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She gave her a hug, and it took Violet a couple seconds to hug her back. Nikki patted her back, soothing her like she would one of her sons after having a nightmare. Quickly, Violet disentangled from her arms and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“I’ll be okay,” she said, but the wavering in her voice didn’t convince Nikki. Then, she took a breath and dimmed the lights a bit. “I don’t want the girls to—
Nikki nodded. “You’ll tell them when you’re ready.”
Violet rubbed the back of her neck. “Thank you.”
* * *
“And this is why you should sign the petition,” she said, handing the clipboard to Mr. Fairchild.
Mr. Fairchild, a man still attractive in his seventies, scratched his chin. “Does management know about this?”
She threaded her fingers together. “Well, I’m management, but I’m acting as an adviser in this case. You know, to get the ball rolling.” To get the ball rolling before The Man finds out. Apprehension rolled down her body. No, this had to work. She always followed the rules, why not break them once for the greater good? So greedy corporate folks would have to find another location. Boohoo.
“Does this mean I don’t say anything?” He adjusted his reading glasses.
“Yes. You can’t tell a soul. Even though I’m reaching out to people personally, I don’t want you to spread the word or I could lose my job.” Which could still very well happen if they found out what she was doing.
Relax, a voice inside her said. Steinberg didn’t spend enough time in the operational part of things to pay attention, and she doubted the new guy would. Cole had been occupying an office on the second floor. And besides, after he asked for some work files to be emailed, he hadn’t reached out to her again.
Of course. He’d probably kissed others since the one they shared, and now thought of her as no more than a rock in his shoe. Or maybe under the dim light at the bar she’d been more attractive to him, but in broad daylight her small breasts and slight underbite turned him off. She was pretty, sure, but not the kind of pretty a man like him preferred.
What does it matter?
Mr. Fairchild scribbled his signature and handed her the clipboard. “Good luck. Is that the new owner?” He quirked his chin in the opposite direction, and she turned her face.
Cole marched in their direction, his long legs doing quick work of the sidewalk. A shivering sensation she wasn’t used to spilled into her stomach, sending her blood into a wild rush. She parted her lips, but hesitated from speaking. Her gazed fixed on him, just appreciating the delicious man with broad shoulders and a hooded stare.
“Nikki, I’ve been looking for you,” he said casually.
She clenched the clipboard, holding it against her chest. “Yes. I was talking to Mr. Fairchild.”
“Nice to meet you,” Mr. Fairchild said, stretching out his hand.
Cole shook his hand, with a nice professional smile. “Same here. I need to steal Ms. Brady for a few minutes.”
“She’s all yours. Excuse me,” Mr. Fairchild said, walking on the opposite direction.
She bridged the gap between her and Cole. Sara had sent him some information he’d requested, but she imagined they needed more stuff. “Do you need more numbers?”
He perched his hand on his waistline. “Yes, I do.”
“All right. I’ll be happy to help,” she said. Maybe she could work with him directly and send him the files instead of her assistant. Anything to divert his attention away from what she planned to do behind the scenes.
His eyes darkened. “You can start with the number of residents you’ve harassed with your silly petition.”
* * *
Cole stretched to his full height, fully aware she seemed even smaller next to him. The color disappeared from her face for a moment, and a touch of fear flickered in her rich brown eyes. “I know you’ve been cornering a few residents to get them to sign a petition to keep them from moving to the new location,” he said, his shoulder blades tightening and threatening to burst out of his suit. How could she go behind his back? Thankfully Mrs. Cartland had been so concerned, she phoned his assistant who texted him as fast as possible. “This is grounds for an immediate termination.”
“No.” She shook her head quickly and stepped forward as if he was some kind of medieval beast and she was prepared to offer herself as sacrifice. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t fire me. I was desperate and made a mistake.”
“We hadn’t even made the merger official to residents, and now I’m dealing with a lot of phone calls I don’t have time for,” he said. If his father found out a woman he’d kissed now planned to highjack the relocation, he’d misjudge the entire situation. Hell, he may even remove Cole from the project—and squash any chance of repairing a broken relationship between the two of them.
After he slept with his father’s assistant and she blackmailed him and then his father, Craig Myler had been adamant about giving Cole one last chance. What would happen when Craig retired? He’d sell his stocks to anyone who wanted them but his own son. Apprehension trickled down his spine. If Keith had been alive, things would have been different.
“I’m all my grandma has left,” she said, a touch of helplessness in her voice that almost made him second-guess himself.
