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His nostrils flare. “Am I paying for your expert opinion onme?”
I snap, “I don’t think you want my expert opinion onyou, but I will give it if you want me to.”
He is less than amused. I am one hundred percent about to be fired. I can hear it in his voice. He dares me with, “Go ahead, Elsie. Tell me all about me. I’d love to hear your expert opinion.”
“Fine.”I am not losing this job without letting him know every single thing I think about him. Just as I take a breath to lay into Beau, two rough-looking men in white tees and jeans walk up to us. They are hot, in a construction worker kind of way.Please do not be here to play with my drone. Or me.
The better looking one teases Beau, “Raised voices, and you’ve been here less than an hour? Is that a record for you?”
Beau glares. “No one asked you.”
“Someone else you like to snap at? Maybe we can be friends,” I taunt him.
The new guy says, “Saw you over here with her, and I just knew you’d be in trouble, Beau.” He brandishes a conspiratorial tone when he says to me, “So sorry he doesn’t know how to talk to people. We try not to let him be alone with anyone—they dropped him on his head as a baby.”
I snort a laugh, wondering who this brazen guy is to speak of the boss that way in front of him.
Beau rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, but I can handle this just fine without your supervision. You may go.Now.”
The new guy smiles, friendly but not leering. “If my brother had any manners, he would have introduced me already. I’m Beckett MacMillan, the contractor for the MacMillan Corporation.”
I see it now—they are so related. Beckett has the same faint auburn streaks as Beau, but crystal blue eyes and a kinder face. He is as muscled as his older brother, but has a darker tan, the sort you get from being outdoors, not the kind from a tanning bed. His scruff isn’t as well-kept as Beau’s, but it suits him all the same. Becket is handsome, but nothing close to his brother.
I shake his hand, and before I can speak, Beau says, “This is Elsie Braudel, our architect from Klein and Associates. She will be designing our resort.Fornow.”
Why did he have to add thatfor nowat the end? The dick.But I smile and say, “Nice to meet you, Beckett.”
“You too. This is Cole Kendrick, honorary MacMillan, my best friend, and our foreman. In that order.”
While shaking Cole’s hand, I note, “You keep business in the family, huh?”
Beau explains, “We like to work together. We’ve always been rather tight-knit. Being in business together keeps us that way and it keeps the family fortune right where we want it.”
“I cannot imagine working with my family,” I mumble.
Cole smiles. He’s not as good looking as the MacMillan brothers, but when he smiles, he’s a ten. He asks, “Are your family architects too?”
I almost laugh. “Uh, no.”
Beckett smirks at his brother. “Nice of you to peel yourself out of your office for the day. Didn’t know you had it in you. Getting your hands dirty along with those designer shoes must be a change for you.”
Beau rolls his eyes. “I keep an office onsite, remember?”
“Yes, but we haven’t seen you here in days.”
“Didn’t know you were keeping tabs on me,Mom.”
Beckett laughs. “Hey, you calling me Mom is flattery. She’s awesome, and you know it.”
Beau grunts, exasperated and conceding. “Fine, whatever. Why are you here? Don’t you have something else to do or people to manage?”
“Yeah, I’m looking right at him.” Beckett grins at Beau, enjoying his irritation the way siblings do. It’s refreshing, given the bickering of the past hour. He adds, “The guys are on a break and I thought Elsie might need one from you.”
“He is nothing I can’t handle,” I say, smirking at Beau.
“I’m sure of that,” Cole teases. Not sure if he’s teasing me or Beau at this point.
Beau sighs. “Everything is under control, guys. You can go.”
