After He Gave My Wedding Away, I Built My Empire novel · Chapter 10 of 24

Chapter 10: Asking

On Saturday, eight hundred people were walking the Forsyth farmers' market, and I had a table at the north end between a honey seller and a man with sourdough.

Hattie had set up her phone on the usual crates.

The line for Ten Minutes ran past the sourdough.

At ten o'clock, Rowena walked through the crowd in a white linen suit with Colin one step behind her.

People moved aside.

They had all seen the gala.

"Cassandra," she said. "Good morning. Have you thought about my offer?"

I picked up the little megaphone I used for the lunch rush and held it down by my hip.

"Yes," I said. "I have."

She smiled and waited.

Hattie's red light was on.

I lifted the megaphone.

"Everybody," I said, and the market quieted. "This is Rowena Sayre. She offered me two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for my company. She said she'd forgive my father's debt if I took it."

Rowena's smile stayed in place, but her eyes moved over the crowd.

"My answer is no," I said. "Not for that, and not for any price. The note is due in thirty days, and I'll pay it in cash, to her, here, at this table."

The honey seller started clapping.

So did the man with the sourdough.

Colin looked at Rowena, and Rowena looked at the phone on its tripod.

"Of course," she said pleasantly. "I look forward to it."

She walked away.

Colin lingered long enough to say, in a voice meant only for me, "You're making this harder than it needs to be."

"For who?"

He had no answer, and he followed her.

That night, I waited until the last pourer had gone home.

Hattie had gone to her shift.

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