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“I know the CEO over there, and he owes me a favor. How would you like to co-host our historic preservation series? We’re just about ready to start taping, and National Geographic is going to pick up the first season.”
Stunned, I sat there with my mouth open, the men looking at me, waiting for my answer.
“Back up,” I said, my squeaky voice barely audible. “Who? What?”
“Did you notice what this company does?” Randy asked me.
“Ah, no! I just got here forty minutes ago.” That wasn’t exactly true. I’d read about them saving New York architecture when I Googled Randy’s name.
I was getting testy. We’d just met, and he’d basically abandoned me within the first ten minutes and was now trying to control my life. I also knew I was being unreasonable. I was the one who had interrupted his day and expected him to drop everything.
He cackled, placing his big hand on my shoulder. “You’re right, Laura. I apologize. You don’t know me from Adam. But Ryan here will tell you I never let an idea simmer. The minute I get one, I put it into action, and if it’s viable, it succeeds, and if not, we’ll know right away and move on to the next thing. It’s why I’m successful. I have a nose for these things.”
“What do you mean about me co-hosting?”
“The original owner of this company was a pioneer in the preservation of historic buildings in Manhattan. Ryan here,” he gestured at Ryan with his hand outstretched, “found all of his original plans, blueprints, you name it, for enough buildings that still stand that we could go on for years and never exhaust the material he collected.
“Your job, along with Ryan’s, would be to host the show. That’s it. The researchers and producers find the stories with vintage photographs, the writers write the script. You both would do voiceovers and taped interviews, go on tours of the existing building, that kind of thing.”
“I have a master’s degree in criminal justice, Randy. It didn’t prepare me for a career in front of the camera.”
“You are a shoo-in,” Randy said, shaking his head. “I’m so excited, I’m about to explode. What do you think, Ryan? Look at the two of you side by side. I mean, wow! People will tune in just to watch you together. Now to find out if the chemistry translates to the camera.” He slapped his hand on his knee, laughing.
Ryan just smirked.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, seething.
Ryan switched his finger back and forth between the two of us. “There’s chemistry,” he said. “Your father is simply acknowledging it, even though it’s kind of creepy.”
“Ha! I see something, and I have to capitalize on it, that’s all,” Randy said. “You two look so perfect, and I sensed right away that something good is going to happen for you, together.”
Ryan and I looked at each other, and it was almost like my father was trying to force us to be attracted to each other by the power of suggestion for the good of the business. He was great at planting seeds. That made me leery.
I’d never had a serious boyfriend, and I didn’t want one now. Ryan was attractive, but I was afraid of him. And if there was even a hint of attraction, I’d fight it for all I was worth now that I’d be working with the guy, if I chose to.
I didn’t know Randy, even if he was my father. I could see why my mother had waited to tell him he had a child until I could fight him off myself.
He had offered me what might be a chance of a lifetime. But was that what I wanted? I was intrigued.
“I appreciate it, but what about my job in security?”
“Will you let me take care of that? I’ll make sure the door is left open for you to return when the project is finished.”
“I need to think about it,” I said, not used to submitting so easily. I had my life arranged, and now it was being disrupted. Letting someone else change my plans, even if he was my father, albeit a stranger, would be a new experience requiring more trust than I felt at that moment.
“You can take all the time you want. Ryan, I know you have to sign off on something, so go for it, but when you’re done, will you go over everything with Laura?”
“Of course,” he said, nodding. He left Randy and me alone, at last.
“I cleared my schedule for us today. Are you up for it?” Randy asked.
“It’s why I’m here,” I said, wondering what else he could have in store for me.
“First things first. Crystal said you were staying at the Y.”
“No, I’m at the Horizon.”
“Same thing. We’ll change that right away. I own a building in Midtown that is close to both this office and the medical center if you decide to go that route. Do you want to look at it?”
