leaving anyone high and dry. Bastion ought to be able to make a living on the work he had done, even if he wasn’t going to be CEO of the company anymore.
“Well, I don’t know about this now that I see it laid out,” Bastion said. “Maybe we should talk about an extra ten percent.”
“Non-negotiable, I’m afraid,” Miles said firmly. “We already worked all this out and signed the paperwork, so it’s all decided. But if there are any questions I can answer for you, do feel free to ask. That was the purpose of this meeting.”
Bastion sighed. “I suppose I have to accept that things are going to be different now that I’m no longer in control,” he admitted. “It’s just a little challenging. I founded this company myself, after all. Your father knows what that’s like.”
Miles lost some sympathy for the man. It was a low blow to say something like that, to point out that he and Miles’s father were both company founders, whereas Miles himself was inheriting an established empire. It was the truth, but it was a constant insecurity for Miles. As hard as he worked, would he have been able to do all this by himself if it hadn’t been for his father setting him up for success? How many of his own accomplishments could he really take credit for?
Well, he could take credit for this one, no matter what Bastion thought about it. “I understand very well how hard it is to relinquish control of something that’s always been yours,” he said. “I’ll always be willing to answer any questions you might have about the direction we’re taking the company.” He’ddiscovered in previous meetings like this, that such an offer had a way of making the person who was selling to him feel as if they were still going to have some creative control. Bastion wasn’t going to have any such thing, of course, but he didn’t need to focus on that right now. Let him take reassurance from the idea that he would still be involved in his company. “And we’ve agreed to keep the BasTech name in circulation. Everything your company pioneered will haveA BasTech Creationon the label.”
Bastion nodded slowly. “I suppose that’ll be all right,” he said. “I just don’t like to say goodbye to it all, after so many years.”
“I understand,” Miles said soothingly. This was his least favorite part of doing business. Everything had been agreed upon. This meeting should be a formality. Instead, he found himself having to re-sell Bastion on things he had already agreed to.
Bastion rose to his feet, finally wearing a smile. “All right,” he said. “I know I couldn’t be leaving the business in better hands than I am, young man.”
Young man.Miles bristled again, but he didn’t let it show. He shook Bastion’s hand with a smile. “Why don’t we get some champagne?” he suggested.
“That sounds perfect.”
The door opened and his secretary, a kid Miles had hired straight out of college, came in. Henry was smart and eager to please, and Miles hoped to promote him to a position of more significance within the company in a few years, once he had some experience under his belt.
“Henry,” he said, “can you please get a bottle of champagne for Mr. Bastion and myself?”
