even confirmed? No. People will say it’s too soon.”
“Since when do you care what people say?” He took a deep breath, and this time the words came easy, possibly because he’d already broken the seal with Rhi. “I didn’t want to mess you up this weekend, but the doctor called and confirmed the CTE yesterday.”
Her lip quivered, but she bit it. “Well.” She straightened her shawl. “That’s amazing. Good. He’d be so happy. We talked about this.”
“You did?” His uncle had only briefly informed him about the donation plans he’d made.
“You didn’t? Of course you didn’t. He probably thought it would bring up too many painful memories about your father.” She drifted to where he sat and touched his shoulder. “Joe had the most generous heart hidden under all that bluster. The second he got sick, he said to me, Belle, if the tests come back positive, you make the biggest stink the world has ever seen. Don’t let them sweep it under the rug like they tried to do with Aleki.” Her eyes grew misty. “He didn’t want anyone else to go through what his brother and nephew did.”
He had to blink hard a couple times. You made your industry better for the young men who came after you, and the older men who came before you. He didn’t know if Rhi’s words applied to him, but he wanted them to apply to his uncle. “I guess we’ll have to make a stink.”
She squeezed his shoulder, as if she sensed his lingering apprehension. “I’ll have Tina work on our joint statement. You will not be alone in this.”
“Right.”
“This is good. Closure.”
“Closure,” Samson repeated. He shifted, and his shoulders did feel lighter, like he’d shed a weight. “Back to your question, I’d be concerned if Chris was flirting with you to get to the company, but if he’s no longer in the running, and you want to, you should go out with him. If Rome is too far, we have Italian restaurants here.”
Annabelle mulled that over. “Yes, I was concerned he might have ulterior motives so I told him if I did date him, he would have to withdraw his offer for the business.”
“What did he say to that?”
His aunt blushed. “He said he didn’t come here for that anyway. I dismissed William during Chris’s presentation time slot and we simply chatted.”
Samson smiled. “Joe would have wanted you to be happy, more than anything.”
“I think so too.” Annabelle sat down at her desk, adjusting her shawl. She folded her hands on the table. “Back to business. That leaves Rhiannon and Peter.”
No, not Peter.
Samson waited. No need for him to say anything if Annabelle had already decided against Peter.
“I like Rhiannon,” she finally said. “For some bizarre reason, William has the most terrible impression of her. He’s a good executive, but not a good judge of character when it comes to women. He’s been married and divorced four times, you know, and I warned him each time that he wasn’t suited to any of those lovely ladies.”
“I like her too.”
“I know you do.” She paused. “You have a close relationship, don’t you?”
He remained silent and she smiled. “No need to answer. I know you do. Would you like me to tell you your match percentages?”
“Nope.”
“Very well.” Annabelle played with her pen. “On paper, Peter is the better choice. He’s offered more money than Rhiannon.”
“Counter Rhiannon.”
Annabelle steepled her hands in front of her face. “Why would I counter Rhiannon when I could just take Peter’s money?”
“Because you don’t want to do business with that man.” He braced himself, ready to launch into an argument that didn’t betray Rhiannon, but to his surprise, his aunt nodded.
“I agree. Something about how Rhiannon parted from Swype left a bad taste in my mouth. I dug harder and found some rumblings about Peter from a couple of women. One of those women got back to me today. Her story was . . .” She shook her head, distaste written across her face. “I directed her to a lawyer. I’m unimpressed with Peter.”
Samson tugged at his earlobe. Did Rhiannon know there were others Peter had treated poorly? Based on what she’d said, he didn’t think so. “What did you say to the woman? What were her allegations?”
Annabelle waved him away. “That’s private.”
“Okay.”
“If there’s anything you want to add, though . . .”
Samson bit the inside of his cheek. As much as he wanted to spill out Rhi’s story, he couldn’t do that without talking to her first.