“We’re at ninety percent,” she said.
“I’d say ninety-five.”
“That’s not a hundred.”
“Meredith.” He gave her a look. “When in your life has anything been a hundred percent certain?”
“My Revit calculations. My permit applications. My?—”
“Your professional certainty is noted and admired. I meant in life.”
She propped against the stack of drywall sheets and looked around at the framed rough lumber and open sky—no walls, no finishes, just the bones of something that would someday be beautiful. Wires and ducts and PVC and a pile of drywall—the most unromantic setting imaginable.
And Connor McCarthy standing in the middle of it, looking at her with concern, determination, and the most gorgeous brown eyes she’d ever seen.
“We need to build the case,” she said, because it was easier than saying what she was actually thinking. “We’ll go through every invoice. Document the gauge discrepancy. Cross-reference the billing against the specs for every house where these contractors have done work.”
“I can do that,” he said without a second’s hesitation. “I can’t believe Vance wouldn’t expect us to catch him.”
“Us?Kiddoand her one-armed dental student sidekick?”
He laughed at that. “He underestimated us.”
“So bad. How long will it take to pull all the numbers, bids, and proof?” she asked.
“Maybe a week? We’ll have to fly under Vance’s radar, maybe work at night.”
She didn’t hate that idea, but just nodded, considering the schedule and what they were getting themselves into. “We should think about how to present this,” she said.
“Publicly,” he replied. “So Vance can’t worm out of it. Greg Hollister called a quarterly update for next week. Wednesday, I think. That’s enough time for us and you can take out ol’ Vance in front of his boss.”
She winced. “I didn’t come here to wreck a guy’s life, but…”
“But Vance would have no such qualms…kiddo.”
“You’re right,” she agreed. “But let’s not say anything to my dad yet. Let’s get to ninety-nine-point-nine percent certainty and present it tomybig boss. He has to make the call on what to do with the information and when.”
“Knowing Eli? He’ll do whatever is the right thing.”
“Absolutely.” She sighed. “His moral compass is straight as an arrow, but this is a massive project and if we end up losing it? That would be a hard hit to Acacia. We’ve hired two more people in Atlanta, and they might have to be let go. The stakes are high, Connor. We can’t mess up. We can’t be wrong.”
They both thought about that, walking side by side toward the wide-open back of the house. Standing in what would someday be a family’s beautiful lakeside lanai, they didn’t say a word.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” she finally whispered.
“For following the stink?”
She smiled. “For being so much more than I expected. For being…” She rooted for the right word that didn’t give away her feelings, but everything would sound like flirting. “More.” Shegave a smile at the weak description. “I guess I underestimated you, too.”
He turned to her and put a light hand on her shoulder, guiding her around to face him. “Where are we, Mer? I mean, percentage-wise.”
She gazed up at him, at the light on his strong features and the invitation in his eyes. “Eighty percent?” she said, lightly enough to keep it funny and not as serious as she felt right then.
“What do I need to get to…” He swallowed and pinned her with his gaze. “The first kiss?”
Her heart tumbled around helplessly.
“Ninety?” he guessed. “’Cause I could get you there pretty easily.”
