Chapter 9
Donovan couldn’t believe that he’d had been back home for two weeks before Gail managed to get him on the phone with Eric Clark. The man had clearly been annoyed at being rescheduled twice and Donovan was more than ready to smooth his ruffled feathers by adding to the offer.
“Hello, Mr. Sutton,” the CEO of San Ramon Accounting said. “I’m afraid that I don’t have long to give you today, but since you’ve been so insistent.” He let the sentence trail, letting Donovan understand clearly that he was still annoyed with him.
He decided to get straight to the point. “I’d like to speak with you about rescheduling our talk, Mr. Clark. We only have a few details left to wrap up.”
“I’m afraid that I’m no longer interested,” the man said coolly.
“I understand that my having to reschedule was inconvenient--” Donovan began.
“Yes, frankly it was. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Given the extra time, I decided that I’d prefer to keep my business in spite of the high payout you’ve offered.”
“May I ask why?” Donovan asked, his jaw going tight.
There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment and then the other man said simply, “It’s the difference between working for myself and working for someone else, Mr. Sutton. Thank you for your interest, and have a good day.”
The call disconnected. Donovan replaced the receiver in the cradle and rubbed his jaw. The man’s words had reminded him of Araceli. Hell, everything reminded him of Araceli.
He’d missed her since he landed. He thought about her when he was working, when he was eating, and especially when he was sleeping. He wanted her underneath him again, wanted her taste in his mouth and his fingers in her hair.
He pushed his hands back through his hair and leaned back. He had to stop. She’d made it more than clear that she didn’t want to speak to him. He wasn’t even really sure that the two of them could ever manage to get along. What was the big deal about working for herself, anyway?
Donovan turned their final fight over in his mind for what felt like the hundredth time. She’d said that he hadn’t been listening, but he had. He’d listened to everything she’d said that she wanted over the two weeks they’d spent together. He’d be an idiot if he claimed to know everything she wanted in such a short amount of time, but he’d known some things.
How to make her smile. How to make cry out his name with the sheets clenched in her fists. How to make her debate with him. How to infuriate her beyond all repair. He wasn’t proud of the last one.
Damn it, he wanted to understand! In his frustration, Donovan gave in and did something that he’d never done with any woman he’d been interested in before. He pulled out his phone, opened up his Facebook app, and typed in her name. Relief filled him when he saw that her profile was set to public.
Pictures filled her newsfeed. All of them were hashtagged Vasquez Family Reunion and Abuelo Francisco. So this was the reunion. He scrolled through the pictures eagerly. There were selfies with various family members and plenty of candid shots of Araceli dancing. In one, she was standing guard over a huge bowl of guacamole. In the next her sister Silvia was forcibly removing her from the food table.
Donovan couldn’t hold back a smile. He’d never been with a woman like her. He had a feeling that he never would be again.
A status appeared above the pictures and he read it eagerly.
“I’m not much of a public speaker so I didn’t make a speech today. But I wanted to thank my abuelo for taking time out from his party to say exactly what I needed to hear. It’s a talent of his to notice everything. To him, and to everyone who turned up today, thank you. Thank you for being there. For being my past, present, and future. We’re all tangled up with each other and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You all mean everything to me.”
There were already likes and comments. He recognized some of the relatives names from her “introductions” a few weeks ago.
“We need to do this more often!”
“You owe me a dance, party girl!”
“You’re still going to do my taxes in a few months, right?”
“Thanks for the cups!”
That one was from Silvia. Araceli’s response was underneath it.
“They were perfect and you know it.”
He realized that he was smiling. There had to be a way for them to move forward. He’d spent his professional life closing deals, figuring out ways around problems, getting what he wanted. He wanted her. So that made it simple.
Donovan thought back over what he knew about her. She loved her job. She loved her family. He still didn’t see why she couldn’t do the job under his company though.
There were more comments now.
“Tell your grandfather happy birthday from all of us!” That one was from Miguel’s Deli’s Facebook page.
“Looks like an amazing celebration!” From Jones Plumbing.
“Invite some clients to the next one, it looks fantastic!” From King’s Hair Salon.
“It’s the difference between working for myself and working for you, Mr. Sutton.”
The CEO’s voice came back to him. So was that it? He went to the Vasquez Accounting Services site and clicked through the tabs. History.
Vasquez Accounting Services has been family owned and operated for over one hundred years. We specialize in helping Spanish language clients and have made it our mission to make our community a better place through charitable donations of both time and funds. At Vasquez, we consider the community our extended family.
From anywhere else, it might have sounded cheesy. For Araceli, he knew it was the simple truth. And there it was. He’d essentially tried to tell her that he could manage her family better than she could. And that money was more important anyway. No wonder she’d been so angry with him.
Donovan stood up. It was the weekend. He didn’t have anything pressing going on. It would be worth a shot. He was a man who liked to know.