“Oh, Dad,” she said, wishing he were still here to whisper guidance.
You can do this, Em.
The voice in her head blended with tones of her father’s, such that she didn’t know whether the words of motivation were her own or a message from him. Sleep had been tenuous. She’d spent most of the night trying to make sense of everything Connor had told her, and everything she had learned about the one-sided love affair between her mother and Connor’s father. Love affair was the wrong word. It was neither love, nor an affair from her mother’s perspective. Just one man’s attempt at owning a woman who didn’t feel the same way.
But Connor shouldn’t be blamed for the sins of his father, just like she shouldn’t be held responsible for the sins of hers, right? After all, hadn’t he tried to deflect his father to protect her?
She finished making the coffee, extra strong, and took one last glance at her face in the mirror. What was the saying about how you’re braver than you believe and stronger than you seem? A. A. Milne, she remembered. With a sip of her coffee, she sincerely hoped that was true today.
Concealer covered the bags under her eyes, blush added a pink, fresh hue to her cheeks. And her resilience muscles were firing on all cylinders.
Ali had offered to come over with ice cream, but she’d needed to be on her own. It had mattered to her that she figure out her thoughts without letting anyone else influence her.
Connor had been right about one thing.
You’ll do more with Dyer’s than he ever could. Act like the owner you are.
She put on her usual jeans and blouse, but partnered it with a jacket instead of a sweater, and low-heeled boots.
Her phone pinged as she walked toward her car. A message. From Connor.
I woke up thinking about you and then I remembered what had happened yesterday. It was like the most fucking awful dream that you realize is actually real. Please, don’t give up on us…on me. Don’t give up on me.
There was no way she could reply yet, so instead, she climbed into her car and drove to the distillery.
When she arrived twenty minutes later, she headed straight to her office and made a list of things that were on her mind, starting with the organizational structure. By ten o’clock, she was done.
She sat back in her father’s old chair, the leather creaking. While it was a comfort, it wasn’t practical, so she made a note to buy herself a proper office chair with her own money. Unable to resist the notifications on her phone, she opened them. There was another message from Connor.
Okay. Here’s the thing. I love you. And up until yesterday, we were building something fucking special. Let me make this right. Let me show you how much you mean to me. Where are you? I have something I need to tell you.
Emerson placed her phone back down on the desk, her heart like a yo-yo between her throat and stomach.
At ten thirty, Olivia and Jake walked into her office as she’d requested.
“Finch Liquor Distribution felt like we were an at-risk distillery that they would be able to purchase at a rock-bottom price. We are not going to let that happen,” she said.
“Wow,” Jake replied. “That’s quite the opening to this meeting.”
“Connor did what?” Olivia said at the same time.
Both looked shocked.
“This is going to take a lot of explaining, but there’s something you need to know about how the distillery got off the ground, to make sense of everything.”
She pulled Donovan’s letters out of her purse and explained everything she now knew about his role in the start of the distillery, ending with his final letter to their mother.
“From the letters, I don’t think Mom was ever unfaithful to Dad. I think Donovan wanted Mom to be his and was crushed when she didn’t respond to his advances, which appeared to include investing in the distillery to win her over.”
Olivia shook her head and reached for the final letter. “I wonder why Mom and Dad never mentioned it?”
“Why would they?” Jake said. “It’s not exactly relevant. Old acquaintances. Old memories. He didn’t mean anywhere near as much to them as they obviously did to him. Donovan Finch carried a grudge for a fuck-ton of years because he lost a business, a woman, and a possible friend in Dad. I don’t condone what he did, but that had to hurt. And assuming the guy wasn’t wealthy, it was a lot of money back then. Like, twenty to thirty thousand or something.”
Emerson nodded her agreement. “Doesn’t make it right, but it certainly adds perspective.”
Olivia took her hand. “So, how does Connor fit in to all this?”
Emerson rolled her head from side to side, loosening the stiffness in her neck and shoulders. “That’s where it gets complicated.”
She explained the series of events, how Connor was intrigued by this story that caused such anger in his father, and how Finch Liquor Distribution needed to change strategy before he and Emerson even met. And how there was an overlap of his feelings for her and his responsibilities to the company.
“So you kicked him to the curb, right?” Jake said.
Olivia shook her head. “That must be awful for you both. Him caught between you and his father. You caught between him and the distillery.”
Jake looked at Olivia. “Are you shitting me? The guy pulled a dick move on Em.”
Olivia shrugged. “Yeah. He did. But some of the best meet-cutes are enemies to lovers.”
Jake did a double take. “Meet-what?”
“When two people meet for the first time before they fall in love.” Olivia rolled her eyes as if it were obvious.
Emerson smiled for the first time since the previous morning. “I appreciate
