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“My niece is in town for the rest of the summer and I wondered if she could shadow you for a couple weeks. Observe a businesswoman in action.”
Harper, the oldest of the three women by a year, was Ross Fontaine’s only legitimate child. She had the training and the ambition to take over for her grandfather when he stepped down in two years. Harper’s mother came from old East Coast money and had insisted her daughter be raised in New York City and educated at an Ivy League school. Her style was elegant and professional, from her smooth chignon to her black designer pumps.
“You’re the perfect role model,” he finished.
“The perfect role model,” Scarlett echoed, her throaty voice rich with laughter. “The ultimate professional.”
Logan glared at her, realizing he’d laid it on a bit thick. But the task his sister and brother-in-law had handed him was outside of Logan’s expertise.
“I’d love to help,” Harper retorted. “As soon as the hotel opens.”
“I was hoping you could start showing her the ropes sooner.”
“I don’t know how I can....” Harper sent a hopeful look in Scarlett’s direction. “What about you?”
“My schedule is wide-open,” Scarlett said, her gaze as steady and watchful as a psychiatrist’s. “I’d be happy to help.”
This was not at all what Logan had in mind. His relationship with Harper was professional and cordial. What happened between him and Scarlett could only be called acrimonious. His niece was already a troublesome seventeen-year-old. Under Scarlett’s influence, the girl would become completely unmanageable.
“Unless Logan doesn’t think I’m role-model material,” Scarlett continued when he didn’t immediately jump on her offer. Her ability to read his mind with unnerving accuracy gave her an unwelcome advantage over him.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Harper appeared oblivious to her sister’s subtext. “Besides, your hotel is operational. She’ll get a much better sense of how things run. Now, if you two will excuse me, I have an internationally famous pain in the ass to meet with.”
Logan stared after Harper, cursing his bad timing. He should never have brought up his problem within earshot of Scarlett.
“Tell me about your niece,” Scarlett prompted.
“I don’t need your help.” Being subtle was not the way to handle Scarlett.
“No,” she said in a sugarcoated tone, “you don’t want my help.” She added coffee to her cup, lifted the rim to her mouth and blew across the
surface. “There’s a difference.”
Captivated by the small O formed by her bright red lips, he took far too long to respond to her gibe. “Very well,” he agreed. “I don’t want your help.”
“How old is she?”
Logan took a couple seconds to grind his teeth. Despite being trapped between frustration with his niece and the woman sitting across the table from him, he told her what she wanted to know. “Madison is seventeen. She’s my sister’s youngest.” And in the past three months had driven Paula and her husband, Randolph, past the edge of patience.
“Madison? As in the capital of Wisconsin?”
“As in Madison Avenue.” Logan winced. “Her father owns a large ad agency in New York City.”
And Paula was a partner in a prestigious law firm. Madison had inherited both brains and ambition from her parents. She’d graduated second in her class and had been accepted to four prestigious universities. If she’d wanted, she could’ve swiftly climbed any corporate ladder she chose. Instead, to both her parents’ horror, the teenager had decided to become an actress.
“And he’s hoping she’ll follow in his footsteps? From your sour expression I’m guessing that’s not what she wants to do.”
“She’s refusing to go to college. She turns eighteen in two weeks and is determined to move to L.A.”
Scarlett’s curiosity sharpened. “What’s wrong with L.A.?”
“It’s not the city, it’s her chosen career path.”
“Instead of me dragging it out of you one question at a time, why don’t you just tell me what’s really going on. And why you wanted her to shadow Harper.”
Sharing family troubles with outsiders went against the grain, but he desperately needed help. Anyone’s help. Even Scarlett’s.
“Madison ran away to Los Angeles over spring break. She’s determined to become an actress.”
