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Did Joy believe Mark’s story? She couldn’t decide. He was a nice guy, but he was also a businessman looking out for his bottom line. Was he interested in opening a store at her mall, or was he also interested in taking over her mall? That was what she needed to answer. He was a smooth talker, a type she tended not to trust, but he was also a nice guy. She would need to visit with him again before she could decide his true intentions.

“Well, he’s right that Snowcap Ridge is a small town and generally not a market for Harrington and Vale, but I agree that his people should have sent the information to him regardless, especially given Van Adler Holdings as a whole.”

“If that’s their litmus test for deciding where to open stores, I have to wonder what opportunities they’ve missed because they ‘weren’t interested,’” she said, using air quotes.

“Well, now he’s interested,” Kian said. “He was impressed by the numbers you shared, so he’ll take a close look at the proposal. Since the infrastructure is already in place for his type of store, he knows that moving into the spot will be considerably easier than starting from scratch.”

“When Linden’s went under and the entire company was liquidated, they simply forgot about our mall. We called and emailed so many times, but we never received a response,” Joy said, frustration lacing the words.

“I’m not surprised. That entire situation was a total shit show. Since they broke the lease during the liquidation, they probably figured it was better to leave everything behind than to try to load it all up and deal with an auction.”

“Yeah, because they wanted us to pay for all of that,” she said with an angry grunt. “In the end, I sold most of the unnecessary fixtures.”

“All while keeping a close eye on who might lease the space and what they’d need to make it seamless. That’s what so many GMs don’t do. They don’t anticipate changes that could make or break them. You do that even better than my mother did,” Kian said, filling Joy with a warm glow. Not because she believed she was better at business than Lorelei, but because he thought she was.

“That part has everything to do with how I grew up and nothing to do with business school. I never got rid of anything I thought we were done with, on the off chance we might need it again. If I hadn’t anticipated and planned for changes in Dad’s disease, we never would have survived. As it was, we sometimes relied on charities to get us through the month. I did what I could to work, but my father refused to let me quit school. Combined with my disability, my options were limited.”

“That explains why you’re better at it than my mother or me. We never had to do that, and it shows.”

“Did you get a vibe from Mark about our chances?” Joy asked, just to get him off the topic of her childhood. “I don’t know him well enough to read him. You do.”

Kian’s laughter filled the car as he pulled down the lane toward Riverlight Park. “I’m not sure I know him that well, at least not when it comes to how he makes decisions about his stores. But I will say, the fact that he came back to talk to me while I was waiting for your drink is a good sign. He asked a few more questions, ones I could thankfully answer, and sang your praises for several verses.”

“Oh, stop,” she said, shaking her head as she dropped her empty cup into the cup holder.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Kian asked as she turned to him and he pulled into a parking space. “Get what?”

His smile told her she’d just made his point. “This is what I love about you.”

Okay, she wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole. It’s a common phrase, Joy, she reminded herself. Everyone uses it.

“You don’t see how good you are at your job,” he clarified. “If you weren’t such a hands-on GM, you wouldn’t have been able to answer every question he asked off the cuff without any preparation. You rattled off figures and trends I didn’t even know. I assure you, having worked with the GMs at the other malls, I know they couldn’t do that. I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll be getting a job offer from him this week.”

“What? Why? I have a job,” Joy said, perplexed by his statement.

“Yes, you do, but Mark is the kind of guy who, when he spots natural talent in this industry, wants it.”

“Well, he can’t have it. I’m not leaving Snowcap Ridge Outlet Mall. That’s my home. I don’t give a hoot about Middleburg.”

That’s when a smile cracked Kian’s lips. “You might change your mind when you see the number of zeros that could come with that job offer.”

“Nope,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance. “Not a chance. Unless you fire me, I’m not leaving. Money is one thing, but integrity and dedication are another. I don’t need the first, but I live by the other two. Your mother taught me that.”

“Maybe when it came to business,” Kian said, twisting to face her. “But I think your dad probably taught you that lesson about life.”

“Very true,” Joy agreed, pulling on her gloves. She had no desire to leave the warm car, but for some reason, seeing the tree was important to him, so she’d go, since he’d finally given her a shot at Harrington and Vale. Did she hate that it took a man to do that? Yes. Did she hate it enough to turn down the opportunity? Clearly not.

“And for the record, firing you would never happen, so hearing you say you’re not going anywhere is a relief. Snowcap Ridge Outlet Mall wouldn’t be what it is without you. Though, if you keep turning a profit hand over fist every year, I might snatch you for my own and hold you hostage at Van Adler Holdings so I can learn all your secrets.”

Eyeing him, Joy wondered if the snatching part would include an invitation to his bed, because the way he looked today had her hot and bothered since he’d walked into her office. He wore a pinstriped suit that was clearly worth a million bucks. Her first thought was how much she wanted to strip it off him, piece by piece, to reveal what was underneath. She’d gotten enough of a glimpse from his Santa suit changes to know he’d kept working out even after he’d quit playing sports. Yes, Kian in a pinstriped suit could probably drag all her secrets from her.

“Snatching isn’t required. You can pick my brain any time if you think it will help, but I’ll tell you, it’s not as much about my business acumen as it is about my—”

“Personality,” Kian said with a nod. “I’ve certainly learned that over the last few weeks. When I walked into Snowcap Ridge, I had ideas about what you were doing and why it was working, but I was wrong. Yes, you’re doing some of the things I had in mind, but they work better for you than for others because of how you do them. As sad as it is to say this, I know that can’t be replicated. Either you have it, or you don’t. You have it; the others don’t. At least not to the extent you do.”

Smiling, Joy dropped her gaze to her lap. “Thank you for stroking my ego, but I just see myself doing my job and loving the people I work with every day.” She glanced at the clock and frowned. “Wow, I didn’t realize how long we chatted with Mark. Did we miss the tree lighting? There’s hardly anyone here.”

“It looks like we did. It’s already past seven, but the discussion with Mark was too important to cut short. The tree is just up that path. You can see its glow from here.”