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"I've seen your work, and it’s great. I'm here because I want your company to build a new office building for me. I want you to manage all aspects of the project."
“Okay, so yesterday you were talking about a buyout. Now, you want my company to build an office building,” she said with a question in her tone. She tilted her head to the side to look at me. “What are you really up to?”
“Fair points.” I threw my hands up in the air defensively. “I can see why you would be suspicious. Yes, I do want to buy out your company, but since you’re not selling, why not have the best in the business work for me?”
“I see…” she said. “Go on…”
I hoped she had taken the bait, but I couldn’t read her.
“How much will you charge to build an office duplex with eight offices?” I asked.
“The financial department will email a price quotation review to you so that we can get more details on the project. Then, someone from finance will send you a quote,” she said, “But that’s after me and my team have inspected the land, and we sit down and come up with the architectural plan for the site.”
“Building a duplex shouldn’t be that much work,” I said. “I have a budget for it, and it’s twenty thousand dollars. I won’t pay more than that. Do we have a deal?”
"We don't have a deal, Levine," she said, pronouncing my name so formally that I sat up in my chair. She sounded like the eighth-grade teacher that I hated. I would have to break her out of that. I came here to claim her, not to get owned. When her voice cut through my thoughts, she was saying, "I cannot determine the cost until I have seen the land. Besides, the accounting department is in charge of giving quotes. But I must say your budget is very low. Don’t you want the best? If you’re going to work with me, you need to trust M&M to give you only the best. With your budget, we can't do that."
“Alright, we can talk about the amount later,” I digressed, knowing I would pay whatever amount her team quoted. Damn, how did she make me change my mind so quickly? I must’ve wanted her really bad.
"Okay, give me your business card, and my assistant will give your assistant a call to schedule site inspection," she replied. "When I see the site, we can go over the other details. We have great architects here in the firm, but we can also work with your architectural plans if you have them already."
"I want you to—” I stopped and shifted gears. “—to have dinner wi
th me.”
"I can’t do that, Mr. Levine. If I have dinner with all my clients, we wouldn’t be able to get any work done," she said, brushing my proposal off like people brush lint off clothes. “If you have any questions, we can discuss them in the office.”
“I want to talk about it over dinner, and I’ll bring my plans with me.”
“No, I’d prefer to do it at the site or here in my office.”
“Just one dinner, Mira. It’ll give us time to get to know the person we’re going to be working with.”
“You are persistent, Mr. Levine. That much is clear,” she said, her expression holding steadfast to deny me again. “I’m sure that’s why you’re as successful as you are,” she added. “But—”
“Ward,” I corrected.
"Ward," she repeated.
“Will you?”
“It would be best if we kept things in a professional setting,” she admitted.
“Professionals discuss business over dinner all the time. Besides, if I like doing business with you, there will be many more projects like this to come,” I said, leaning forward in my chair to look at her steady gaze. Her brown eyes bore into me, heating every part of me. “It’s just one meal together.”
She blew out a warm breath that wafted over her desk, and I grabbed ahold of it, inhaling it in through my nostrils. It filled me with a desire to kiss her again, but it would’ve been a mistake. Just as I thought about violating her lips with mine, she said, "Fine, you choose the restaurant, and I will be there, but it's not a date." Then, she leaned back in her chair and glared at me.
"Yes, just dinner," I said, smiling.
"Would you like anything to drink while we go over a few more details? Coffee or water?" she asked.
"Are you on the menu?” I asked.
"Gosh!" She groaned, rolling her brown eyes. "You’re about to make me call the dinner off,” she said in a pitch a bit higher than before. “Do you ever get tired of being a playboy?"
“I’m not a playboy. I’m a single man who’s dating until I find the right one,” I argued.
“Big difference,” she said and punched in a number on the telephone on her desk. "Georgiana, can you inform Tim that I’m around? Thanks.” She disconnected the call and turned to me. “I'm sorry, there's a meeting I have to attend. Do you have any more questions for me, Mr. Levine?” she asked in a formal tone. I couldn’t wait to fuck the formalities out of her vocabulary.
