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“I read through the entire thing this afternoon, and there’s only one spot that spoke about employee fraternization.”
Well shit. I didn’t expect her to look it up. Does she want to go on a date with that boy from downstairs that badly? Irritation bubbles up inside me as I take a large swallow of the bourbon in my glass. “You don’t say.”
“Yes, and it says that only supervisors and their direct reports are subject to the non-fraternization clause. It doesn’t pertain to other employees. I thought I should let you know. After all, you are the CEO. I want to make sure you’re up to date on your own policies.” There’s a twinkle in her eye that says she’s teasing me and, while I shouldn’t, I absolutely love it. When was the last time someone challenged me?
“It’s been a while since I’ve read the handbook. There must have been a change.” I avert my gaze, eager to move on from this topic. “Let’s go over what we need to work on this evening.”
She again smiles, like she knows what it does to me, and nods. I shovel a bite of pasta into my mouth, giving me a moment to collect my thoughts before I continue. “So, you’ve heard about the Santa Cruz property that we’ll be purchasing?” I gesture to the mockup that I brought into my office after our hallway encounter this afternoon.
“Sure, but as I understand it, we haven’t purchased the land yet. It’s not a done deal, is it?”
“It will be,” I answer confidently. She doesn’t know me well enough yet, but if I say we’re getting the property, it’s as good as done, even if there is now a tiny nagging doubt in the back of my head named Patrick Shaw.
“I want to review everything we’ve done and all the information we’ve gotten on the property so far. We need to make sure we haven’t missed anything. I’m going to re-run all the numbers and I’d like you to review the information we’ve gathered. Geographical surveys, local and visitor demographics, all of it. Go into city, county, and state records and compare anything you find to what we already have on file. See if you can find any discrepancies.”
“No problem.” She sips her wine, and a drop lingers on her plump bottom lip a moment before her tongue darts out to capture it. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, trying not to replay one of the thousands of fantasies I have about that tongue.
“All the data is housed on my personal drive. You have all the login info for that, but let me know if you have a problem accessing it.”
We take a little longer to finish our meals and we spend that time pleasantly chatting about inconsequential things like the courses she took while attending Branson and the plethora of odd jobs she’s worked over the years while I tell her a bit about my time at Stanford and the triathlon I competed in last year.
It’s one of the better evenings I’ve spent in recent memory, which I find a little disturbing. I enjoy Hollie’s easy company. I wouldn’t think that a woman as young as her could hold my interest outside of the bedroom.
Eventually, she grabs both of our containers, tossing them into the trash while I refill our glasses. If we’re going to be working, it might as well be as pleasurable as possible. We both start on our own projects for the evening and before I know it, almost two hours have passed.
Hollie calls out to me from her desk, breaking the laser-like focus I have on this spreadsheet. “Have you seen this article?”
I stare up at the ceiling, trying to recall if I’ve come across any articles that would apply to the land in question. Realizing I have absolutely no idea what she’s talking about, I ask, “What article?”
She hits some keys on her keyboard and then scurries out of my sight without a word. When she returns, she practically jogs up to me and slams the papers she’s printed in the middle of my desk. “This article,” she says triumphantly.
I pick up the printout and start to examine it. “What am I looking at?” It’s a blog post from something called “Sustainable Santa Cruz” but I’m not sure why she thinks it’s relevant.
“It’s an interview with Caroline DuPont. Check out the third paragraph.” She reaches across the desk and points out her discovery. I read aloud, waiting to see what she’s getting at.
Caroline DuPont, long time Santa Cruz resident and business owner, speaks to us about the legacy she wants to leave the city. “I want to assure my fellow residents of Santa Cruz that even though I’m selling this parcel of land on our shore, I will always have your best interests at heart. My team and I are carefully screening all potential buyers to make sure that they also understand the needs of our unique city and are committed to enriching our community and citizens. Santa Cruz is my home, and I would expect nothing less from any other landowner here.”
My eyes grow wide as I glance up at Hollie’s face, that’s shining with pride. “Where did you find this?” I ask. I’ve never seen this before. Richard certainly never brought this to my attention. Though he mentioned Caroline DuPont wasn’t like just any other business person I’ve dealt with. This could be the key to securing the property away from Patrick Shaw. If this article is any indication, she certainly won’t want to add a strip mall to the city’s center.
“I ran a bunch of google searches on anything related to the address or anyone in the file and this came up. All you have to do is convince her you’ll be enriching the fabric of the city by adding a Clarke Hotel.”
She practically claps her hands together in excitement. Fuck, she’s cute. A new thought enters my mind and I sigh. “This actually might not be good for us.”
That puts a damper on her premature celebrations. “Why not?”
“I don’t think Caroline DuPont is the kind of person who thinks leveling her land to build a luxury resort is going to be very ‘enriching’ to its residents.”
“But it’s going to bring in so much more money for local businesses,” she argues with a pout.
You’re preaching to the choir, sweetheart.I need to put some thought into this, get Richard’s take on it. It’s possible we could make this work for us.
“You’re right. I’m sure we can convince her. Besides, my hotel will certainly be better for the community than anything Shaw Capital will put in.”
As I’m talking, the color seems to drain from Hollie’s face and she lists a little to the left, like she might collapse. I jump up out of my chair and rush over to her before she can fall to the floor, grabbing her elbow and steadying her. I barely even notice the flesh on flesh contact, which is a testament to how much her sudden malady has affected me.
“Hollie, what’s wrong? Are you ill?” I know my voice sounds slightly frantic, but I can’t help it. I’m worried. I’ve never seen her like this before. My gaze moves up and down her body, searching her for some sign of what might be wrong.
“I’m sorry,” she rushes out, “I’m fine. I had an interview there before I got this job, that’s all.”
