She lifted an eyebrow at him. “I’m serious, Gus.”
“Fine.”
Her arms wrapped around his neck as she hugged him. “Good.” She let go and gave him a smile before heading back to the party.
He closed the door behind her and sighed as he tossed the envelopes on the table by the door and headed for his bedroom. A New Year’s party was the last thing on his mind, but there was no way Adelia was going to let him get out of it.
FOUR
The thought of the new year brought Merritt feelings of excitement and anticipation, along with a good dose of nervousness. For nearly a decade, she had been working to start and grow her cosmetics company, and she was finally on the verge of taking it global. More and more, people were in search of clean makeup products made with simple organic ingredients and no harmful additives. But her passion for these products could only take her so far.
What Merritt needed now was a cash infusion for product development and testing, expanded manufacturing, shipping internationally, and marketing worldwide. She was anxious to launch a new campaign with Adelia as the face of Merritt Cosmetics. But there were many hoops to jump through to move on to the next step, and all of them required more money than she had at her disposal.
The day after Christmas, she had met with a venture capital firm, who sounded very interested in investing in her company. But they had said they’d get back to her with an answer by today and she’d heard nothing yet, which was why her stomach was currently a gigantic bundle of nerves.
She stood in front of her full-length mirror, turning left then right, and took one last look at herself. The gold sequined dress she wore was perfect for a New Year’s party, and she was determined to push her worries aside and enjoy herself for the evening.
Her phone signaled a text from Adelia.
We’re here.
Merritt walked outside to find a black limousine parked in front of her apartment building with the driver standing beside the door, waiting to open it for her.
“Thank you.” She climbed inside and was greeted by whistles.
“Wow! You look hot,” Adelia said.
She smiled at her friend as she slid into the seat beside her and was about to thank her for the compliment when she caught sight of Augustus Schultz. He was watching her from his seat opposite Giovanni and his girlfriend, Whitney.
The smile disappeared from her face. “What are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you too,” he replied. “Glad you aren’t out driving on the roads tonight. Everybody’s safer that way.”
“Don’t start, you two,” Adelia scolded.
Merritt looked away from him, but she could feel his eyes on her.
“Adelia’s right, Merritt,” Giovanni said. “You are smoldering. If I wasn’t already taken, I wouldn’t think twice about kissing you at midnight.”
Whitney flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she reached over and gripped his chin, turning him to face her. “But you are taken.”
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. “Good and taken.”
Giovanni and Whitney were adorable, and the way they looked at each other made Merritt’s heart ache for that kind of love.
“How was your Christmas?” Adelia asked her.
“Busy. I worked on my presentation for the business expansion pretty much all day long.”
Adelia gave her a surprised look. “I thought your parents were coming this year.”
Merritt replied with a subtle shake of her head.
“You were alone on Christmas?” Giovanni asked. “Merritt, you could’ve spent it with us.”
“It was fine.” She brushed it off, though she had been disappointed that her parents decided not to come. They’d been saying they would for years, but there was always some excuse for why they couldn’t fly out to see her. She’d gone home a few times in her early years of living in California, but when her company started to take off, she found herself working all the time. When she had started to make some good money, she’d bought them tickets to California, but they remained unused, and she couldn’t help but be upset that they wouldn’t visit her. She knew it was because they weren’t happy with her choice to leave Kalamazoo and move to Los Angeles. Her father had never supported her wanting to start a cosmetics company. But it was something she believed in, and she’d worked hard to make it happen.
The conversation in the limo turned to everyone’s Christmases, except for Gus, who sat quietly. From what she’d deduced, this was not like him. She glanced over and caught him watching her, but he looked away as soon as they made eye contact.
When they arrived at the night club, they were immediately escorted to a private VIP balcony overlooking the dance floor with a hulky guy guarding the stairs. They sat at a semicircle of couches, and a waiter approached. Everyone ordered drinks, and Adelia added a bottle of their finest champagne.
Merritt heard Gus ask for water just as she felt her phone vibrate inside her clutch. Her heartbeat fluttered, and she quickly retrieved the phone and answered, despite the loud music in the club.
“Merritt Christianson.”
“Hello, Merritt, this is Bernard Hayes from Hayes Ventures.”
“Mr. Hayes, it’s nice to hear from you.”
“I’m sorry for the delay, but I wanted to let you know that we have discussed your proposal and, unfortunately, we’ve decided it’s not a good fit for us at this time.”
Her stomach dropped along with all her hopes and dreams. “Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say.
“I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you.”
She felt herself begin to crack but kept it together. “Thank you for meeting with me. I appreciate the call.” She remained professional instead of doing what she actually felt like—breaking down in loud sobs and begging him to reconsider.
“Happy New Year.”
The line went dead, and she sat staring at the people dancing below. Happy New Year, indeed. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. Tears burned her eyes, but she fought them with all her might.
“Merritt, what’s the matter?” Adelia scooted closer.
“Nothing. I’m just tired. Working too much lately.”
Adelia put an arm around her shoulder. “Come on. What is it?”
The tears broke free, spilling over and streaming down her cheeks. “The investors said no.”
“Oh, Merritt, I’m so sorry.”
She swiped at the tears, hoping her mascara wasn’t streaking down her cheeks. “I’m back to square one again.”
“That’s not true. You’ve got a great business established. You’re way past square one. It just might take you a little longer to move to the next step, but it will happen, Merritt. You’ve created amazing products, and we’re going to get them out there to the whole world.” Adelia gave her a side hug.
“I’m glad you have so much confidence about this because I’m quickly losing mine. I’ve been working and working on this company for over a decade, and I really thought this was going to take it to the next level. I really thought they were going to say yes.” Her chin quivered as she fought back another round of tears.