She rolled her eyes again. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Pretty much.” He laughed. What had his grandmother once said? One person’s squabbling was another one’s dancing? His going around with McKenna proved the saying. “What do we do about Ginny wanting me at weddings and receptions?”
“I wish I knew. It’s only for a few weeks.”
“Easy for you to say since you’re used to not having a weekend.”
“I have two days off together. That’s a weekend. It’s merely different days.”
“If you spray perfume on a cow pie all you get is perfumed manure, and it doesn’t really smell better.”
Her nose crinkled. “Thanks for making me imagine what that would smell like, but I understand your point. Getting Monday off isn’t a fair trade for working Saturday. What do you suggest?”
She admitted he was right twice within minutes? Since he hadn’t hit his head, maybe he should worry the four horsemen had saddled up.
“We declare a truce and make the best of this.” The voice sounded like his, but how could those words have come from him? He thought for a minute but came to the same conclusion. “We don’t have another choice.”
“That sounds great on a theoretical level, but how do we translate it into concrete day-to-day working together?”
Damn. He thought they’d finished with their discussion, but McKenna had to know details. Scraping his knuckles across his chin as he pretended to ponder her question, he waited a minute. “We’ll take it as we go, and deal with issues as they arise.”
She shook her head before he finished speaking. “Oh, no, we won’t. We tried that. It was a disaster.”
What the hell? That line never failed with his designer team. They nodded, smiled, and said sounded good. But then none of them wanted to corner the market on control.
“We need to find middle ground we can both live with.”
“Middle ground? I doubt we could find it with a tape measure.”
She started laughing, but then tried to hold it in and snorted.
“Guess you like that one,” he said, and McKenna leveled him with a fierce stare, but he smiled. “After you’ve snorted, a glare can’t intimidate me.”
“Do you want me to share my idea or not?”
He chuckled one last time. “I’m done and ready to listen.”
“We kind of tried this when you first took over, but what if you defer to my judgment at weddings, receptions, and client meetings? Even in situations like the one with Campbell.”
“I have a couple conditions. One, if I strongly disagree with a decision, we discuss it.” She nodded and he continued. “Two, no dumping all the clogged toilets, mopping up barf, and every other disgusting task on me.”
“I never ask anyone to do something I’m unwilling to do, but I agree to your stipulations.”
He’d expected her to negotiate. Miracles happened. “I handle all remaining aspects of the business.”
“I’d like the authority to purchase small office items like pens.” When he nodded, she said, “Wow. We did that without a ruler or a labor negotiator.”
“We ready for AJ’s return?”
Her eyes darkened. What had he forgotten?
“There is one issue left. It has to do with the socializing.”
“You mean my personal life?”
“That’s another way to put it.” McKenna picked at the seam of her black slacks. “I know you disagree, but I’ve seen socializing with guests or the wedding party while coordinating a wedding cause serious problems.”
He believed she had his grandmother’s best interests in mind and could be she had a point, but he refused to completely cave. “Let’s meet halfway again. I won’t make the first move, but if a woman hits on me, I’m free to liven the night up with a little harmless flirting and date her after the wedding.”
