I nod once. “Bring it on,” I say.
Klara sits up. “Okay.” She looks at her paper and laughs. “Oh my god. Okay. How old was I when my father puked in a bush?”
I grin. “Which time?”
“The first time,” she says.
“You were eleven. The same age I was when I had my first kiss.”
“That’s right,” she says.
“Oh, wow.” Ryan laughs. “It’s all tied up at two,” he says. “This is it. If Klara gets this one right, she wins it all.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “Okay. I’m ready.”
“Which one of my siblings got married first?”
She frowns. “Oh. Oh, uh.” She closes her eyes. “Brent, Jacob, and Delia. They’re all married.” She looks at me. “Right?”
“No helping,” Ryan says.
I just shrug. She groans. “Come on,” she says. “Shit, okay. Brent is the oldest. But that doesn’t mean… oh, shit. Okay. I’m going with… Jacob.”
“Is that your final answer?” I ask her.
She glares at me. “Tell me if I’m right.”
“You’re wrong.”
She groans and throws herself back.
“Wow,” Ryan says, laughing. “Okay, so, it’s all tied up at two. I guess… I guess this challenge was a tie.”
Klara sits up straight and stares at him. I stand up.
“Are you fucking joking?” I ask.
“No,” he says, shaking his head. “I was told… I was told there could be a tie. And if there was, there’d be one more challenge.”
“No,” Klara says. “Hell no. We just stayed up all night… for nothing?”
“I’m sorry,” he says, eyes wide. “I’m really sorry. It’s just… we don’t have more time. I have to clean up and get the office back together before people start coming in soon.” He smiles sheepishly. “I thought you two might help.”
I stare at him then start laughing. I don’t know if it’s the lack of sleep or the absurdity of his request for help, but I can’t stop myself. Klara laughs along with me after a second, and we end up hugging and laughing like mad.
Ryan stands there awkwardly watching. I pull Klara away and we head to the door.
“Hold on,” he says. “Can’t you help? Please? It’s going to take so long alone and I already did it once. Please!”
I shake my head and we stumble away from him. We laugh and laugh until we get outside on the sidewalk. The sun’s coming up and we slowly settle down as she continues to lean into my arms.
“This is crazy,” she says. “This is insane, right?”
“Yep,” I confirm. “Insane.”
“I can’t believe he didn’t have a tiebreaker. I can’t believe…” She shakes her head. “Okay. Yes, I can totally believe it.”
I look down at her and tilt her chin toward me. I kiss her without thinking, without caring. She kisses me back then leans her face against my chest.
“Shit,” she says.
“Yeah. Shit.”
I hug her tight for a long moment. “I’m going home,” she says. “I’m going to sleep. And no, you can’t come.”
“Your loss.”
“No. I need sleep. I don’t need you keeping me up more.”
“Whatever you say. Just be careful driving.”
She pulls back and salutes me. “Aye aye, captain.”
I roll my eyes. We walk into the parking lot together then split ways. I watch her go and get into her car for a long moment. I let out a breath then climb into my own car.
I can’t believe what just happened. But I shouldn’t be so surprised. Aldo isn’t exactly a kind man, and he doesn’t seem like the type to think far in advance. It shouldn’t shock me that there was no backup plan at all.
I drive home, trying not to fall asleep the whole way.13KlaraAfter our all-night challenge, I go home and sleep for a few hours. I force myself up at noon, take a shower, and make a ton of phone calls.
I planned for this. Well, not for this exactly. I didn’t expect my father to let this end in a tie, but I did have a backup plan, just in case something went wrong. And now I need to follow through with that plan, because clearly this is never going to end.
My dad doesn’t want to sell. That much is obvious. He wants money, of course, but Truth Hurts is his entire life. He’s nothing without this company. I suspect he’ll take Shaun’s deal, but only because Shaun is letting him stay involved in some capacity.
Which means I need to do something drastic.
I’m in bed by nine and I sleep all through the night. When I wake at my usual time, I feel refreshed, like I didn’t just go through a harrowing and ultimately useless night of no sleep and lots of stress. I get dressed in a solid power outfit, black slacks and a white blouse with a cute small black jacket. I put my hair up, do my makeup, and stare at myself in the mirror.
“No more bullshit,” I say, and head into my living room.