Chapter 4

“I wantto come out and see how you’re doing.”

My hand tightened on my cell phone but I kept my voice even as I gazed at the Seattle skyline from my high-rise condo. “There’s no need. Everything is going smoothly.”

My grandmother made a scoffing sound.

She didn’t mean to be a hard-ass. Georgina Fox was just used to running the business with a firm hand. So firm, it’d made it damn near impossible to convince her Fox should change to serve a new market.

It’d taken no small amount of research, persistence, and determination to get her to let me take on this project, and I didn’t want her hijacking it in the eleventh hour.

“Maybe it’s going too smoothly,” she said.

“You’d prefer there to be problems?”

“Are you getting smart with me?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

I usually knew when to bite my tongue with her and when to push, but I was tired after a long day overseeing deliveries at the store. Despite what I’d told her, not everything was smooth sailing. We’d hit some shipping delays that had required rearranging an entire department so that we wouldn’t have bare shelves when we opened our doors.

“I’m just saying that we’re in good shape, Gigi. You don’t need to worry.”

“I’ll always worry,” she said, her tone softening. Georgina would never tolerate being called Grandma, but she secretly loved the nickname I’d unwittingly created as a toddler. “But all right. I’ll let you keep the lead on this one. Just remember, if you’re going to stand on your own—”

“I’m going to fall on my own,” I finished, all too familiar with this mantra. “I know. Win or lose, it’s my ass on the line. But this is going to be a win.”

She chuckled. “You’ve got some of that Fox fight in you, after all. Goodnight, Chase.”

“Night, Gigi.”

I tucked my phone away and went into the kitchen to reheat some leftovers of the chicken mac I’d made for Lacy a couple of days ago. Bennie followed me around the kitchen despite already gobbling his dinner when I first got home.

I warmed up a bowl full of the leftovers in the microwave then ate it while leaning against the counter. I had a table, but what was the point when I’d be sitting alone, anyway? I scraped up the last bite, rinsed the bowl, and grabbed a shower.

Then I crawled into bed with my phone—Bennie settling over my lower legs—and finally gave in to the temptation I’d been resisting all day. I pulled up my SeattleLife app and checked my messages.

There was one from ShopGuy24. Like a hit of crack, it made my pulse spike and endorphins flood my bloodstream. This was the closest I came to a relationship—an anonymous guy on the other side of a screen somewhere in Seattle.

Not for the first time, I wondered who he was. We’d started chatting one day over an impassioned chat stream about the Seattle music scene, and somehow we’d ended up continuing to talk day after day. By some unspoken agreement, we never talked about personal details like name or age.

Or sexual preferences.

Obviously ShopGuy was a guy. I’d figured that out from his name. But his profile alluded to little else on the Seattle platform, which wasn’t unusual. Because this was a local-based site, most of us didn’t list details that would too easily identify us. No one wanted a stalker showing up at their house.

As Wash972, my name gave away even less than his did.

ShopGuy24:

You around? I could use some good news. This week has sucked.

Wash972:

Well, Bennie made friends with a bunny today. It was the most precious thing I’ve ever seen. He didn’t chase him like most dogs, just nuzzled his ear.

ShopGuy24:

Bennie sounds like a very good boy.

Wash972:

Oh, he’s the best boy and he knows it. But why has your week sucked? If you want to tell me, that is.

ShopGuy24:

I’m worried about my store. Times are tough, you know?

Wash972:

I know all too well. My family’s business has really been struggling too.

ShopGuy24:

So what are you doing about it?

Wash972:

Anything and everything we can. We’re not going down easy.

ShopGuy24:

Yeah, you’re right. I can’t just give up.

Wash972:

That’s the spirit. We’ve got to fight for what matters. If we don’t stand up for ourselves, no one else will.

ShopGuy24:

Thanks for the advice. I feel better.

I smiled down at the phone, warmth spreading through me. I didn’t even know this guy, but the idea of helping him in some small way filled me with pride.

Me too, ShopGuy. I might actually sleep well.

It would be the first good night of sleep I’d gotten in weeks, but with the store just days from opening and my grandmother agreeing to let me handle the launch, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Soon, I’d be able to stop working twelve-hour days and reap the rewards of all my hard work.

Bennie wormed his way up the bed to lie beside me, and I carded my fingers through his silky chocolate hair.

“Well, Ben, at least I won’t be alone for all those rewards, huh?”

The sweet-faced cocker spaniel had become my best friend. But I couldn’t help wishing, just for a second, that ShopGuy could be the warm body beside me, ready to share the success with me when I proved to Gigi that with new direction and focus, we could keep the Fox company alive.