Maybe that’s how she ought to look at it.
Rather than the end of a dream that, for one brief shining moment, she’d managed to capture.
Someone else would choose furniture for these beautiful rooms. See the rainbows sprinkle the foyer when the sun hit the chandelier just right. Walk across floors that glowed like amber. Wake up in the turret.
Maybe think twice about going in the attic.
The stuck or wobbly or dangerous parts—warped windows, creaky hinges, the stairs—now moved freely or, if they weren’t supposed to, not at all. Scratches had been smoothed away.
For a little while, she’d been awake inside a dream.
She still loved this house with the same ache she had as a girl.
But now she knew that love was all tied up with Mac, of a piece. And the house did not mean a damn thing without him.
And for that reason alone she could, and should, let it go.
Still, her heart was pretty weighted when she carried Chick Pea with her up the stairs to drop off a load of clothes.
As she dumped them on the bed a text chimed into her phone. She glanced down and her whole being reflexively knotted up.
It was Corbin.
Call me. It’s urgent.
Crap crap crap. She did notwantto hear Corbin’s voice right now, when the sun was at its most mellow and golden here in the turret. She didn’t think he had the nerve to bother her with passive-aggressive requests just to get her attention, however. It must actually be urgent.
She punched his number. “What?” she said tersely, when he answered.
“Did you read that email from the venture capitalist firm? Coltrane Chatwick Forsyth? COLTRANE? What the hell, Avalon?”
Coltrane?
Her heart bounced like a rim shot.
She scrolled through her emails until she saw.
Dear Ms. Harwood and Mr. Bergson,
I write to you on behalf of venture capitalists Coltrane Chatwick Forsyth. We represent an investor who is interested in purchasing GradYouAte.
And then it listed a sum that stopped her breath.
It wasn’t jaw-dropping. But it was better than fair.
It was... freaking the answer to her prayers.
After they repaid their investors, Avalon and Corbin would be left with healthy chunks of money. Avalon with more, since she owned more of the company.
Enough money to go back to school if she wanted to.
Alternatively, we are willing to discuss a venture capital arrangement, but only if Ms. Harwood agrees to stay on as CEO. We agree her competence and creative vision have been thus far key to the company’s success.
We look forward to discussing this with you at your earliest convenience. You may contact me at the number listed above.
Sincerely,
T. Dixon Coltrane
