Page 3 of The Match
No matter what, I was looking forward to finding out more about this Grace Deveraux.
Chapter Two
Grace
“All right, everyone. This was productive,” I told Alice and Keisha. They were my two right hands, and I couldn’t function without them.
“I’ve got so many new ideas, Grace,” Keisha said.
My skincare business was booming, and I couldn’t be happier. I grinned. “I’m so excited!”
Alice nodded. “So are we. Your enthusiasm is contagious. But if it’s okay with you, we’re going to leave. It’s pretty late.”
I glanced at the clock and gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to keep you this long.”
“No problem,” Alice replied. “We got a lot accomplished, so it was worth the extra time.”
Both of them were married and had kids, so they liked to be home for dinner.Crap. Ever since my divorce, I’d thrown all my effort and all my time into the business, which included working at odd hours. Sometimes I forgot other people needed to adhere to a schedule.
“Shoo, shoo, you two. Get out of here. I’m going to leave soon as well.”
After we said our goodbyes and they left my office, I rose to my feet, tilting my neck from one side to the other, smiling at the view out of my floor-to-ceiling window. I loved being in the business district. It had such fresh energy. When I’d been looking for offices, I first considered the Quarter—it was one of my most beloved areas in the city—but I wanted something more modern. There were a lot of start-ups in this area. Granted, they focused on tech software, but I still enjoyed being around people who were creating something. Sometimes I couldn’t believe I’donly started this business a year ago. It seemed much longer than that.
It was the fresh start I’dsoneeded.
My ex would hate seeing me so content. The day of the wedding, I had stars in my eyes and felt hopeful about the future. But it became harder and harder to keep my optimism as my marriage progressed. I’d been working in my family’s company back then, in the marketing department. I’d been very good at my job, but my husband convinced me that it would be best if I were to stay at home and take care of him and, hopefully soon, our new family. Even today, I couldn’t quite remember why I agreed to it. I’d always loved working. I loved being independent. But I’d been very much in love, and it seemed to make sense. If I were to get pregnant, I’d want to take some time off to be with the baby anyway.
Only, I didn’t get pregnant. And the second I quit my job, my husband’s attitude changed—as if my worth had somehow diminished and he could treat me any way he wanted.
But that was all in the past now. Even so, if I were being honest, it still hurt to think about everything I’d been through with him.
Grace Cointreau was Grace Deveraux again—not that that was doing me many favors these days. My brothers literally made a mess of everything. Some people were wary of associating with the Deveraux name, and after what those idiots had done, I really couldn’t blame them. I’d encountered many hurdles when I was setting up the business. Thank God I had a very generous nest egg I’d saved up, because I hadn’t wanted to ask my parents for any money. I was far too proud for that.
And speaking of fresh starts... I hurried to my desk and opened my laptop. Maybe it was a millennial thing, but I didn’t like to check emails on my phone. I clicked on my inbox.Darn. There was no reply.
I’d recently seen an ad from a horse ranch specializing in assisted therapy. They were looking for someone to invest in their business, and I was very interested.
After my divorce, I went to therapy for a while—they used painting and dogs for healing purposes, and it had been wonderful. Gaston and Felicia’s ranch served the same purpose—psychological therapy.
I’d sent them an email last week, and they replied that they’d get back to me but hadn’t done so yet. I wanted to know details and if someone else was interested too.
Despite the hour, I decided to call them right away. Knowing me, by tomorrow morning, I would forget all about it and throw myself into the marketing of my new skincare line. To my delight, someone immediately answered.
“Hello.”
“Hi, I’m Grace Deveraux.”
“Oh, Ms. Deveraux. Yes. This is Gaston here. Sorry, we’ve been meaning to get back to you, but we’ve had our hands full.”
“I figured it would be easier if I called.”
“Yes, yes. Good idea. Thank you for calling and for your interest.”
“Listen, I won’t keep you long. I’d like to make an appointment so I could come visit the ranch.”
“Sure, sure. I’ll talk to my wife about it and see what the schedule is in the upcoming week. Do you prefer evenings or mornings?”
“I’m flexible. And I have a question. Is anyone else interested?”
