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“Hello, Shaun. I’d like to introduce you to Kinsley Beck. She will be working with me on the rebuilding families project,” I said as we joined him at his table in the main restaurant at the resort.
“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Beck,” he said.
“Please, call me Kinsley,” she smiled and took a seat beside Shaun.
I never liked to sit with my back to the door, but it was the only chair vacant. As I took a seat I said, “Kinsley was very interested in how New Hope came to be. Oddly enough, I haven’t heard the story either.”
“That’s simple enough. My brother Alex fell in love with a woman from Tabiq and decided to make it his home. As we gathered here to visit, we noticed there wasn’t a place for travelers to stay.”
Sounded way too simple. I looked at Kinsley who also wasn’t buying it. She said, “I would’ve thought just building a vacation home would’ve been so much more economical. And with you all running your own businesses back in the States, having to maintain and oversee a resort in a foreign country must be difficult. Not that I know what you all do, but I didn’t think any of you were in the hotel business.”
I almost laughed. Shaun was as stunned as I was.
“You are correct. This endeavor wasn’t just about my family. We saw a need in Tabiq. As a family, we decided to build the resort and employ only locals to work here,” Shaun explained.
“So, this resort is about the economic development of Tabiq,” she said. Shaun nodded. “On my drive today with Re…President O’Connor I noticed a lot of new buildings, even a school. Is that your doing as well?”
“First of all, none of this is me alone. What we do, or have done, is as a family. And to answer your question, no. That is the president’s project. We do help with some funding where it is needed, but our goal is to make Tabiq as financially independent as possible. It will not do Tabiq any good if we pay for and control everything.”
And you don’t?
From what I saw, they were heavily involved in Tabiq. Bennett might not be a Henderson by blood, but he was married into the family, and he was privy to information that even the police didn’t know. To me, that spoke volumes.
“Tabiq is a…unique place from what I’ve learned. You are right about them not needing to be controlled. What they need is the freedom to choose a path that they feel is right for them. I might have only been here for a year, but even in that short time, I’ve seen individual growth,” I said. “A good example of that is the nurse’s program that your brother helped initiate.”
“Nurse program?” Kinsley asked.
Shaun explained, “Before the only education was what was offered in Tabiq. However, my brother Logan saw the opportunity for the hospital to develop specialized training based on the need. Nurses, although they were compassionate and caring, hadn’t received advanced training.”
“Did he bring in instructors?” Kinsley asked.
I enjoyed listening to Kinsley. She had no issue asking whatever she wanted and somehow was able to get people to respond. I’d been asking questions for more than a year and hadn’t heard any of this.
Maybe it’s the dress, or possibly those gorgeous green eyes of yours, but I’m not sure I could say no to you either.
“Logan started the conversation with Reesa, but it was Finn, her husband who brought the staff and the hospital where it is today,” Shaun replied.
That was yet another thing I hadn’t known. Kinsley might be called a profiler, but she had such a subtle interrogation skill that one didn’t even know they were being questioned.
Damn. I’m not sure if I’m impressed or scared.
“There is so much for me to learn about Tabiq and I’m sure we could spend all night discussing it, but I have a feeling you gentlemen had your own agenda for this meeting,” she said.
Shaun smiled. “I need to cut this meeting short. My wife Morgan will be getting up soon and I promised I’d call before she needed to get the kids ready for school.” He rose from his seat and said, “Hope you two don’t mind if I excuse myself.”
There wasn’t anything for us to talk about that couldn’t wait. “Not at all. Have a good night.”
Shaun turned to Kinsley and said, “I hope we can talk again before I head back to the States.”
“I’d like that,” she replied.
He turned to me and said, “Don’t work this woman too hard. It’s a beautiful night and the sunsets here are amazing. I suggest you take your meeting out to the beach with a bottle of wine.”
Wonder if she purchased a bathing suit during her shopping adventure.
That was the last thought I should have. I was playing with fire, even if only in my own mind. But as Shaun left us sitting there, I noticed that Kinsley looked…uncomfortable. Was she reading my thoughts? Did she know that I wasn’t looking at her as an employee, and instead as one hell of a sexy, desirable woman? If so, well, that sucked, because it was totally unprofessional, and she really didn’t deserve this. What man could ignore such beauty?Obviously not me.I needed to find a way not to be so attracted to her. Time on the beach alone would only add fuel to the fire that had already started burning.
“It’s been a long day. Why don’t we order something to eat and then call it a night,” I suggested.
