Hot Maui Nights

6

TATE

It’s been an amazing week, and I’m even more in love with Sariah than I thought possible. But as we approach the final hours of our tropical vacation, the tension between us grows. Words left unspoken hang heavy in the air, and I know she doesn’t want to hear it because she doesn’t want to face the reality that we’re in love and meant to be together.

She thinks that if she accepts one, she has to give up something else—specifically, her career at Taylor & Morvick.

But that simply isn’t true.

We hold hands in the car to and from the airport, but we talk very little. As we approach her townhouse on the west side, I bring her hand up to my mouth and place a kiss on the back. “Why don’t I wait for you while you pack a bag so you can stay at my house tonight?”

She sighs, dragging her gaze up my body to meet my face. Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears, shredding my heart before she utters the word. “And then what? You drive us to work in the morning, people see me getting out of your car, and then you have to drive me home that night?”

“Yes.” My voice is rough and louder than appropriate, but I don’t fucking care. “I see nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing in our guidelines that says we can’t date.”

She looks up at the ceiling, fighting to keep the tears at bay. “There may be nothing in the guidelines, but you’re not a normal employee. You’re the president of the company—the fucking cofounder—not some dweeb from sales.”

“You mean Dave from sales?” I say through my clenched jaw. Why the fuck am I jealous of a guy that has never had a shot with her?

She rolls her eyes. “Tate, you’re not a normal guy. No one will ever take me seriously if I’m dating the president of the firm.”

The car rolls to a stop in front of her door. She glances out the window and then squeezes my hand. “This was the best week of my life. I care about you so much, and I’m sorry I can’t be what you w—”

“You are exactly what I want and who I need, and if you think not coming home with me tonight is going to dissuade me, you’re wrong.”

She sighs and pulls her hand from mine, reaching for the door handle.

“What if I wasn’t the president?”

With a sad smile, she leans forward and kisses me on the cheek. “But you are.”

* * *

“Are you sure? This seems kind of drastic, Tate.” Braedon sits behind his desk, running his big meaty paw down his face. It’s early Monday morning, and I didn’t sleep a wink last night. Once I decided, I had a million details running through my brain—things to take care of before an emergency all-hands with the employees tomorrow.

I didn’t call Sariah after she left me in the car. I didn’t text.

And much to my chagrin, she didn’t call or text me either.

“There’s no other way.” I plop down into the guest chair and rub my temples. “Obviously, as the cofounder, I will stay on with the board, but as far as actively managing customers or employees, I’m relinquishing all those duties effective today. We need to pick my successor so I can turn over my tasks.”

Braedon lets out a long, slow breath. “I think instead of replacing you, we should restructure the management chain. That way we create more opportunities for our staff, and for board purposes, you stay on as president.”

“Yeah, I guess that would work.”

He grins. “You were kind of a bottleneck, anyway.”

Laughing, I lean back and flip him off. “Fuck you.”

“What are you going to do with your time if you’re not handling the day-to-day operations of this place?”

“I’ve got some ideas.”

“What if this doesn’t work? What if Sariah says no?”

I meet Braedon in the eye. We’ve known each other for twenty years, started a business together over ten years ago, and have watched each other go through some shit. He knew me when I got married and divorced, a whirlwind romance that caused me a lot of mental anguish at one time. But that was a long time ago, and losing Sariah is not an option. “I love her.”

“I get that.”

“What would you do to get the woman you love into your arms forever?”

He snorts and casts his eyes down to his desk. “We can talk about that tomorrow.”

“Finally.” I rap my knuckles on his desk and stand up. “I’ll set up a lunch meeting for you, me, HR, and legal. And then I’ll write up my notice to you and the board. Finally, I’m going to call an all-hands for the employees for tomorrow.”

“You’re going to do this shit publicly, huh?” Braedon stands up, too.

“Go big or go home. Isn’t that what we said the night we hatched this firm in the first place?”

“True.” He offers me his hand. “Best of luck, Tate.”

I nod and shake his hand. “Same to you.”

* * *