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“I think so.”
“We should set the kid up on a date with her. You think of anyone else who has a daughter or granddaughter?”
Chris folded his arms across his chest, one hand rubbing his chin. “I think Charlie has a niece.”
Otto snapped his fingers. “And there’s that guy who comes in after work on Wednesday with his buddies. Frank—”
“Johnson,” Chris finished for him.
Facing Erik, Otto patted him again. “Don’t worry, kid. Come back tomorrow night and we’ll have a date set up for you. We’ll get you rolling.”
Erik sat up tall, an incredulous but happy look on his face. “Thank you,” he said in a heartfelt tone.
The old man nodded. “It’s what we do here, isn’t it, Chris?”
“Damn straight.” Chris held out his fist and bumped Otto’s.
“Now.” Otto turned to Jamie and Didier. “What’s your stories?”
“Jamie has a woman,” Didier said with a casual shrug.
Chris snorted at that. Jamie decided he’d wisely just sip his drink.
“And you?” Otto asked Didier.
A peculiar look crossed Didier’s face before he adopted his usual carefree expression. “I am French. I have many women,non?”
That something wasn’t right with Didier niggled him again. Jamie frowned. If they were on their own, he’d have pushed Didier to tell them what was going on.
But Erik was clearly enjoying Otto’s presence. He’d seen how comfortable and solicitous the kid had been with Lottie, and the kid was the same with Otto. It gave him hope—if Erik could be convivial and at ease with older people, then there was no reason he couldn’t be that way with girls.
Chris leaned in closer to him. “So you have a woman, huh?”
He met the man’s eyes. “Is this where you threaten my bollocks?”
“Nah, your bollocks are safe.” Chris paused a moment, as if in debate with himself. Then he said, “Rachel is wonderful, but sometimes she’s a little too accommodating with people, if you know what I mean?”
He believed he did. “Like with her ex?”
“That fucker. He took advantage of her, but she let him. Sometimes she’s just too nice.”
Too nice—kind of like Erik. He needed to remember that. “I wouldn’t take advantage of her.” The last thing he wanted was for Rachel to be less than she was.
Chris nodded. “I know that. But she may need some encouragement to stay true to herself. She gets lost in those she loves. She thinks she’s helping them, but really she’s just keeping herself busy so she’s not worried about what’s wrong in her own life.”
He looked Chris in the eyes. “I understand.”
The man studied him for a long, silent moment before relaxing. He nodded and held out his fist. “I believe you do.”
Jamie bumped his fist. He returned his attention to the conversation the boys were having with Otto, but his mind was on what Chris had told him regarding Rachel and how it was going to manifest between them.
Eleven
There was only one word for the presentation: WINNING. And, modestly speaking, Rachel knew it was all due to her.
Not that the rest of the team hadn’t shown up for it. The importance of locking down the account had been impressed on all of them. But since Rachel had added incentive, she drove the meeting.
Unfortunately, on top of that, she’d stepped on Hailey’s toes.
