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At least he wasn’t giving me the evil eye like that waitress at Happy’s. “It seems my reputation precedes me, which is becoming the norm for me in this town. I’m not sure it’s always a good thing.”
“In this case, it is. Annette speaks highly of you.”
I smiled. “That’s good to hear.” I had to wonder if Bennett spoke highly of me—or if he mentioned me at all. My guess was he was tight-lipped.
“The rumor on the street is you’re bringing a fancy resort to town.”
“Not quite. But if I do my job well enough, then Markham Corporation will build a fabulous resort.” Lately, I hadn’t been doing my job at all.
I swallowed back a sigh. I’d told myself I’d give Bennett twenty-four hours, but that was irresponsible of me. Every day that passed was another day closer to the rezoning vote.
Guilt set in. I was good at my job, or at least, I had been until I started spending all my time with Bennett. I’d made a commitment to Phil and his company, and I needed to honor it. My professional integrity was on the line. I needed to talk to Bennett about setting up that meeting ASAP.
“Are these two old geezers boring you?” Bennett walked in the room.
I smiled brightly, even as my gut churned. “On the contrary. They’ve been nothing but charming, and as a bonus, I learned how to fix a toaster.”
“I’ve been charming ladies since before you were born,” Charlie told his grandson.
“Then I guess it’s best I don’t leave her alone in your company any longer,” Bennett replied. “Claire, are you ready?”
“Sure.” As I lifted my purse from the back of the chair, my phone chimed, and I quickly checked it. “Sorry,” I said with an apologetic smile. “I need to take this. It was lovely meeting you. Take care, Paul.” Slipping my coat on, I hurried toward the front door and answered, barely managing not to drop the phone as I put it up to my ear. “Phil, hi.” I went outside and closed the door behind me, hoping Bennett would take the hint and not follow.
“Claire, I’m glad I caught you.” There was background noise, like he was driving.
I cringed. “I owe you a status update.”
“Sure, sure, but that’s not why I’m calling. A business associate needs a second opinion on a contract, and I mentioned you. I didn’t want to send your information until I ran it by you first, though.”
I blinked. That wasn’t what I’d expected him to say. There I was, feeling guilty for shirking my duties to Markham, and Phil was offering me a potential client.
“Don’t you want to see if I can close this resort deal before you recommend my services?” I asked lightly.
He chuckled. “I’m not worried. I have complete faith in you.” The guilt that had formed a knot in my stomach morphed into a boulder. “It’s only a freelance gig, maybe ten or fifteen billable hours at most.”
Though Phil was paying me generously, I could certainly use the extra money to catch up on my student loans. “That sounds great, Phil. Thanks for thinking of me.”
I was beyond blessed to have a personal connection to the founder and CEO of a billion-dollar company. While I would never exploit the relationship, I would certainly take advantage of anything that was freely offered.
“Of course,” he said breezily. “I’ll pass on your info.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” I paused. “Do you want an update while you’re on the line?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have time to get into it now. I’m late for a meeting and need to run. You can send any pertinent updates to the development team.”
“Will do.”
My brother-in-law was a busy man—he didn’t have time for the minutia of every project his company developed. I probably only spoke to him directly as much as I did because of the personal connection. After I ended the call, I stared at my phone with the dreadful feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was on the verge of screwing up. I needed to get my head on straight.
Bennett came up from behind me, startling me and making me wonder if he’d slipped outside while I’d been preoccupied on the phone. Had he heard my conversation? Even if he had, he wouldn’t have been privy to anything important. The fact that I was worried about him overhearing was proof that I shouldn’t have mixed business with pleasure, no matter how pleasurable Bennett was.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
“That was Phil,” I said bluntly. “I need to progress with my work here. Are you going to set up the meeting?”
His jaw worked, and he met my gaze evenly. I didn’t falter. He’d promised, so it wasn’t too much to ask. But the meeting signaled the beginning of the end of whatever was going on between Bennett and me, and I knew in my gut that was why neither of us had pushed the issue. I was just as guilty as he was.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “I’ll send out a message this evening.”
