20. Drew: The Pitch Falls Flat

Chapter twenty

Drew – The Pitch Falls Flat

"How did she take it?" Troy asks, when I get back to the room we're now sharing.

I thought I couldn't feel any worse after seeing Meg run from me but then I had to walk in and deal with Mr. Smug. He barely looks up as he tends to his suitcase. His nonchalant tone irritates the hell out of me. He's the last person I want to talk to. Especially because his visit is what prompted everything to fall apart.

"Wonderfully. She's accepted my proposal of marriage and we're tying the knot at the end of the summer. We were thinking of a beach wedding. How do you think it went, genius?" I snap, falling back on the bed. "So, what's the plan now that you're here?"

"I've seen the place for myself and I think we definitely need to go through with the buyout," he says, sitting across from me on the other queen-sized bed. "Another meeting in LA has come up, so I'm heading out again in the morning."

"You've got to be freaking kidding me," I scoff. "So instead of you breaking the news to the staff, I get to tell them what's going on." I rub my temples. Just thinking about Meg's disappointed blue eyes makes me sick to my stomach. "And you get out of yet another unwanted assignment for work."

"I know this situation isn't ideal," he starts. For a second, he sounds genuinely empathetic, but I know it won't last long. "We've done this before, little brother. This place is no different than any other property we've bought out," he says, like it's simple.

"Easy for you to say," I grumble.

"Hey, I didn't tell you to fall in love with one of the locals, or an employee for that matter," he defends. Next, he's going to start quoting fraternization rules at me, when we don't even own the place yet.

"There's the Troy we all know and love." I shake my head. Empathy doesn't come naturally to him.

"This is your bed of fraternization. Now you get to sleep in it."

Aaaand there it is . "Great advice as always." I roll my eyes. "You're the perfect sibling so you have to make sure everyone knows it—because Lord knows you've never made a mistake in your life," I snap back. Or fallen in love, for that matter .

"What's gotten into you?" He squints at me. "She's just a girl. What makes her so damn special?"

"You wouldn't understand. Have a nice flight," I say, before heading out and slamming the door shut behind me. I don't have the energy to explain why I feel the way I do about Meg, and I know he wouldn't understand where I was coming from anyway. It would have been a waste of time altogether and frankly; I don't need the headache on top of my other problems.

I'm not sure where I'm going but I can't stay in the same room as him. I'm too damn close to wanting to punch the guy. Instead, I let myself walk along the beach to clear my head.

All I can think about is how I should be walking with Meg, my girl, the one person I care about more than anything right now. Too bad that Troy and my dumb self actually screwed it up. All I can do now is try everything I can to make it right.

I've never felt more alone than I do right now. The waves are my only company, as everyone else has gone in for the evening. My mind wanders to Meg: what is she doing? Is she okay? I realize we could be walking the beach together or enjoying a quiet dinner right now—but no, I screwed all of that up.

This feels worse than going back to square one. For a second, I had someone I wanted in my life every single day. Now that she hates my guts, it makes being alone that much harder.

***

The next morning, I see Troy off at the airport before heading back to the inn. There, I meet with the staff and disclose who I am and why I am here. Normally, I don't have a problem breaking the news to hotel staff that changes are going to be made to the place. Maybe that's because I was so detached before. I didn't have any emotional inventory to account for—but now it's a completely different story.

Some businesses wait until a deal is signed to meet with staff. But we have found that because so much chatter and gossip go around, it becomes more difficult to get the truth of who we are and what we plan to be believed if we wait.

This place matters to Meg, so now it matters to me, too. I can't help but think how much easier this would go with Meg by my side to help convince the staff that I'm not the bad guy. My usual pitch of all the good that will come out of a conversion into the Bellamy family seems to go in and out of their ears without evoking a single smile or nod. I am facing a hostile crowd, for sure.

There's one pair of stunning blue eyes that are cold as ice as she stares at me. Every time I try bringing up a good thing that can come out of this buyout, I can't ignore the looks Meg exchanges with Mia, who looks just as disappointed in me as Meg does. The more I speak, the more I realize how much I'm hurting Meg…and I hate myself for it.

I soon discover that this deal is going to be even more difficult to close when I learn the owner of the inn is Meg's grandfather. Just another detail that Troy sent me down here without mentioning.

That explains why Meg was so sure the inn would never be sold. According to Troy, her grandfather seems open to the buyout now, but I can only imagine how that will change when his granddaughters let him know what they think of the Bellamy name.

Once I'm done with my pitch and everyone is dismissed for work, I beeline for Meg, who tries to avoid me. "Five minutes," I plead. "Just give me five minutes and I won't bother you again."

"What could you possibly have to say?" she demands.

"Everything I can to make things right between us," I start. "I know what I did was awful and you didn't deserve any of it. All I ask is that you give me the chance to make things right. I'm still the guy you kissed on the beach, Meg."

"I didn't think the guy on the beach would have lied as long as he did." She crosses her arms. "But then again, I thought you were great in every way, and look how that backfired on me. I'm the one left looking like an idiot for trusting you. I'm not sure how you can fix this."

She's not wrong. I basically humiliated her. I know what it's like being in a conference room and not knowing what the hell is going on, only to find out that you're the one being made to look like a fool.

It's easier to deal with when it's just business, but this isn't. I've never gone so far as to mess with a heart like Meg's.

I know she shouldn't give me a chance or the time of day, but I have to at least try. I want to walk away knowing that I did everything I possibly could to win her back and make things right by her. She deserves at least that.

"So let me try. The worst that can happen is I try my best and you're still mad at me. Let me make things right by you."

I can see her thinking, contemplating my words, but she still looks so pissed off that I can practically see the smoke escaping from her ears.

"I have to get back to work," she says. "I'm sure you have business to attend to," she intones the word like it is poison on her lips. I'm starting to feel the same way.

Okay, she's still mad at me but I'm not giving up . A girl like Meg is as rare as red diamonds, and I can't lose her over something like this. I know I can close the hardest deals when it comes to business, so I might as well put those skills to use outside of a conference room.

I just hope it works.