“You got me a private chocolate cooking course!” Alice launched herself at Francesca, who caught her with an oomph. She smiled as she hugged her friend. They might be ten years apart and culturally different in many ways, but they were sisters.
“We’re in Ghirardelli chocolate territory, and I know how much you want to make your own chocolate.” Francesca kissed both of her cheeks, and they smiled at each other. “I was sad your friend had to cancel on your chocolate cooking school in Bayonne around the holidays.”
“Me too! The French capital of chocolate, and Sarah cancels because her boss can’t do without her last minute.”
“Sounds like someone else I know,” Francesca said softly, “but I hope you know I’m not really your boss.” This wasn’t the first time they’d talked about it, but she still brought it up from time to time. She knew what it was to feel unappreciated, and she never wanted Alice to feel that way.
“What am I, stupid? Deciding not to take a boring office or hospitality job and travel the world with you and meet awesome people—that Saudi prince aside—was one of my best decisions ever. Don’t we have the most magical partnership? Man, I love you, Francesca.”
She’d only ever said those words to her mother and Quinn, and they were dear when she spoke them now. “I love you too.”
“Didn’t you tell me this was going to be a super emotional trip?” Alice rubbed her throat. “Thank you for this gift. I’ll never forget it.”
“You’re so welcome, habibi,” Francesca said, a catch in her voice. “Thank you for taking such good care of me.”
Alice waved the envelope in the air. “We take care of each other. Girls gotta do that, right?”
“Right.” She nodded and then walked over to pick up both champagne glasses. “Come, let’s have a toast. Then we can go downtown and do a little shopping before I hunker down with more P&L statements.”
“Your eyes turn sad every time you talk about restructuring this company. Working with CEO Hotstuff isn’t going to be easy. You need to keep your center. Whenever you feel yourself slipping, you find good old Alice, and I’ll get you back on track.”
Alice was good at that, and Francesca never failed to be grateful to the fates that had brought them together.
“To cleaning the slate of the past and being set free for good,” she said as Alice took the flute from her hand and clinked their glasses together.
They drank, and Alice made a humming sound of delight. “My turn. To new adventures. I don’t know, but I have a feeling monumental change is in the wind. Hold on tight, Francesca. I’ll do the same.”
Hold on tight, indeed.
After fifteen years of being away from Quinn Merriam, she wasn’t sure she was ready for monumental change, but neither was she certain she or Alice could stop it.
Chapter 3
Quinn needed to outfox Francesca’s chaperone, but his first attempt hadn’t gone over well. He’d texted Francesca on the way back to the office, asking if she’d have dinner with him to celebrate their new working arrangement, and her reply had come as he settled behind his desk.
Thank you, but Alice has a lovely meal planned. I’m glad we could come to an agreement to help your company. I’ll email you shortly with more specifics. Including my price.
Her money talk made him scowl. He hadn’t asked because he knew she was fair and her advice was worth its weight in gold. But that wasn’t the point.
Have dinner with me, Francesca. Please.
No.
Dammit, she wasn’t going to make this easy.
Pretty please…
Her response wasn’t as immediate this time.
Again. No.
Tomorrow night then?
Quick as a lightning flash, she responded: Alice and I have tickets to a local event. Enjoy your afternoon, Quinn.
He didn’t bother replying. She wasn’t going to budge, and it was clear she intended to keep sidelining him with Alice. Which gave him an idea.
Why not bring in his own chaperones, the ones who’d proven they were much better at matchmaking? He could tell Francesca that he was so concerned about her comfort level he was bringing in his own chaperones to alleviate her fears. Not just one, but three: Uncle Arthur, Aunt Clara, and Hargreaves. She’d be a sucker for the family angle.
Secretly, he intended for Alice and his family chaperones to hit it off, giving him and Francesca plenty of time alone.
The whole plan was genius if you asked him. Aunt Clara and Uncle Arthur would be flying out to California in a few weeks anyway for Michaela’s wedding; he’d just have to convince them to come early.
But first he needed to call J.T. and see if his brother would be willing to take over his duties as CEO for a few weeks. Perhaps he could also enlist his brother’s help with the matchmaking trio. They lived in the same small town of Dare Valley, Colorado. J.T. could bring Aunt Clara her favorite bottle of gin and schmooze her over a martini.
He asked his assistant to hold his calls and pick up lunch for him, and he turned his email notifications off to give himself a few minutes of unwavering focus. Then he called his brother.
“J.T., my friend,” he said when his brother picked up the call.
“My friend? Okay, what do you need? You’ve been a bear lately. No way I believe you’re simply calling during the workday to say hello.”
Grouchy, Francesca had said. “Fine. I need a favor, and it’s a big one.”
“With Flynn on his extended honeymoon, Trevor and I thought you might be calling one of us about taking over for a while if you hired Francesca Maroun. I assume she agreed. For bragging rights, am I the first or second choice?”
“Who told you about Francesca?” he asked, sitting up in his chair.
“She’s the best out there,” J.T. said, “and Connor mentioned you might be bringing her in to help restructure.”
“He did?” Surely he hadn’t told him the rest of it…
It had shocked Quinn to learn Connor knew about his relationship with Francesca. He hadn’t explicitly told anyone in the family. At the time, he’d wanted to date Francesca longer before he made the introductions. Another part of him hadn’t been comfortable talking about how he felt about her. He was the sort of person who was accustomed to regulating his emotions, and his love for Francesca had always been far out of his control. But Connor had known enough to guess, and apparently it was the reason he’d supported Quinn’s request to be stationed out of London, where she often worked, rather than the company headquarters. Of course, he’d found himself back at headquarters anyway.
Quinn had always hoped fate might throw him and Francesca back together, but it hadn’t happened back then. His pride had prevented him from taking a more active role in seeking her out. But Connor’s words had finally moved him to act. His brother had warned him to not let running Merriam Enterprises become his whole life like he’d done. Now it seemed as if the perfect storm facing him had unleashed the possibility of winning Francesca back. He wasn’t going to waste it.