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“Yes, I have you scheduled for a ten a.m. brunch. I told her assistant to pick her favorite place. I figure we could use any upper hand we can get.”
“Ten a.m.,” I mutter underneath my breath while I think. This won’t be so bad. We can go down in the morning and be back that afternoon. “Call my pilot and give him the details so he can create the flight plan. Tell him we’ll be leaving Friday morning and return the same day.”
“We?” she asks quietly. I bring my eyes back to hers and she arches her brow questioningly. I can see she wasn’t expecting to be going with me.
“Yes. We. I have to concentrate on this meeting. You’re my assistant. I’m going to need you there to handle everything else. I’ll pick you up at your place Friday morning on the way to the airport.”
She merely nods her head and starts jotting down notes, ever the dutiful and organized assistant. It’s another two hours in my office, pulling data and organizing my notes before I’m ready to go home.
I pass Hollie’s empty desk as I head towards the elevator. I sent her home about an hour ago. There wasn’t anything else I needed for the evening, so one of us should get a little sleep. As expected, she fought me all the way, insisting that she stay until I was done. I had to threaten to fire her before she agreed to leave. She indulgently played along. I think we both know that I’m not going to fire her.
What would I do without her?
The thought is mildly terrifying, so I shake it off. For now, Hollie isn’t going anywhere. She’ll continue to bring together the disjointed pieces of my life, smoothing them out into something that looks similar to a well-oiled machine. Consequently, making me more and more dependent on her.
Between Hollie and myself, we hobble together the presentation over the next few days. It’s been a week of late nights and early mornings. My caffeine consumption is through the roof, and I’m sure my doctor would freak out if he saw my current blood pressure readings. By the time Thursday afternoon rolls around, we’re finishing up the last piece of the proposal in my office.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at seven.”
“I’ll be ready. Do you need me to bring anything else besides my laptop and a backup copy of the proposal?”
“That should be it. Go ahead and take off. I’m right behind you.”
Hollie gathers her things from her desk and heads towards the elevator with a quick little finger wave to me. I rub my eyes and take another sip of the coffee that’s been on my desk for the better part of the afternoon. It’s freezing cold, but I wasn’t going to have Hollie make a brand new one when I’m about to head out. The proposal we put together is good. I wish it was great. What Caroline DuPont seems to be looking for, no one can give her except perhaps a non-profit. They certainly don’t have the type of funding that they would need to purchase and develop the property. We’re all businesses, we’re here to make money. That means putting our shareholders’ needs above the community most of the time. I’m hoping that some of the appeasements I’ve made, along with the high price we’re willing to offer, is enough to sway her to sell to Clarke Hotels.
Unless Shaw straight up lies about what he is going to put there, I can’t imagine her going with whatever he has planned, no matter the amount of money he offers. I’ve never seen him build anything but commercial properties and housing that looked like he bribed the building inspector to keep it propped up. There is no way that she wants that kind of thing besmirching her beautiful town. At least I’m pretty confident about that. I’ll have to make sure that I point out some of Patrick Shaw’s flaws to Mrs. DuPont during our meeting. It’s not something I would normally stoop to, but according to Richard, he’s already giving her an earful about me, so I might as well take my shot. With my head filled with thoughts of tomorrow’s meeting, I head home, alone, like every other night since Hollie came to work for me.
Thirteen
hollie
I’ve finished packing everything that I’ll need for the day in my computer bag when I get a text from Archer alerting me he’s waiting outside. I take a last glance at myself in the mirror. My hair is up in my normal work day bun and I’m wearing just enough makeup to help me project an air of confidence. I’m Hollie Simmons, assistant extraordinaire. I’ve got this.
I’mnotsuper excited about flying in a private jet and getting to attend my first real business meeting. So, maybe one of those is slightly cooler than the other.
I’m wearing a pair of dark gray slacks along with a light gray wrap top and a pair of sensible flats. I know heels appear more professional, but if I’m going to be walking around on a tarmac and in the air, then I’d rather not be in danger of falling flat on my face.
Swinging my bag over my shoulder, I head out to the chauffeured car that Archer’s hired to take us to the airport. The driver opens the door to the backseat for me and I slide in while he secures my bag in the trunk. Without a word, Archer stretches out his arm to me and hands me a cup of coffee.
“This is new,” I laugh. “I’m the one that’s supposed to be getting you coffee, not the other way around.” I take the cup from his hands, careful not to touch him. Our relationship might be more comfortable than it was before, but there’s no reason to tempt fate. I refuse to walk around all day in wet panties because I touched this man’s freaking hand.
The entire way to the airport, we are both glued to our phones, answering any messages that came in last night and anything that’s already made it into our inboxes this morning. I glance over at Archer and surreptitiously study his profile. If it’s possible, the man’s gotten even hotter over the short time I’ve known him.
The morning light that’s spilling in through the car windows pulls out the naturally golden highlights in his hair and the sharpness of his jaw makes me want to brush my fingers along it. I’ve never had a jaw fetish before, but that’s the type of thing Archer Clarke does to me.
Before he can catch me staring, I focus back on my phone and forward a request for some financial data over to Mr. Solomon’s assistant. When we arrive at the small airfield, we’re quickly let through the gates before the car pulls up alongside a small but sleek looking plane. I don’t know much, but I know that I’ll never have enough money to own a freaking plane. I’m going to enjoy the relatively quick trip down to Santa Cruz and back today. Getting to spend time with Archer is just a bonus. Nothing can ever happen between us for many many reasons but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy his company. I can’t explain it. He’s still a bosshole, but he’s almost softer with me somehow. I don’t understand why, but I’ll take it.
I’m buckling myself into a plush leather seat when the pilot comes into the cabin and tells us that the flight to Santa Cruz will take a little less than two hours. He retreats to the front of the plane, where I’m assuming he’s getting ready to take off. The flight attendant delivers me the coffee and bagel I asked for then turns to hand Archer his large coffee. One cream. One sugar. It’s nice to see someone else have to fetch his coffee for once.
Archer must have caught me smiling to myself because he’s asking me, “What’s got you so happy over there?”
“Nothing. I’m just excited. I’ve never been on a private plane and I’ve never been to Santa Cruz.”
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. Our schedule is pretty tight today. It’s going to be straight to the meeting and straight back to the plane. There won’t be much time for sightseeing.”
I shrug at him. “Doesn’t matter. It’s still nice to go somewhere new.” I flash him a smile, take another sip of coffee, and turn back to my emails. The next two hours seem to fly by. Archer and I don’t speak. We sit in companionable silence while working on our own projects.
When we’re settled into the chauffeured SUV that was waiting for us when we exited the plane, I feel the notification buzz from the phone in my hand. I scan the email quickly, then turn warily to Archer. He’s going to be pissed.
