Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(103)

Stop! She shook off her train of thought. Amber’s issues weren’t her problem. Amber was an adult who should be able to take care of herself. Except she was family.

Sophie rubbed her forehead as she felt the beginning of a headache.

“Okay,” she said, getting to her feet. “Good talk. We should do this more.”

The tears dried up. “Are you going to help with an apartment? I can’t do it on my own. You should give me a raise, or just a lump sum of money I can draw on. What am I supposed to do? Where will I go?” Her lower lip quivered. “I guess I could move in with you only I don’t really like cats.”

“You’re not living with me,” Sophie told her flatly. “Just get back to work and we’ll deal with this later, okay?”

Amber nodded and left. Sophie sank onto her chair and wondered what she was supposed to do now. She was certain if she helped Amber, it would only be the first of a thousand asks. But if she didn’t, she wasn’t sure what would happen. Family was never easy, that was for sure.

She shook off the emotional aftershocks and focused on work. Last month’s sales report made her happy so she read it again, letting the numbers relax her. When that was done, she stared at the phone. To call or not to call—she’d been thinking about that conundrum for a while now. Would it help or would she only make things worse?

Not sure if she was going to get yelled at for trying, she pulled a business card out of her desk and quickly dialed. Bryce Green surprised her by picking up on the first ring.

“Yes?”

“Hi, um, Bryce. It’s Sophie Lane from CK Industries.”

“Why?”

The why could mean a dozen things, but she didn’t bother dealing with any of them. Instead, she sucked in a breath and jumped directly into the deepest of waters.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened at the meeting,” she said quickly. “Maggie had told me that you only wanted exclusive products that companies believed in. We’d gone over several options before picking the best two. Those were to be the presentation. She’d told me to trust her and let her do the talking. I knew she was right, but trusting people isn’t really my strong suit.”

She paused, collecting her thoughts. “Not that I’m suspicious of everyone. It’s more that CK is my baby, you know? I started the company in college. I never expected anything to happen with it—I was just taking videos of my kitten. But it grew and things got bigger and bigger. I always feel as if I’m scrambling to keep up. That sensation happens less now—probably because I have a really good team here. People I trust to take care of their corners of the CK universe.”

She shifted the phone to her other ear. “Having you carry a product has been a dream of mine for a while now. I could never get a meeting—which you probably know. I see now I was doing it all wrong. Maggie has pointed that out. And Dugan Phillips. Do you know him? He’s given me some really good advice.”

She almost blurted out that she found their relationship confusing, but stopped herself in time.

“I’m trying to learn from my mistakes. I wanted you to know that, and to thank you for taking the meeting. Please don’t blame Maggie for what happened. It’s my fault. I should have listened.” She laughed uneasily, realizing she’d been rambling for a while now. “And now I’m going to stop talking, assuming you’re even still on the line.”

“I’m here.”

“Oh. Great.” Now what? Did she say goodbye and hang up? Ask about his weekend?

“She can call me,” he said unexpectedly. “Just Maggie. Not you. I never want to see you again. No offense.”

“None taken. So I’ll have her call and set up another meeting. Thanks, Bryce. I appreciate that. Really. You have no idea.”

“You’re a talker, you know that? I’m hanging up now, Sophie.”

“Good idea. Thanks for talking. Have a nice—”

She heard the click as he hung up on her. She set down the receiver and jumped to her feet. “I did it! I did it! Woo-hoo!” She spun in a circle then raced out of her office and down the hall. She burst into Maggie’s office.

“I did it! I called Bryce.”

Maggie moaned. “No. Tell me you’re kidding.”

“I’m not and it’s fine. I apologized. He said you could call him and set up a meeting. All I have to do is never speak to him again. We’re in!”

Maggie looked skeptical. “Are you telling me you’re going to let me fly back to Chicago on my own?”

“I am.”

“Uh-huh. Sure you are.”

Sophie shook her head. “I’m not kidding, Maggie. This is your deal. I won’t be a part of it. If I am, I’ll just screw things up again. I want access to Bryce’s accounts more than I want to be in control. I hired you to get that done. Now you have to prove to me I wasn’t wrong.”

“Are you feeling all right?”

“I am. Now call him and then get your flight scheduled. Tick, tick, tick. Time is wasting.”



Chapter Twenty-Eight


Heather had put off the inevitable for nearly two weeks. Sophie was great and hadn’t once asked what the fight had been about and Heather hadn’t volunteered the information. She’d quickly settled into Sophie’s guest room, spending long days at work and hanging out with Gina as much as she could. Daphne had come home the previous weekend and that had been a lot of fun and a great distraction, but Heather knew she couldn’t avoid what had happened forever and she couldn’t not tell Sophie the truth.