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Chapter 24
February 2, 2010 | Filed Under River | Leave a Comment
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Oliver’s mouth hung wide open as he held the check, rubbing the paper between his index finger and thumb.
$250,000.
River nursed Naomi in her lap. “She wants to invest. I guess the idea of a green shop-at-home catalog company isn’t so crazy after all…”
Oliver said nothing. The only sound in the room was Naomi’s soft swallows.
“When does she want repayment?”
“We haven’t discussed the details yet. We’ll get together next week.”
Oliver’s face changed from happy and shocked to worried. He handed the check back to River and turned toward the kitchen sink.
Naomi had now fallen asleep. River brushed dark strands of wild hair out of her baby’s face.
“What is it?”
Oliver turned around slowly.
“Dawn owns a multi-million dollar company with international distribution. How can you be sure she’s going to be…-”
“Fair? Because she’s one of my dearest friends.”
River tried to push down the feelings of disappointment, annoyance, and worst of all, fear as she slowly stood up and placed Naomi on a pile of soft cotton blankets in the living room. She stared at her sleeping child laying peacefully amongst the bold currant, mango orange, and blood red prints of fabric. It had been nine years since she’d purchased them while wandering alone in an Istanbul bazaar. A few crumpled Turkish lira for two armfuls of blankets.
Why couldn’t all transactions be so simple?
She knew Oliver was right. He knew that she understood by her silence.
Ten minutes later she was in front of her computer Googling “business partner contracts” feeling like anyone but herself. Her intense discomfort grew as she clicked through stories of deals gone bad and how to protect oneself from a crooked agreement.
She pictured her old friend’s face in her heart and slammed the laptop shut. No.
“If I’m going to do business, I’ll do it my way,” she whispered semi-audibly and was only partly surprised when the walls seemed to answer with a sarcastic, “Good luck”.
