Emma rolled her eyes and he gave her his huge Hollywood smile in reply.
"Chase!" Charles's very professional voice said. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you."
"Well, I'm actually here with Emma—"
"Hi, Mr. Dickson."
"I know we're both supposed to check in with you today, so I figured we would do it together."
He heard Charles clear his throat on the other end of the line. "That's fine. Let me get the file pulled up." There was some rustling of papers and clicking of a mouse. "So let's check the charge card balance first."
Charles started to run down the costs of their dinner the night before, and Chase could tell that this was going to be a tough slog.
"Why was this dinner so expensive?" he asked.
"I got a fancy hamburger," Emma replied.
"You also had an expensive dress, and there are charges on here for some sort of services."
"I paid extra to have my hair and make-up done."
Charles made some dismissive sound on the other end of the line, which Chase did not care for. At all.
"And I will tell you that Emma was absolutelystunning last night," Chase said. "It was nice to see her put an effort into her look for the dinner we shared as part of our time together."
He tried to emphasize the "together" part for Charles, but when he looked across the desk at Emma, he realized that he was really saying all of that for her. He was rewarded by the slight flush in Emma's cheeks as she gave him a small smile and looked away. Yeah, those compliments landed exactly where he wanted them to land.
"Well, I guess that's fine."
Charles didn't sound convinced, which made Chase a little nervous about what he was going to say next.
"So listen, Emma and I came up with a plan to spend some more money, but I'm assuming we'll need your approval." Chase looked up to see Emma's brown eyes of hers stared back at him with concern. He was honestly a little worried too. "I have a guest house on my property that I've been thinking about renting out, and I feel that Emma would make a wonderful tenant."
"No."
Emma took a deep breath and stared down at the speaker phone. "Mr. Dickson, all of my possessions are either in a storage locker or my car because the house I was living in was put up for sale after you and that lawyer gave it to my father."
"If I recall correctly, your grandmother gave it to your father, which she had to do as part of her divorce settlement."
"Irregardless." Chase scrunched up his face in frustration. That wasn't a real word, but he would have to roll with it. "Emma is in need of housing, and I have available housing. So I can provide her this housing for the next month at a market rate that I'm sure you will find suitable."
Apparently, playing a real estate agent a few years ago in that horrible movie that shall not be named still paid off when Chase needed to sound like a professional businessman.
It also seemed to have impressed Emma, who was staring at him with a look that was both bemusement and bewilderment. He could tell that she still wasn't sure of this plan, but it was the best offer she had for now and it would help her reach her goal. But he needed her to play along.
Chase gestured to the phone, wordlessly pleading for her to come along with him, and she got the hint.
"Uh, yes," she stammered. "This would solve my housing issue, and I'm sure Chase's rate for the rent will be acceptable to you."
Charles was silent on the other end of the line, and Chase was starting to get worried that the stupid finance guy wouldn't agree to any of this.
"It would also help Emma and I be closer for this project."
He watched as Emma shifted a bit uncomfortably in the chair, and he couldn't blame her. Because yes, it would be easier to coordinate things with her to help her spend this money ifthey were around each other more. But that also meant they would be around each other more. Emma had finally started to warm up to him a little last night, but he could tell she still saw him as the enemy.
But it was also the whole physically having her that close to him that could cause issues. Either they would work together in close physical proximity and get Emma this money, or she would freak out and push herself away from him even more.
He watched Emma fidget with her hands clasped in her lap and wonder if it was going to be the latter that would happen. Would Emma push away from him at a time when she needed to work together with him?
