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“Shill, shell, husk, whatever. The point is, you could do so much more than that, and that includes knocking this out of the park.”
The GPS tells me we have arrived at our destination. It’s a little B&B near Beau’s downtown office, and admittedly, it’s cute as heck. Bright white siding with blue shutters, a wraparound porch, and windows in all directions. The banister hosts a vine covered in tiny white flowers, and as soon as I open the car door, I’m hit by the scent of jasmine. Okay, maybe the town isn’t awful.
But I’ll never admit that to Savannah. My contrary nature won’t allow it.
“Cute,” I say flatly.
“Come on, you have to love this!”
I will not get caught up in her joy. I’m here on serious business. “If you say so. Still can’t believe you convinced me to stay the night here.”
“Neither one of us wants to deal with the traffic at those hours, and how long has it been since you weren’t in the city for a night?”
“A while. Let’s grab our bags and get checked in.”
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6
ELSIE
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in for the meeting?” Savannah asks on our way to Beau’s office. “I could pretend to be your assistant and make you look even more important.”
I laugh. “Thanks, but no.”
The drive through downtown gives me another chance to appreciate it. In all fairness, Somerset Harbor is more upscale than I gave it credit. Our B&B rooms are nautical and homey. The downtown boutiques are brightly lit and lovely. In fact, everything I’ve seen is rather nice. It’s no Manhattan, though.
Stop judging, Elsie. That will not help you now.
I park in front of his office building. It’s only two stories, and I’m guessing it’s a rental, given the look of the place. Not at all what I expected from someone like Beau MacMillan. He’s old money. Or he was. Has he been recently defunded?
Not with that Aston Martin I parked next to. But it might not be his.
At least his office building is right next to the marina. That’s got to be a nice view. But he might be like me and never look out the window. No, I doubt that’s the case. He’s the kind of man who appreciates how things look, I’m sure of it.
When I catch the expression on Savannah’s face, I completely stop thinking about Beau. “What’s wrong?”
“What is so funny about me pretending to be your assistant?”
Oh, hell.Because I would never think to ask you to leave your Himalaya Birkin in the car, and I guarantee Beau would know what that bag is the moment he saw it. You couldn’t pass for my assistant any more than I could pass as the president, Savannah. It’s sweet, but this will go better if I’m not also lying to the client.”
“I’d leave the bag in the car for you.”
Her offer makes me smile. However, her purse cost more than my parents’ house, and the thought of it getting stolen is enough to give me palpitations. “Thank you for the offer. But no. You’re not getting my rental broken into.”
“Fine,” she huffs in mock exasperation. “Forgive me for wanting to meet the man you’re jumping through hoops for.”
“He’s just another suit. Nothing special.” I neglect to mention the fact that he’s dangerously handsome, strictly because if I tell her that, she’ll insist on meeting him, and things are precarious enough at the moment. No point in adding more pressure to the situation. For that matter, dwelling on the fact Beau was so sexy that I nearly thanked Walter for assigning me to the job will only get me more tongue-tied.
There is something about Beau MacMillan that makes me sit up and take notice. That was why I was so abrasive during our meeting. I had to do something to keep myself from saying the wrong thing. So, naturally, I said the wrong thing, but in the other direction. I offended him. Spectacularly.
I just couldn’t make myself shut up around Beau. Of course, it would have been great had Walter jumped in at any time, but that is a moot point now. I’m here.
“Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need it, but I wish you good luck all the same.” Savannah really is the best.
“Thanks.” I grab my bag and head to the building. Like most of the downtown area, this building is brick and two-story. It looks historic, pre-war, definitely. The door knob is a proper knob—the building hasn’t even been brought up to code for the disabled. In all fairness to the building, a lot of older buildings in Manhattan haven’t been brought up to code, either. They were grandfathered in. But I’m so used to things being modern and updated in my neighborhood, it’s always notable when I come across something so retro.
