Sweet afternoons

Chapter eighteen

"I don't want to go on TV!" I said quickly in response, the thought making me incredibly nervous. Being the centre of attention was too scary and I didn't have the confidence to be broadcast to so many people.

Andres' looked amused for a moment, but his face soon fell neutral again. "Shall I assume that everything written in the contract is fine?" He asked in his business voice, a deeper and more smooth tone than his usual one. I hated to admit that I enjoyed listening to it.

Before I could offer a reply, Nate was speaking up again, his energy too great to suppress. "Absolutely! We'll sign immediately." He reached for the pen that Andres' had placed down earlier and made a move towards the paper.

"You're awful at this!" I exclaimed, grabbing the pen from his hand before he could write on the dotted line. "You're lucky this is Andres' business. With the way you're acting, I wouldn't be surprised if you said yes to a scammer!"

Nate pouted childishly and crossed his arms with a huff. "But this is Andres. And this is a great opportunity. There's no reason not to sign it!" He argued back.

My face softened slightly. His points were valid, but I didn't want us to rush into something like this without a second thought. Perhaps it was the paranoia in me, but big decisions needed more than a few seconds for me to process. "I know that. Just...at least ask a few questions first."

When he didn't speak up, I turned to Andres. "Please, go ahead," he said, encouraging me to ask whatever I wanted.

"So, this is an investment. Correct me if I am wrong. Your company won't take over any ownership or decision making?"

"This is not a takeover. We will finance your expansion into the agreed-upon places for the stated dividends but you are still the owners. Obviously, you cannot run the outlets since you will both still be working at the one here. But we will have regular meetings to discuss how the business is performing where you will be able to give us any outlines for changes you have."

I nodded slowly, showing him that I understood. It did seem like a very favourable deal for us. We would have to invest very little into the expansion and would split the profits from the new establishments with the company. In truth, they were the only ones with much to lose in this scenario. If the expansion was a success, they would be receiving a higher percentage of the profits compared to us, but if it failed they would lose far more money.

"Nate is right, this isn't something I can refuse. We'll sign it."

"Wonderful!" Andres said, finally smiling. Still, it was a polite smile that didn't hold too much emotion.

Still holding the pen I had taken from Nate, I leant over the table and scribbled my name and signature where necessary. My partner did the same afterwards, his enthusiasm back now that I had agreed to sign. Once it was done, we handed the contract over to Andres who put it back in his briefcase to be processed later.

"I look forwards to working with you, Miss Young."

I smiled shyly. "And I look forward to working with you, Mr Saintono," Our eyes met and held one another for a few moments. The air of professionalism was beginning to dissipate and the returning familiar feeling was setting back in, much to my relief.

"Is no one looking forward to working with me?" Nate joked from beside us, breaking Andres and me apart.

I shook my head, muttering a quiet 'of course' before standing up from my seat. The two men followed suit, walking with me to the entrance before making our way to the car parked on the street.

Andres and I said goodbye to Nate and waited for him to drive off before getting into Andres' car. Instead of taking us to his house, as I had assumed he would, the car turned down an unfamiliar road. I asked where we were going but Andres insisted it was a secret and continued to drive with a smug smile on his face.