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He walked over and picked up one of the cups of coffee. “Is this mine?”
When she nodded, he took a long, satisfied sip and then continued, “Yeah, same here. I couldn’t wait to get started on the plans. Even though I hadn’t even seen any of your thoughts or the photos of what you had in mind, I wanted to get a head start on taking measurements and mapping out the loadbearing walls and electrical. I wanted to already have a good idea of what would be logistically possible when we talked.”
“You see? That’s why you have a very good chance of being hired for this job. Your work ethic and preparation.”
He laughed. “I’m a front runner, huh?”
She pretended to waffle. “Well, I’m not really at liberty to get too deep into the negotiation process, but let’s just say you haven’t been counted out of the running yet.”
He set his coffee down and grabbed her up in his arms, spinning her around twice. When he set her feet back on the ground, he trailed his fingertips down her neck and looked into her eyes. “Well, maybe this can give me a little advantage.”
He kissed her, then, so softly and gently that it made her head spin with the sweetness of it. She snaked her arms around his neck and let her lips dance against his, her heart beating faster with every movement of fingers, lips, and tongue.
Finally, she drew back, breathless. “All right, fine. You’ve got the job.”
He smiled, giving her another quick kiss. “Good. I was pretty sure that would work. It was pretty effective when I used it with old man Carver when I bid on the hardware store job.”
She laughed so hard that she almost didn’t hear her phone ring. When the sound finally did cut through to her consciousness, she had to frantically dig in her bag to find it before the call got sent to voicemail. She swiped and answered without even looking at the caller ID on the screen.
“Hello?” Her voice was breathless as she answered.
“Oh, glad I caught you, darling. Were you up to some naughty shenanigans? Your voice sounds as if your hair is probably disheveled right now.”
Her cheeks colored. “Hello, Caroline. And, no I was just laughing.”
“Oh, is that what we’re calling it nowadays?” Caroline had always been able to make any comment sound so sophisticated merely by applying her dry intonation, and the effect it had on Alison was always to make her feel like a sloppy kid who’d just slammed through the kitchen door, sweaty from running outside, wearing overalls and muddy sneakers, her frizzy hair sticking out every which way. This time was no different. Alison immediately felt ashamed at the question, even though she’d been doing nothing wrong.
“What can I do for you, Caroline?”
“Darling, it’s what I can do for you.”
Uh-oh. Caroline had gone into uber agent mode. Alison had suspected that the emotional goodbye they’d had before Caroline’s trip to the airport wouldn’t be the last of things. That just wasn’t how Caroline operated. Alison was sure that no sooner had she gotten on the plane than she’d started scheming to figure out one last thing—one big, spectacular offer—that she could try to get Alison back into the fold. She wouldn’t have been at the top of her industry if her mind didn’t work like that, after all.
“Don’t bother with the hard sell. It’s me. I know all of your moves. Just tell me what you’ve cooked up.”
“Fine,” Caroline said pragmatically. “Just the facts. I understand you’re not in the right headspace to come back to New York or take on another role right now, but I was contacted by Ira Blumfeld and David Glass. They produce high-end concert series. They’d like to meet with you about the concept of building a tour around you. Very exclusive. Intimate venues. Three figure plus tickets. You’d write your own program, choose your own music. A truly spectacular opportunity.”
Despite herself, Alison felt her skin tingle at the possibility. This could be a chance to keep her hand in the industry without having to deal with all the darker parts of the job. It was intriguing.
“I’ll think about it,” she hedged.
“Don’t think too long. They’re in San Francisco next week, and they want to have dinner to discuss the deal.”
“I don’t know, that’s so fast, Caroline. I’ve got things going on here.”
“Things that are so important you can’t take two seconds to let the nice men wine and dine you? Come on, now, Alison. Don’t pass up on a great opportunity just because you’re being stubborn. Or lovesick. Or whatever it is.”
It was a decent point, she had to admit.
“Text me the details. I’ll do the dinner.”
“That’s what I like to hear!”
