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Ella piped up. “We have some construction guys who move back and forth. They’re like temporary employees.”
“I’d like their names, too,” Savvy said.
“And there’s Sean Ingles. He’s our architect,” Sylvie said. “He works out of his home, and he’s not exclusive to Bancroft Development, but he designed most of the houses at the bluff.”
“Can you alert Mr. Russo that I’m coming tomorrow?” Savannah asked.
Kristina sighed. “Can’t you put it off? Or let someone else go?”
Savvy met Hale’s eyes, and though she was careful not to reveal her thoughts, he was pretty sure she was silently thinking, See what I mean?
“You might as well talk to DeWitt, too,” Declan said with a snort. “He’s the nincompoop who okayed building on the bluff in the first place. Cost us a fortune! Should be criminal charges against him.”
“DeWitt lives in the Portland area,” Hale allowed. “As I said, he was the project engineer. We let him go after the problems with Bancroft Bluff surfaced.”
“Fired his ass,” Declan said. Then his neck turned red with embarrassment. Hale knew his grandfather was old school enough not to want to swear in front of the women. Which just went to show you how deep-down furious he was with DeWitt. Not that Hale was happy with the man, but it was all water under the bridge now.
“Are we good here, then?” Hale asked Savannah, who nodded and thanked him again. Sylvie returned to her office, and Ella to her desk, and Declan, after a moment, said he was going to get his things from his office before heading toward the elevator.
When Savannah had gathered her jacket and was saying good-bye to Kristina, Hale retraced his steps to his office, lost in thought, and it was only when Kristina suddenly appeared in his office doorway again that he thought to ask her why she’d come.
“Can’t I stop by and just visit my husband?” she asked, moving inside.
“You never have before.”
“Well, maybe I’m turning over a new leaf. We need to be together more now, Hale. You know?”
She gazed at him somewhat anxiously, and Hale shook his head. “Because of the baby?”
“Well, of course, because of the baby. And for us, too.” She actually came around his desk and sat herself on his lap. It was so unusual that Hale just stared at her in disbelief. “Don’t look at me that way. Don’t you want to get closer?”
“Can we talk about this at home?” He glanced at the pile of papers on his desk, though his mind was still on the meeting with Savannah.
“Kiss me,” she demanded.
“Kristina . . .”
“You just don’t know how to be romantic!” she declared, jumping up from his lap and stalking across the room. “I want you to sweep me off my feet. Make my knees go weak. Just undo me.”
He lifted his hands, palms up, at a complete loss. “Since when?”
“Fuck you, Hale,” she snapped, and to his shock, there were tears standing in her eyes. “I need help. We need help, and all you do is stand there and stare at me like I’m completely mad!”
“This isn’t who we are, Kristina.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“If you want something different in our relationship, I’ll sure as hell give it the old college try, but I can’t go from zero to sixty that fast.”
She shot across the room, back to him, leaning over his desk urgently. “I can. I can get hot so fast, it’s like . . . record-breaking.”
“Since when?” he wanted to ask, but said instead, “Okay . . .”
“Could you try to meet me halfway? Just try?”
“Well, tonight I’ve got a meeting with—”
“Break it. Come home. Make love to me, and let’s put some heat back in this marriage.”
