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Why was he glancing at them?
As his stare returned, he said, “It means that a Spade can’t spearhead this project alone. If that happens, it’ll end up having a Spade feel and design. So, you’re going to have to partner with a Cole on this one to ensure both brands are represented.”
“No.” I gripped the edge of the table. “Fuck no.”
“This was decided before the merger took place, Cooper.” Walter’s voice was caustic, assuming that was so he’d get his point across. “It was one of the major elements that Ray and I discussed in great depth before we signed on that dotted line.” He leaned forward as though he were trying to get closer to me. “This build-out holds more weight than you can imagine”—he moved back, resting against his seat—“than any of you can imagine.”
My uncle wasn’t doing this to me.
He wouldn’t make me share when he knew this project was mine.
I ground my teeth together. “I’ll get it done the way both brands want me to. But I’m not working with Ridge or Rhett?—”
“Then, it’s a good thing you’ll be working with Rowan.” Walter linked his fingers on top of the table. “And there will be zero negotiation on that.”
EIGHTEEN
Rowan
“No,” Cooper barked at me as he looked at the blueprints I held in my hand, “we’re absolutely not going with your idea.” He shook his head as though he needed to emphasize his opinion even more. “Fuck no.”
I didn’t get easily frustrated. That was one of the traits my father appreciated about me the most and always complimented me on, which was a big deal for a man who didn’t give compliments. It was also one of the reasons he’d asked me to join his company since the moment I’d graduated college, hoping I’d, one day, cave and become part of the team. Cole International needed a balance due to all the hotheads who worked there.
That balance, in the short time I’d been employed, had become me.
And that was the reason, I assumed, I’d been partnered with Cooper for the Lake Louise build-out, along with the fact that Lake Louise was going to be the first property I’d be responsible for on my own.
But that was prior to the merger.
Everything was different now.
And as the two of us stood on the slice of land the newly joined company had purchased, facing the most magnificent body of water, a view I couldn’t stop admiring, I was beginning to lose my damn patience.
I didn’t care how incredibly handsome he looked in his dark gray peacoat, the collar high and framing today’s scruff that I swore had grown while we flew here, or how deep and gritty and enticing his voice was every time he snapped a reply.
Cooper looked ravishing, no matter where we were.
But returning here—at the place we’d met, almost the exact location, and the spot where all the feelings had started—there was something full circle and extra emotional about this specific visit.
I just wished he was making this a little easier on me.
I sighed. “Why?” I released a side of the poster-sized paper and traced the entire lot with my finger. “Because look right here. If we just maximize the space from the east, erecting the main building here, then we can?—”
“You’re not listening. I said no.”
No.
A word he’d been repeating since we’d climbed out of the backseat of the SUV and toured the land. It was during that walk-through, just moments ago, that I’d attempted to point out my ideas on design and layout, and every single one had been met with a negative reaction.
He didn’t want to listen to me.
He didn’t want to hear my plans.
He didn’t even want me around.
He’d made that very clear.
I didn’t think all these noes had anything to do with Cooper hating the concepts I had been coming up with—ideas that wereactually brilliant. It had everything to do with him having to share this project.
