Terms and Conditions (ONC 2023)

11

Harley's POV

"I must apologize, Mr. Ricci, but the deal is off." Mr. Obolensky is speaking in Russian, but I can tell that Jonah knows what he said before I even try to translate.

"What? Why?" I ask Mr. Obolensky. To this point, I thought the discussion was going well. It seemed like Jonah was going to be able to close the deal with relative ease. But whoever was on that phone a moment ago changed that somehow.

"Our board of directors has heard of some disturbing rumors about the older Mr. Ricci. They feel that it is not the best investment for us to sell our properties to a dying company. Especially one that - up until recently - was run by a man who used a majority of the funds for his own gain."

Mr. Obolensky types something into his phone and sighs. "I apologize, Miss Goode and Mr. Ricci, but it is out of my hands at this point. As of right now, we have no other offers but the board is willing to wait for someone else. If the Ricci Idealista Enterprise can improve their financial conditions by then, maybe I could convince them to reconsider."

Jonah doesn't bother asking me to translate, regarding the body language of Mr. Obolensky silently. "They're not going to accept the offer."

Mr. Obolensky looks at Jonah. "I can tell he's upset. I'm going to go back to my room and try to figure out what can be done about your company's situation. Please, if you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out and I'll see if I can help you."

With that, he leaves the room, and Jonah plants his hands on either side of his head and rests his elbows on the table. "What the hell am I going to do now?"

I reach across the table to rest a hand on his arm. "Maybe we can find something else? I can look around on some Russian real estate forums and -"

"There is nothing else!" He jerks his hand out of mine, and his eyes soften as I flinch. "I'm sorry, Harley. We've exhausted every effort. This was my last chance and..."

"And what?" I ask. Mr. Obolensky called the Enterprise a 'dying company.' Is that true? The way Jonah is reacting would make sense but I can hardly believe that this is his one and only chance to save the company.

"You don't understand, Harley. I shouldn't even be talking to you about this." He runs his hands through his hair and dips his head dangerously close to the table.

"I'm not going to say anything to anyone. I hardly have any friends at the company right now. There's no one for me to tell even if I wanted to." I watch him closely, unsure if reaching out again is necessarily the best approach to take. "You saw for yourself that I worked for a counseling clinic. A certain level of discretion is needed to be successful there."

"Every company we have tried to buy from or partner with has heard of my father's endeavors. It's been so costly for the company, but until this point there was nothing I could do about it. It was his company." He rolls his head up to look over at me. "I've been trying so hard to fix it all. This was my last chance."

"Is there really nothing else? Maybe a local seller in Seattle? There's always a bunch of people trying to find affordable housing in the city."

He shakes his head. "I'm not sure it would be enough. The market in Russia is high right now, and Lukov's apartment complex is huge."

"How much time does the company have?" Depending on how long we had before the company officially went bankrupt, I could try to have my dad call his connections. Someone is bound to have something.

Jonah looks away, and I can see it in his eyes. Not long.

That's not good.

"Maybe I can try to talk to them. I know a little about real estate because of my dad. I can -"

"Just stop, Harley. Please." Jonah pulls at his hair and stands up, gathering the stack of papers off the table. "We leave back for Seattle tomorrow morning. I'm going to go make a few calls. You can head back to the room or find something else to do, I don't really care right now."

He pulls out his phone and dials a number before putting it up to his ear and walking out of the room.

My heart gives a little squeeze, and I hate it for that. Jonah doesn't owe me any ounce of kindness, so why does the way he talked to me hurt so bad?

I stay awake in hopes that Jonah will come back to the room and I can try and talk to him if he's calmed down enough, but he never shows up. Eventually, my eyes grow so heavy that I can't help but fall asleep.

The next morning, as I sit in the hotel lobby, Jonah appears just in time for us to be picked up by our Uber and dropped off at the airport. I debate on whether or not I wanted to try and talk to him, but the depressed, angry energy radiating from him keeps me silent.

When we get back to the United States, Jonah and I get in separate cars to leave the airport, and I'm soon dropped off at my apartment.

Danny perks up in her spot on our sofa as soon as I open the door. "How was the trip?"

I shrug and drop my purse onto my suitcase, leaving them both by the door as I drag my feet to the sofa. "Didn't end well. The Russian guys backed out of the deal, so now Jonah is being an ass and I really don't want to go back to work tomorrow."

She purses her lips and crosses her arms, falling back into the cushions. "That's no fun."

"We had to share the same room, and that was going about as well as could be expected." I shrug and collapse onto the sofa beside her, leaning my head on her shoulder.

I can feel her gaze digging into my scalp. "You had to share a room? Come on. You can't tell me nothing happened."

I shrug again, staring at the muted TV. "We kissed a little, that's all."

A little. That's a huge understatement.

"Nope. You have to give me more details than that." When I don't respond, her voice gets whiny. "Harley. Please. Don't you love me?"

"I really don't want to talk about it, Danny. It's all so confusing because one minute he seems like he really wants me, then the next it feels like he couldn't care less."

"I mean, he does have a lot going on. Maybe he's one of those guys who really cares about work and can get a little too focused at times." She reaches up and runs her hand through my hair. "I wouldn't think too much into it. If he truly just wants in your pants and couldn't care less about anything else, don't give him what he wants unless you want to. Otherwise, make him show you that he cares. If he can't do that, then maybe it's not worth it."\

"Maybe you're right," I say and pick at a feather in the cushion beside me.

"Oh, I'm definitely right." Danny laughs and jerks her shoulder a little bit to get me to pick my head up. "Now what do you say we go to the club?"

"Danny, I just got back from a trip and the time difference is huge. I do not feel like clubbing right now."

"Fine. Binge watching episodes of Grey's, it is," she says as she leans forward and grabs a bag of kettle corn out of the snack box under our coffee table. "Here. Have some delicious, delicious carbs."

I laugh and take the bag from her, ripping it open and popping a handful into my mouth. Though there are things about Danny that can get annoying, the fact that she can always lighten the mood might have to be the most annoying. But that's the thing I love about her. No matter what, she knows exactly what I need.

"Oh, can we watch the one where Mark..." I grin at her.

She knows exactly what episode I mean and a mischievous smile slips onto her face. "Oh, yeah. You don't have to tell me twice."

And just like that, sitting there giggling with her for hours straight, I completely forget about how upset I am about Jonah and the trip to Russia.