Have they, now? That was interesting. Whatever it was, Mia knew it would be detailed and accepted by the board without any fuss. Her uncle was a very clever man when it came to figures and making money. If he said it would be a good idea, chances were, it would be.
“I haven’t finalized the details yet, honey, but it will make life easier for everyone, I promise. Give me another day or so and I can tell you what it is if you like.”
Mia looked around the office that suddenly felt like a prison. She had a yearning to be in Hope Harbor with Ryan. She’d left the running of the company to him for a reason and she wasn’t about to change that because he was talking about retiring. “No, that’s okay. Wait until everything is sorted out. You know I trust your judgement.”
He coughed. “You doing okay, though?”
She smiled. He still worried about her even though he was the one who was sick. “I’m doing great.”
“Made that doctor appointment yet?”
It was lucky he wasn’t Skyping her now, or he’d see the guilt on her face as she lied to him. “I have. I had a test early this week and go back next week to get the results.”
“Great. I’m pleased to hear it. Well, I’d better leave you to it, then. You’re probably crazy busy. See you at the board meeting.”
“See you then. And Ryan, don’t worry. It’ll all turn out great. I know it will.” She hung up and stared at her computer screen, the email that had come through from the doctor’s office at the top of her inbox. She’d been too scared to open it, and Ryan’s call had saved her from finding out what was wrong, for five minutes, at least.
What concerned her the most was what she was going to do if she had the genetic heart issue like her father and uncle. She couldn’t keep going on like she was. The doctor had made it very clear at her first appointment what would happen if she did. Her blood pressure was already elevated, and her heart rate was erratic enough to start her on medication.
As much as Mia wanted to carry on like she was used to, she knew that wasn’t possible if the report showed the worst news. The thing niggling at her now was how she could ensure the business would continue to flourish while still taking care of her health. It’d be interesting to see what Ryan and Atticus had to say on Friday. With any luck, they’d come up with a solution to the problem so it was out of her hands. She certainly hoped so. The investors were the ones who had to be kept happy, not Mia.
She clicked on the email and started reading. Tears blurred her vision and she had to pause. The doctor wanted to see her again and in her mind, that could only mean one thing – bad news.
Mia felt the palpitations as her heart raced. She had so many questions and few answers. Mia felt the spike in her breathing and tried to slow it down. Her palms began to sweat as fear crawled up her throat. This wasn’t normal by any stretch of the imagination and she really wasn’t surprised to be called back.
Whatever her uncle was planning for the business, she hoped it would make things easier for her to slow down too. The last thing she wanted was to die young without experiencing more than just working herself to death. Was it too late to enjoy life like any normal person?
Chapter 17
“Are you sure this is the right way to go forward?” Mia stared down the table at the board members, then back to the screen where her uncle and Atticus Hope sat staring at her from Matt’s kitchen. “Tell me why you all think this is a good idea.”
Ryan calmly outlined it all once again while Mia tried to not let her emotions override her business sense. “You can still be the face of the company for as long as you like if that’s what you want to do, Mia. But this way, your workload will be much lighter. Someone else can do the day-to-day stuff, and if you wanted to take on some of those projects or head into another direction, you could.”
“Another direction?” Those two words pulled her up short. Hope fluttered in her chest.
Ryan answered her. “Sure. You keep getting invitations to make over famous homes and I’ve had a few offers for worthy causes you could be involved in too. You never had time before, so it wasn’t worth mentioning. But, if we go ahead with what I’ve proposed, you can diversify. You can also walk away if you feel it’s time. Maybe open up a little shop if you felt the need to and take on small private jobs. Do some of those television projects you keep getting offered.”
A shop. Like the one she’d discovered on the back street of Hope Island. It kept popping into her mind. Besides, now that Ryan was buying on the island, there wasn’t much to keep her in Seattle apart from the business. And she’d just been handed the perfect opportunity to walk away from it with her pride intact if she chose to.
Atticus stared at her through the screen. “Just to tempt you a little in that direction, Mia, I have a few properties empty right now that I could lease you—both in Seattle and here on the island.” He smiled, his silver moustache twitching as he leaned into the camera.
“Thanks, I appreciate the offer. Do you have anyone interested in taking over, Ryan?”
She knew him well. If it was something he was thinking about, he’d already have feelers out in the business community and offers on the table.
“As a matter of fact, yes I do. A company in the city has shown an interest in our company before. I
