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Clearly, I hit a nerve. “So, then consider my design. Otherwise, the resort won’t stand out. You’ll just blend in with them.”
“My resort will stand out. We will be the newest, the biggest—"
“The most derivative.”
“Elsie, seriously, this is what I want. Why are you fighting me on this?”
“Because you deserve something better. Something spectacular. Not something that you can get with any other architect. And I don’t think you’d be arguing this much with Pavel, either. You’re only arguing with me about my vision because you think I can’t give you something as amazing as Pavel. If I had his name, you’d be kissing my ass right about now.”Shit. I meant to keep that inside.
He stands back, folding his arms. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it? You think I’m treating you differently than I’d treat him?”
I roll my eyes. “Of course you are. You have been since day one.”
“I wouldn’t be, if you were giving me what I wanted.”
“How can I, when you’re throwing up roadblocks at every turn? All I know is that you want something far more traditional than you led me to believe, but you haven’t settled on a design for some reason. Make up your mind, Beau!”
Frustration steams off us both. He grunts, “Fine. I want something between the Sagamore and the rest of Somerset Harbor. Make that happen.”
“We’re back to that now?”
“Yeah,” he snaps.
“God, you are so damned pigheaded I don’t know what to do with you!”
His eyes bulge, and I amsoabout to be fired.
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13
ELSIE
“I’mpigheaded?” he barks. “You’rethe one who thinks all her ideas are gold!”
“That’s because I know what people want when they stay at a resort! I travel all the time!” If he weren’t so frustrating, I might be attracted to Beau MacMillan, but all this arguing has nullified any attraction to the man. He is the most stubborn, arrogant bastard I have ever met. How could anyone be attracted to that? It’s like he’s the hot outer shell, but the inside is rotten with cockiness, and it makes me want to scream.
But, priorities. Right now, all I care about is getting this resort to showpiece quality. If I give into what he wants, it’ll be just another snobby-looking place where people drink pricy martinis and wear the same pastel polos as every other place in New York. Unimaginative. Dull. In short, an embarrassment for me. I want it to be a diamond in my portfolio, not a nice place for a nap. And all he seems to care about is pissing me off.
“Elsie, I understand that you think that you know how resorts should be because you spend time in them. That does not make you an expert in howmineshould be. So—"
“Yes, I do, and that gives me good insight as far as what guests are looking for. Not to mention the fact that Ihavedesigned hotels before. This is not my first rodeo, Beau.”
He frowns. “Why do you keep saying my name like that?”
The question stops me in my tracks. “Like what?”
“You keep saying my name like it is a curse word. It’s the same way you saytraditionalorexpectedornormal.”
I grit my teeth. I cannot believe he’s calling out my tone, and it makes me snap. The little restraint I had left with him is gone. “Because every time I think your name, I thinkpigheaded. So, if I sayBeauinstead, then that’ll keep me out of trouble.”
He laughs, but there is no humor in it. “And you think telling me that you’re using my own name as an insult will keep you out of trouble with me?”
“Well, I don’t want to lie to you.”
“You think honesty is a defense right now? Is that right?” He is so haughty I cannot get over it.
“I don’t really think I need to defend anything right now. You hired me for my expert opinion on things, and I am giving it. If you wanted someone to rubber stamp things, then you would have stayed with your old architecture firm.”
