Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 21
MAVERICK
I knew these ladies were bright, but Kashawn, Nelly, and Hendrix are sponges exploring the cannabis growery, absorbing every detail of the tour. The three of them are taking notes on their phones, capturing photos and videos, and asking Dan, the president of CBD Pharms, all their questions.
“And this is climate-controlled?” Kashawn asks, squinting at the vents overhead.
“Yup,” Dan answers, his shiny black hair slicked into a braid that falls to the middle of his back. “If your founder is growing at a higher altitude, he—”
“She,” Hendrix corrects with a smile, walking alongside Dan up a row of plants in the greenhouse. “All our founders are she.”
“Sorry,” Dan chuckles. “She’ll want to create a microclimate by using a hoop house or a greenhouse.”
They pelt Dan with more questions, and he fields them all. He was one of the first growers I invested in. An Indigenous farmer looking to pivot away from traditional crops and methods to a new market, he proved to be a great litmus test for this kind of investment.
While the ladies study the greenhouse and the myriad parts that make this operation work, I study Hendrix. I can’t stop. I keep surreptitiously seeking her out. The moment we shared on the plane, her crying—it was intense and I haven’t been able to move on from the way I felt tied to her, not just by our shared experience, but by something deeper.
“If you’d like,” Dan says, “feel free to send over the specs for the founder you’re considering and I’ll look them over for you. Give you my assessment of whether she’s ready, where she might need to make adjustments, what are the biggest risk factors, et cetera…”
“Seriously?” Kashawn gapes. “You’d do that?”
“Sure.” Dan shrugs and shifts his gaze to me. “Any friend of Mr. Bell is a friend of mine. None of what you see here would be possible without him believing in me and investing years ago.”
“Don’t make me sound so altruistic,” I say wryly. “I’m a businessman first and saw a fantastic opportunity. None of what we see here would be possible without you.”
“A partnership then,” Dan concedes with a smile. “Either way, we’ve found success working together and I’ll never take it for granted, so yes. I’ll help you ladies any way I can.”
“We accept,” Nelly pipes up, her expression lit with mischief. “Now you think we can have a lil’ sample of your product before we go? Lil’ toke?”
Dan’s quick shout of laughter bounces off the greenhouse panes. “Of course. Lemme hook you up. Follow me.”
We trail him from the greenhouse and toward the main office. Nelly and Kashawn walk ahead, chatting with Dan, but Hendrix falls behind and into step with me.
“This was so great,” she says. “It will help us make an informed decision. Thank you.”
Her smile blazes bright and her smooth cheeks glow with fresh air and her own natural radiance.
“You look happy right now,” I tell her, taking a chance and slipping my arm through the crook of hers, linking our elbows. “I’d love to see you happy all the time.”
It comes out before I check it, and by the way she watches me from the corner of her eye, I know it sounded too intense from one casual friend to another. I don’t care, though. I’m not ready to articulate what it means that I enjoy being around Hendrix so much, that I think about her far too often. That in the shower some mornings, I get hard as a silver dollar remembering her scent and softness, and have more than once jerked off to the husky soundtrack of her voice on repeat in my thoughts. I don’t want to articulate the implications of all that even to myself because I already know she won’t give me a shot. If I asked her out, she would turn me down, no ifs or buts. I know she’s aware of me in the same way. I’m not oblivious, but I pose a threat to her goals. And Hendrix doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman to choose a man over her dream. Not when it would cost her something she really wants, and knowing how hurt Zere is over our breakup, being with me would most certainly cost Hendrix that opportunity.
I’d love the chance to explore the promise of what I sense between us, but I doubt I’ll get to, not with the specter of Zere and me on the periphery of my every interaction with Hendrix. Even when we were watching Top Boy on the plane, there was a tension in the way she held herself. How carefully she made sure our arms didn’t touch on the table or that her leg never brushed against mine. She’s holding herself back from me in every way possible.
I hate it.