She wasn’t wrong. However, as I took in Eliza staring dreamily at our future cottage, I decided 20 years might be worth the wait.
CHAPTER 1
PRESENT DAY
The restaurant hummed around me with the polite chaos of the lunch rush, but I barely noticed the clatter of cutlery or the punchy waft of garlic from the neighbouring tables. I stabbed my fork into my chicken salad with unnecessary force, sending a cherry tomato rolling across the white tablecloth.
“He actually said that?” Katy leaned forward, her eyes wide with sisterly indignation. “That your proposal was ‘cute’?”
“Cute.” My jaw tightened. “Like I’m a four-year-old showing him my finger painting instead of a marketing strategy that could triple our user base.” Honestly, my boss could go fuck himself.
“You need to get out of there.” Katy reached for her water glass, her wedding ring catching the light. “Which brings me to my brilliant idea.”
“No.”
“You haven’t even heard it yet.”
“If it involves Aunt Margot and Voss Watches, then no.” I put down my fork. The dull scrape of cutlery against porcelain grated on my nerves. “We’ve been through this.” And we had. A million times. My answer was always the same.
Katy’s expression took on that particular brand of impatience she’d perfected since having her twins. “Pops, she needs help. The company needs help. And you need a job where you’re actually appreciated.”
“I love my job. Today was just a hiccup.”
“You do not love your job, you love the work. You love coming up with ideas and problem-solving. There’s a difference.” Katy tucked a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear, the same shade as mine but cut shorter and more practical these days. If I looked closely, I’d still be able to see the indent from the nose ring she got when she was 19.
She had the energy of someone who’d spent the morning negotiating with toddlers over whether socks were mandatory, which meant my career crisis barely registered on her scale of things worth getting worked up about.
“Look, I know you think Margot likes me better because I pop out babies and remember to call on her birthday, but that’s bullshit and you know it.”
I winced at her bluntness. “She literally sent you a Hermès scarf for Christmas. I got a gift card.”
“Because she doesn’t know what to buy you! You’re like this enigma to her. Brilliant, independent, always keeping your distance.” Katy’s tone shifted. “You were a little unhinged for a while, but you’ve dialled that right back. You’ve worked things out. You’re more stable, and she knows that. I also know she’s drowning. I had lunch with her last week, and she was really stressed. She never wanted to run the business, and now she’s talking about selling.”
The words hit me like a bucket of ice water. My knee jiggled under the table. “Selling? To who?”
“I don’t know, but likely a conglomerate. They’d gut it, keep the name for prestige, and move production overseas. The brand and quality would be sold down the river.” Katy’s eyes searched mine. “Everything our grandma built, everything Mum maintained.” She snapped her fingers. “Gone. In an instant.”
Something caught in my throat. Voss Watches wasn’t just a company. It had paid for our education, our childhood home, every opportunity we’d ever had. But it had also demanded everything in return. Late nights, absent parents, a marriage breakdown, and eventually...
“It killed them, Katy.” My voice came out smaller than I intended. “Mum was 56. Grandma was 66. I’m nearly 30. If I take this on, it means I only have a few decades left, give or take.”
“Gran got cancer. Mum had an aneurysm. I’ve watched enoughGrey’sto know they happen all the time. It’s just a mix of bad luck, bad habits, and no work-life balance.” Katy reached across the table, covering my hand with hers.
“You could do it differently. You don’t have to live to work. You could work to live. Promote a different culture in the company. Value your employees, like Mum and Gran did. Make money, give it away, be a force for good. Keep Voss in the family for my girls, maybe, if they want it someday. Or any future children you have.”
I turned my hand palm-up, squeezing her fingers. The familiar weight of responsibility settled on my shoulders like a coat I’d avoided trying on, knowing it would fit perfectly.
Maybe it was time to stop running.
“Just meet with her,” Katy pressed, sensing the crack in my armour. “Ask about her plans. You don’t have to commit to anything.”
I pulled my hand back, wrapping both around my coffee cup. It was barely warm anymore. “And say what? ‘Hi, Aunt Margot, I know I’ve spent the last decade avoiding anything to do with my family and Voss Watches, but I hear you’re struggling, so I thought I’d swoop in and save the day’?”
“You could try being honest. Tell her you’re thinking about a career change. That you’re interested in learning more about the business. That you have some solid business experience to bring, as well as your MBA.” Katy glanced at her phone as it buzzed on the table. “She’d probably cry with relief.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” I managed a weak smile. “I can handle disappointing my boss. But Margot crying...”
“Would be harder because you actually care about her, despite pretending otherwise.” Katy’s phone buzzed again, more insistently. She frowned at the screen. “Damn. That’s the nursery.”
