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She didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway.
“Hello?”
“Is this Merritt Christianson?” a man asked.
“Yes.”
“It’s me.”
“Me who?”
“You don’t recognize my voice?”
“Should I?” He hadn’t said enough words for her to recognize him.
“Well, I would hope you’d know your future husband’s voice.”
She rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see her. “Gus? I should’ve known you wouldn’t take no for an answer. How did you get this number?”
“Adelia.”
“You told her about this crazy scheme of yours?”
“Not exactly. She thinks I’m calling to apologize for being rude to you.”
“I don’t think she would’ve given you my number if she knew why you were actually calling.”
“She’ll be on board with this,” he replied.
“I highly doubt that.”
“You’ll see.” He sounded awfully confident.
“No, I won’t, because this is not happening. I already told you. There is no way I’m marrying you.”
“I think you’ll change your mind.”
She laughed. “Don’t hold your breath.”
“When you look at your life a year from now, what do you see?” he asked.
“Why do you care?”
“Humor me and think about where you want to be in a year. Would you rather be where you are right now, trying to move forward in your business, stuck at a standstill because of the money, or do you want your products reaching every corner of the world, exploding in every market? Are you content with a company grossing a couple million rather than on your way to some serious money?”
She was quiet. He had clearly done his research on her company.
“I can help you. I’m tired of wasting my wealth, and I’ve been wanting to find a worthy investment. Let me invest in you.”
Her mind raced as she found herself seriously considering his ridiculous plan.
“I know a year seems like a long time, but Merritt, you’ll be so busy, it will fly by.”
“This is crazy.”
“You want to say yes. I know you do.”
“I don’t want to say yes at all. I want to find another way to expand my company without having to marry you.”