Chapter 9
“You want to do what?” Emily’s eyes were wide with pure confusion.
“I want to invest in your business so that you can expand to open another bakery. Maybe even look at franchising it!”
Emily hadn’t heard from Abdul in a few days and she had to admit she’d missed him more than she’d expected and it did feel good to see those dark sexy eyes again. But she knew he should really be staying away, no matter how much her body pulled her toward him. That kiss had been the most sensual kiss she’d ever experienced. His lips were soft but strong and his arms wrapped her so tightly that she feared for a moment that she’d only be able to breathe him in instead of air. If she had her choice, she’d have never stopped kissing him and she would do it over and over again. Unfortunately it wasn’t her choice, it was his. He was engaged and that’s the choice he’d made and no matter how badly she wanted him, she had to accept that fact.
But suddenly here he was, standing in front of the front counter with a business proposal to expand her business. Clearly he was a business man because in her hands she had a four page proposal that she was just barely leafing through as he discussed capital and profits and locations.
“And where do you have all of this money from?” Emily couldn’t help but feel a little confused. The plan he was proposing was going to need a good deal of money and she was not planning on taking out any kind of business loans.
She looked at him and saw Abdul’s cheeks color slightly and while he looked adorable like that, it made her wonder why.
“I have the money, that’s not something you need to worry about.”
Emily watched him a moment longer and felt her heart warm inside. Immediately she looked away and put his proposal down.
“I appreciate you being nice enough to want to help, but really, this little shop is just perfect for me. It’s really all I need. I know I said that someday I’d like to get bigger and do more but I just don’t think this is a good idea.” Emily was frustrated with herself. She couldn’t believe that she’d even considered working with him, opening a business with him for even a fleeting moment.
The offer was amazing and generous and almost impossible to turn down. But the fact of the matter was, how could she work with Abdul every day, run a business with him, when she felt so much for him? It wouldn’t work. She’d fall even harder for him and there would never be a way out.
“This isn’t about generosity or being nice. This is about tasting your food every day recently and never being disappointed. It’s also about watching you make that flower the other night, the skill and precision that it took. This isn’t about friendship, it’s about business. It’s about an investment.”
An investment. That sounded pretty cold and harsh. Didn’t he care at all? Hadn’t he felt anything at all when he’d kissed her? Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he had thought he would or was so swept up in the moment that he had kissed her. Or lonely! That must be it. Surely his fiancé living a plane ride away would make anyone lonely. Even with all of the justification, calling her an investment had stung.
For a moment she was tempted to accept his offer purely out of spite. He wanted to give her money? Fine she’d take it. From his nonchalant attitude about his money he clearly had some to spend. But it felt wrong to do that. Wrong to do to Nora, her client, since for whatever reason he had he did kiss her, and wrong to do to herself. The more time she spent with him the more she’d fall in love with him and she knew it. So she held firm.
“Thank you. But no.”
It felt good to say no. In a weird way she felt like she was taking control of a situation that she felt powerless in. In a situation where she had fallen hard, much to her own dismay, for her client’s fiancé, she had felt like she was a spinning top with no way of stopping. Saying no to him, saying that she couldn’t take his money and wouldn’t partner with him made her feel strong again. Finally she had found the inner strength that she’d always had. It was the strength she’d had to open her own place, it was the strength she had to move forward in life when her parents had died, and now it was the strength to walk away from a man that she felt more for than any person she’d ever met.
Foolish? Possibly. But she felt strong and independent.
Arman clearly wasn’t used to hearing no and wasn’t going to take it easily. He pushed the papers back at her, grabbing her hand and making her take them. His gaze leveled hers and she wondered what he was thinking when he looked at her.
“Please. Just think about it?” He turned and walked out her door again and she was left holding his offer in her hands.
* * *
“How could you turn him down? Are you crazy?” Kara was in pure disbelief and had frozen herself in place, refusing to work until Emily gave her an explanation for what she believed was clearly a mistake.
“No, I am not crazy. But how am I supposed to take his money? Sure he says he’s just an ‘investor’ in a good product. But how am I supposed to work with him every day? See him every day?”
Kara was the only person who knew just how crazy Emily was over Abdul so Emily knew she had to understand just why she turned down his offer.
“But it’s an amazing offer!” Kara had looked over the proposal that Arman had drawn up and had told her exactly what a great opportunity he was offering her. “Basically he is willing to put in all the money and is only taking a percent, not even half, of the profits of the second business. Do you know what a deal that is?”
Emily knew that was true, she knew if she really wanted to start expanding that the opportunity Arman was offering her was going to be the best she would ever find.
“But how can I work with him?”
Kara finally chewed that one over for a second. It seemed that it finally dawned on her that it wasn’t the matter of pride or respect, it was the matter of her heart. But Emily could see the moment that it dawned on her that Kara had a solution to that as well.
“I will work in the second business as the manager! That way any day to day dealings will go through me and I will relay messages to you. You will only have to talk to him when you absolutely have to. And eventually he will simply become a business partner who you never have to see and your feelings will go away. Plus it gives me a great job when I graduate next semester!”
Emily sighed. She had to admit that her plan actually did seem to work pretty well. It would be a great opportunity for everyone and maybe after a while her feelings would go away. After all, maybe she wasn’t in love with Abdul, maybe it was simply a crush. An intense crush where she couldn’t stop thinking about him but a crush nonetheless. How could she turn down an offer that was going to be great for so many people? And she could finally see her dreams coming true?
And even a little part of her had to admit that keeping Abdul in her life, in any way possible, was a plus. Maybe her feelings would go away, she was sure hoping they would especially if he was going to be a part of her future. A big part of it. In a woosh, her resistance to say no left her and she was left with only reasons to say yes.
“OK,” she finally agreed. “I’ll call him and tell him I changed my mind. But I’m going to tell him that it’s you he will be working with, and myself only when necessary. That way I can keep some sort of sanity in this situation.”
Kara leapt across the way and wrapped Emily in a hug of thanks. “Oh wow, this is so amazing! I get to keep working with you but I get to actually manage a business and I have a job after I graduate! This is literally a dream come true!”
Emily hugged her back. She was excited, it was hard not to be when she knew that she was about to embark on a dream that she’d had for so long. Who knew? Maybe this could be bigger than expected. Maybe they could even franchise the bakery. She knew she should slow down in her thoughts but it was hard to stop a train once it was on the tracks. The only thing she had to hope was that Abdul hadn’t changed his mind yet.
The entire rest of the day she spent making flowers for Nora’s approval. It took some time but after that first one it became easier to make the perfect little roses. The process became faster and more often she was creating more perfect roses than she was messing them up. But once her fingers grew tired and the place was clean, Emily knew she couldn’t stall the phone call anymore. It was true that she could have simply waited until the next day when he and Nora would come into the bakery, but she thought maybe the conversation was better had without Nora. There was no guarantee that she even knew about the offer he’d made Emily.
Abdul picked up his cell on the second ring. She never had actually had to call him before and only had his number as a precaution incase anything went wrong with his orders that he called in. But she had of course saved it to her phone and she wondered if he was surprised to see her number light up his phone.
“Emily! I’m surprised to hear from you. Is everything ok?” His deep voice always sent waves of emotion through her body. She shook her head clear, that was something she was going to have to get over.
“Hi Abdul. Is this a bad time for you?” She had no idea why immediately she went to a negative place, wondering she was bothering him, but it had popped out before she had a chance to stop it.
It could have been her imagination but she thought she could hear him smile through the phone when he answered her. “Not at all. This is a pleasant surprise.”
She blew out a deep breath and decided to dive right into the purpose of her call.
“Abdul I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and Kara and I have gone over everything and I think I would like to take you up on your offer to open a second business with me.” Her heart was racing with anticipation of his answer. When a moment passed and she didn’t get one she quickly followed up her words, feeling like a fool for calling him. “That is if you still want to. If you’ve rethought it I totally understand and don’t blame you at all. In fact it’s probably a silly business move for you anyway…”
Her ramblings were cut off but the calm and affectionate way he said her name.
“Emily, I couldn’t be more excited that you want to do this with me. This is an excellent decision and I can’t wait to get started with you. Thank you for changing your mind.”
Relief flooded through her. She knew she’d been nervous but she hadn’t realized how tight her muscles had been strung until he had given her that answer. Suddenly her body turned to jelly and she slumped into a chair. There was no turning back now, she’d made the decision and she was going to go into business with Abdul. The man she’d secretly kissed, the man she was secretly in love with, and the man who was getting married.