when I’m with people,” he said, “which includes not checking my phone. Especially not during a meal with two beautiful women.”
His laughing lightness was gone though. “Liam. We appreciate it, but just this once, it’s okay. What if something’s wrong with Xander or Callie?”
He frowned, then pulled his phone out and looked down at the screen. His face seemed paler.
He stood, and her heart dropped. “It’s my CFO. She never calls like this, unless something’s wrong. I’ll be back momentarily.”
He left with the phone already to his ear, work-Liam firmly back in place. She’d been the one to insist he look at his phone, and now she wondered if that meant she was going to lose him again, just when she’d started to let her shell crack.
Chapter 14
“Oh, thank goodness, Liam.” Fiona sounded out of breath, and a gentle whirring noise hummed steadily in the background. He knew that when she was stressed, she hopped onto her treadmill, and it sounded like she’d been there for a while.
“What’s wrong?” he asked without preamble.
“It’s the fourth quarter projected sales report,” she replied. “Our numbers are down double what we’d expected with the competitor’s business opening up.”
“They should still pop back up once the novelty of the new store wears off.”
“That’s just it,” Fiona said. “They’re going after our investors, Liam. If we don’t show a solid, strong face to our company, we may lose more than our fourth quarter sales. We’re still recovering from the Albuquerque mess, and now they’re worried about a lack of strong leadership.”
“You are a strong leader,” he insisted.
“I know, but they want to see you.”
Liam winced. “So, how do we do that?”
“We need you back, Liam.” Her breathing slowed, and he heard the treadmill turn off in the background. “I hate to do this to you, because I know how much you need the break, but Pets! Pets! Pets! is spinning your panic attack as a sign that the whole company is falling apart.”
“I’m just one person. There’s a massive team running Pets and More.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, wishing he’d followed his therapist’s advice to ignore his phone while out with people. He’d been having such a wonderful night for it all to come crashing down now.
“Yes, Liam,” Fiona said, sounding a little impatient for the first time. “But you’ve been the face of the company for a couple of years now. And you’ve missed meetings, events, dinners, and appearances for the last month.”
“The company can run without me.”
“It can, if our investors and the public think it can. They need to see you again, Liam, see that everything is okay.”
When Liam didn’t respond, Fiona continued, “We’re putting on a year-end banquet to honor your father. I’ve already put you down for a speech about your father. Callie and Xander will be there as well.”
“Is it going to be televised?”
“It’ll be streamed to our website.”
His chest tightened. He couldn’t have another panic attack in front of cameras, and he didn’t feel confident that he was in a good enough place to for sure avoid one. He hadn’t been able to control the one at the board meeting, and if this was the first public appearance he was making since then, he knew the reporters wouldn’t be able to resist asking him about it, nor would the cameras give him any leeway. They wouldn’t want to miss another melt down.
“I would never ask you to do this, Liam—you know that—if I didn’t think it was absolutely vital.” Fiona’s voice had gone quiet, and he pictured her pacing through her house, always unable to sit still.
He closed his eyes and leaned against the outer restaurant wall. “Can I bring someone?”
“Of course,” she said quickly. “I’ll have my assistant arrange everything: flight, hotel reservations, and transportation to and from the dinner. All you need to do is show up and convince everyone that you’re fine.”
“What if I’m not fine yet?” he asked quietly.
She let out a long breath. “It’s one night, Liam. I have complete confidence in your ability to pull this off, okay?”
“Okay.” He hung up the phone and took a few long, deep breaths, trying to clear his mind of this new stress.
The drive home with Viola and her grandma was quiet, his mind full of the things he was going to have to do. Could he go for just one dinner and leave again? Or would the tentacles of his business wrap around him and drag him back into it before he