“Hey there, Anna Banana. How are you?”
Anna was about to ask if he was feeling well. He hadn’t called her by that nickname in years. “I’m good. What’s up?” Paranoid thoughts whirred through her brain. Did he have some way of knowing where she was? Of what she was up to? Every bold feeling she’d had yesterday about throwing caution to the wind was now haunting her; it enveloped her with a crushing sense of guilt. She wasn’t the girl to sneak around, to hide things from her brother.
“I feel badly about our talk the other night. I was going to call you yesterday, but Mel and I were doing all sorts of wedding stuff. I’m really sorry about the way I spoke to you.”
“That’s nice, Adam, but you seemed pretty certain about what you were saying at the time.”
“I know, but I was caught up in the heat of the moment. I don’t want you to think that I don’t want you in place as CEO. I do. I definitely do. And I believe in you. It’s just...it’s been hard. I think you know that.”
Had he called to apologize or was he searching for validation? “I do know that. This has been hard for me, too.”
He blew out a deep breath. “Look, Mel and I had a long talk last night. I swear, she’s so good at figuring out what’s going on with me. It’s uncanny. I realize now that losing Dad has been much more difficult than I imagined. I knew it would be tough, but not this bad. And the pressure at work. Well, I think I just haven’t been myself.”
She hadn’t quite expected he would come to this realization, ever. Adam had a real affinity for being detached when needed. The pain of losing her dad sat squarely in her chest. It was somehow more pronounced now, realizing that it weighed on Adam just as much. “I know it’s been hard. I should’ve been more patient with you. I know you’re doing your best.”
“And I realized just how hard I’m being on you, which is so stupid on my part. You’re my biggest ally. You’re the one person I know I can trust with anything and I’m shutting you out. It’s not only stupid, it’s not fair to you.”
The one person I can trust. The words echoed in her head. And here she was, hours away, with the man her brother had told her to stay away from. “Thank you for saying that.”
“So, starting tomorrow morning, you and I need to get together our plan for moving you in as CEO.”
It felt as if her heart had just stopped. Was he really saying that? Was he really willing to finally move forward? “We do?”
“Yes. You know, the board of directors is never going to be happy. If I sit around waiting for them to fall in line, you’ll never get to take the job you want and I’ll never get to return to what I want to do.”
Jacob emerged from the house. The smile on his face was everything she wanted to see, while everything she wanted to hear was coming at her over the phone from her brother. She should’ve been happy, but she knew full well that these two things did not peacefully coexist in the real world. There was no having both.
“Does this mean you’ve changed your mind about Sunny Side?”
He groaned, making Anna regret even bringing it up. “I don’t want to dismiss your idea again. Let’s keep an eye on it. Maybe Jacob will take himself out of the mix. I refuse to touch it before then.”
“Ready?” Jacob asked, walking around to her side of the car and opening her door.
“Did you say something?” Adam asked.
Inside, she was begging Jacob to please not say another word. Her heart pounded in her chest. This was far too messy. She had to get off the phone right away. “I have to go, but thanks for calling. I really appreciate it. A lot.”
“I have confidence in you, kiddo. I really do. I just had to pull my head out of my rear end for a few minutes.”
She sighed. How she’d longed for this moment—to hear Adam say that she was right about something, about anything, that he had confidence in her. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
“See you at work tomorrow.”
“Yep. See you then.”
Anna put her phone back in her purse. Was she the worst human being on the planet? It felt that way. At best, she was a rotten sister for taking up with Jacob and pursuing Sunny Side behind Adam’s back.
“Everything okay?” Jacob asked.
“Yes. Just fine.” She nodded and climbed into the car, her conversation with Adam replaying in her head. You’re the one person I can trust. Was it time to climb out of her dream? To keep Jacob where he was—a fun, amazing fling that had come to an end? The answer seemed clear. She’d scratched the itch and now she had to remain loyal to her brother and her own dream job. She’d worked so hard, and it was presuming a lot to even wonder if Jacob was interested in more. He’d been withdrawn all morning.