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We round the corner to Mr. Reynolds' office. Deacon smiles at her, and then he looks at me, and my stomach is weirdly fluttery. Is this going to happen every time he’s around? "Thank you, Harper."
I nod and then look at Sasha and smile, "It was nice meeting you." She smiles back at me, warming my heart.
Deacon hugs his daughter and kisses her forehead. "Be a good girl, and do as Grandpa says, okay? Harper and I need to have a meeting with Grandma, and then we'll be back."
Sasha glances at her grandpa and then looks back up at her dad. "Promise?"
"I promise."
"Okay."
The little girl walks over to her grandpa's side, and he wraps her up in a big hug. "Bye Harper," she chirps, waving goodbye as Deacon leads me away.
As soon as we're out of the room, Deacon grabs my hand. He's caught me off guard, alerting my defenses. I yank it from his grip and hold it up to my chest like it was scalded by his touch.
"I'm not going to bite, Harper," Deacon says, frowning at me. "We're not going back to how things were in high school. Let's just behave professionally here. I'm your boss, and you're an employee. This is about the resort."
I wipe my hand on my shirt, straighten my spine, and force my lips to curve into a smile. "Sure thing, Mr. Reynolds. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do have some work to do."
I try to step away, but the man is quicker and more agile than his burly, muscular body would lead me to expect. His arms pin me against the wall on either side. His body leans in so closely that I'm immobilized, trying desperately to ignore the musclesthat flex everywhere. If this was a movie scene, our proximity might hint at a passionate first kiss. But that's not going to happen because he's the worst.
Right? Yes. The worst.
Who cares about muscles that protrude through fabric? Not me. I feel nothing but anger. Nothing at all.
"Please don't be sarcastic with me, Harper. Are we going to have to go through this every day? Do I have to demand respect?"
Why does he say that and look at my lips at the same time?
Remember, we are angry and frustrated.
Go.
"Am I supposed to feel threatened?" I laugh and roll my eyes, ducking under his arms until I'm away from the invisible magnet that seemed to be holding me in place.
"All right, then," he spins and locks eyes with me. "Let's take this up the food chain then, shall we?"
Chapter four
DEACON
"I don't have a meeting with your mother on my calendar," Harper complains, struggling to keep pace with me as I walk away from my father's office. I can feel my jaw clench so hard it hurts.
I'm not sure what Harper's problem with me is, but I'm not going to sit here and take it. Sure, we were rivals in high school, but that was ten years ago. If she has a problem with me, she's going to have to get past it.
The second she saw me walk into her office this morning, she went on the defensive. She’s kept the smile on her face that I swear has been there since high school, but it doesn't fool me. The set of her shoulders and the look in her eyes lets me know she's preparing for a fight.
Nothing I've said so far has been right. I don't know what makes her think I'm not up for this, but she should know me better than that. I never back down.
"We need to get the pecking order straight," I inform her. "You seem to have it in your head that you know more than I do, but you forget, I have an MBA. When it comes to this kind of business, I'm going to be a whole lot more than useful. If it takes you hearing as much from my mother, so be it."
"Seriously? You're going to tattle on me to your mommy? I guess things haven't changed after all. You’re just as immature as you were growing up.”
"I'll do whatever I need to do."
"Whatever gets you your way? Whatever puts you on top?"
"In the end, yes."
