Within the span of one day, she’d become a kitten whore and the centerpiece of the town’s entertainment. I left work to collect her for the ride back to the ranch and saw the most recent display in the window. Mama was dead asleep on her back, and Milo was stretched out on top of her from her neck to her belly like a calico necktie. At least twenty people stood out front of the antique shop smiling and pointing at the merry image in the window. When they saw me coming, several people called me by name and pulled me in to see the charming sight.
I couldn’t help but smile and feel a part of the magic of this small Texas town.
Just another Friday night in Hobie.
27
Hudson
Hudson’s Words To Live By:
Be careful what you wish for.
Thursday and Friday were spent in a kind of haze. Darci had been correct: Bruce Ames was retiring and selling the company. He’d been approached with an offer from a larger international investment firm and wanted my help in the negotiations.
“Hudson, I’d like to move forward with your promotion so that you transition to the new company as vice president,” he explained in one of our first meetings on the topic. “I’ll put in a stipulation guaranteeing you at least a couple of years with them at that level. That should give you time to prove yourself to them and continue to succeed with them or to find a new position with a different company if that’s the direction you choose.”
I couldn’t believe the opportunity he was offering me. I’d left my previous firm less than a year ago as a senior analyst with a reputation as a successful negotiator, and now I was going to be a VP for a giant firm with experience negotiating the sale of a billion-dollar portfolio. It was my dream come true.
So why wasn’t I more excited? Why wasn’t I bouncing off the walls, waiting to get out of there so I could text my father the good news?
“I can’t thank you enough, Bruce,” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could. “I appreciate the opportunity working with Ames has given me. I’m prepared to work hard to make sure you get the best deal possible.”
The large man leaned back in his chair and smiled. “I know you are. You’ve always been a hard worker, Hudson. Bill and Shelby must be very proud of you. I know I certainly am.”
My heart squeezed a bit. It was kind of him to say and almost as nice as hearing it from my own parents. It also illustrated he held no ill-will toward me for the break-up with Darci. I wondered what had caused the change of heart. Maybe he thought she was still happy with Greg?
I sat up straighter in my chair and began taking notes on my laptop. “I’ll start by pulling together everything I can get my hands on about their other acquisitions,” I said, referring to the company making the offer for Ames. “We should be able to get an idea of their negotiating techniques that way.”
We continued to work together for the rest of Thursday and all day Friday. Bruce treated me like an equal and over the course of our time together I realized how much he trusted me. Before I left the office Friday afternoon to return to Hobie, he pulled me aside.
“Listen. Even though I’m counting on you to help handle the negotiations, I don’t want to pull you completely off of the Fig and Bramble project. I know things are going well there and I’d hate to fumble it on the one-yard line. I need you back in the office on Tuesday for a meeting, but otherwise I’d like you in Hobie working on the pub. Any work I have for you on the acquisition can probably be done in the evenings. After the pub’s up and running, we’ll get you back here and on track to move forward with the transition.”
I should have felt elation at being brought back into the corporate fold, at being given higher-level responsibilities again. But the idea of leaving Fig and Bramble after all of the work I’d put into it was bittersweet.
And the thought of no longer working with Charlie was damned near impossible.
On Saturday morning, I found out about Charlie’s next trip to the dance club by accident. He’d been acting cold toward me for several days so I shouldn’t have been surprised he hadn’t wanted to include me.
I’d agreed to help Sassy move some furniture around in her apartment. When I asked why West and Nico weren’t helping us since the apartment was above West’s medical practice, she looked at me funny.
“They’re taking Charlie to the city. I assumed he’d told you. They’ve been planning it for days.”