“I don’t know.” I hadn’t assessed my options yet. It was too soon. “Fight it, I suppose. Maybe talk to Margot. See how far along this new deal is. Talking her out of a deal with Max was one thing. I could play on the fact that all our staff would lose their jobs. That the Highland base would close. But with SwissTok interested? I think Gabriel would keep the Highlands on. It wouldn’t be so catastrophic. But it would mean we’d lose what Mum and Gran took so long to build.”
Katy rested her head against the sofa. “Why do you want to keep the company this much? If the numbers stack up, this deal is the best we could possibly hope for.” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “Is it just grief, or do you actually want this?”
I took a deep breath, then shook my head. “It’s not just grief. I want to do this because it’s the right thing to do. Also, because I don’t want to be haunted forever by an unhappy ghost.”
Katy smiled then, taking my hand. “What Eliza did was terrible, and I know you’re hurting. Sleep on it, but if you still want to run the company, then I’ll speak to Margot, too. But this is also your chance to walk away.”
I couldn’t do that. I was all in with Voss Watches, just like I was with Eliza. Unfortunately for me, I had no control over either of their outcomes.
“I can’t just give up,” I said. “This company is all I have left of Mum. If Margot can’t see that, then she doesn’t know me at all.”
“Then fight.” Amina put three steaming mugs of tea on the coffee table. “Margot loves you. Make her wake up and see what’s in front of her.”
I nodded, feeling something hard and determined crystallise in my chest.
It was time to speak to Margot without Max in the room.
CHAPTER 36
Roka’s latest track thumped in my ears as I hurtled around Victoria Park, trying to process everything that had gone on. I’d put so much into the past three months, truly channelling the spirit of my mum while her ghost followed me around with a clipboard scoring my every move.
It’d been exhausting and exhilarating in equal measure: the late nights strategising, the easy chemistry with Eliza, the intoxicating rush of calling my own shots. For the first time, I understood what Mum meant about being your own boss. The responsibility I’d always dodged? It came with a freedom I’d never tasted. No one else’s schedule, no one else’s agenda. Just mine. It was what I wanted now. It was what Eliza wanted, too.
A couple jogged past, matching Fitbits glinting in the morning sun, and something lodged in my throat as I rounded the corner by the lake. Eliza and I could have been like them, unstoppable together. If both our families had just stepped back, stopped orchestrating from the wings, perhaps we could have made it work: the business, us, everything.
Now Margot was handing it all to SwissTok like a consolation prize. Every sleepless night, every breakthrough moment, every careful decision: wasted. She’d made up her mind before I’deven walked through the door. The realisation sat bitter in my mouth.
I was driving to see her tomorrow. I’d intended to go this morning, but Katy and Amina had persuaded me to take a day to cool down and get my gameplan together. Not go in too hot-headed. It was good advice. Katy had already messaged to say Margot had retreated to her Cotswolds house alone. That was where I’d have to go.
My phone buzzed through my earbuds, cutting through the playlist. Fiona’s name flashed on my watch face. I slowed to a reluctant stop, already dreading this conversation. She knew what a takeover could mean for the Goldloch setup, no matter what the initial good intentions were.
“Hi Fiona.” How much did she know? How much would I have to explain about the takeover, about what it meant for Goldloch, for everything we’d built?
“Hello to you, my favourite interim CEO and saviour of Voss Watches.”
I grimaced, catching my breath.
“Before you say anything,” she continued, “Margot called me this morning. Told me about SwissTok.”
That blindsided me. Of course she had.
“I’m not naive, hen. I knew this was always possible, regardless of how brilliantly you performed.” She paused. “Incidentally, I downloaded Roka’s singles — that girl’s got real talent. You chose well. Harvey and I had quite the kitchen disco last night.”
Despite everything, that coaxed a smile from me. Fiona had this gift for finding light in the darkest corners, while I seemed magnetically drawn to the shadows.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep it in the family. But I’m seeing Margot tomorrow—”
“What will be, will be. When you’re not holding the reins, you trust those who are to do right by everyone. You’re still interim CEO, and I have complete faith in you.”
If only I shared that confidence.
“How do you stay so relentlessly optimistic?”
Her laugh crackled through the connection. “Decades of practice, love. Your mother faced takeover pressures too, you know. She considered selling more than once but couldn’t bear to let go. That means something profound. But she wouldn’t want you doing this for her memory. You have to want it for yourself.”
“I know that.” The words came out sharper than intended.
“I’ll tell you another strange thing. I had the most vivid dream about your mum last night. Clear as day, wearing that gorgeous dress she wore to Katy’s wedding. Remember? Her eyes absolutely sparkled.”
