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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

OLIVIA

“Shit!” Roz slammed her hand on her study desk. She’d spent the afternoon in her study, poring over the farm’s finances, her lips pressed into a tight line.

“Should we try calling Fred again? If he’d just let us explain…”

Roz shook her head. “We’ve left two voicemails. We can’t keep harassing him. At this rate, he’ll block my number.”

I slumped back on the couch. What else could we do? I didn’t blame Fred for his reaction. He was right—trust was critical for successful business relationships and we’d completely blown up his faith in us.

“We’re fucked,” Roz announced, snapping her laptop shut. “I’ve already spent more money than I have on the basis Fred’s funding was coming through. I’ll have to dig into my 401(k) to pay my employees’ wages at this point.”

My stomach dropped. Damn . Things really were bad.

Roz lowered her eyes to her desk. “I’ll have to take immediate action to have any chance of keeping the farm afloat.”

My shoulders tensed. The combination of Roz avoiding eye contact and the words immediate action sent a chill down my spine. “Like what?”

She raised her eyes. Oh no.

“I’m sorry Liv, but I’m going to have to shut down the flower farm operations.” My lungs squeezed. No. No. No. “I’ll do my best to honor all the weddings you’ve committed to and we’ll keep the flowers going until the spring festival, but once that’s done we’ll need to stop ASAP. They are just too labor intensive and fixing the greenhouse in time for the cooler weather will cost too much. If I can lease the fields out, then at least I’ll have some money coming in and that will free up Dana and our seasonal workers to focus on preparing for fall.”

I swallowed, trying to dislodge the enormous lump in my throat and failing miserably. “There has to be another way. Couldn’t you lease out the land the corn maze and pumpkin patch is on instead, or the Christmas trees or something?” My voice was an octave higher than usual.

“The fall festivities are one of the farm’s highest-grossing activities. They bring crowds of people to the farm. I can’t afford to lose them. I’m sorry. I don’t want to do this, Liv, but it’s my only chance of keeping the farm afloat. And even then, I don’t think we’ll make it past winter.”

My mind whirred. There had to be another way. “What about finding another investor or lender? Surely there’s someone else out there.”

Roz shook her head. “The banks wouldn’t lend to me and I’ve exhausted all the connections I have.”

I exhaled, wracking my brain. Did I know any rich people?

The memory of Marie and Frank’s gigantic house on their sprawling property came into focus. Roz’s parents . Why hadn’t I thought of them before? “What about your parents? I mean, they were lawyers for years. Surely they have a shitload of money?”

“No.” Roz ran a hand through her hair.

I leaned forward on the couch. “They seemed to love the farm. Wouldn’t they be willing to help out?”

“Possibly. But I’m not taking any money from them.” Roz pushed her laptop away.

I stared at her, wide-eyed. “Hang on a second. So you’re willing to throw it all away, to destroy the flowers and destroy my business, because you are too proud or stubborn or whatever is going on to ask your parents for help?”

Tears welled in my eyes. I was back at square one again. By winter I’d have no job and all I’d have to show for the past six weeks would be another ex to run into at the general store. So much for turning over a new leaf in my thirties.

Roz clenched her jaw. “I’ve spent my whole life proving that I can do things without my parents. I can’t just turn around and ask them for help now, when times are tough. That would invalidate all the years I spent trying to get out of their shadows.”

“It could just be a loan. You could pay it all back,” I pleaded.

“No!” Roz snapped.

I gritted my teeth. “I know you don’t like to ask people for help, but choosing to ruin the farm and my business, because you’re not willing to accept a loan from your parents is… is incomprehensible.” I narrowed my eyes. “Is it really because you hate flowers? You’re still hung up on Sadie and this is your excuse to get rid of them once and for all?”

“No.” Roz furrowed her brow. “That’s ridiculous. You don’t understand.”

“You’re damn right. I don’t.” A wave of hot anger crashed over me. “Well, I guess this is it, then. You’re getting rid of the flowers. The investment has fallen through. Sapphire Blooms is screwed. And yet again, I’ve wasted my time on a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere and have a failed business on my hands. I’ll see you around, Roz.”

And with that, I stormed out of Roz’s study and headed toward my car, dodging a busload of happy families who had just arrived at the farm.