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“Yes, but it doesn’t have to be.”
I sit back, folding my fingers over my lap. “Those are the only two concessions you made for what I wanted. Otherwise, that’s the same front elevation as before. Are you not understanding what I want?”
“Oh, I think I know exactly what you want, Beau.”
That sentence hangs between us for a beat too long, and she takes a nervous breath before pulling her tablet back. “Let me show you some of the interiors—"
“Elsie.”
“Yes?”
Should I tell her I made a mistake? That I was in the wrong here? It didn’t feel like I was. But I don’t want her to continue to be uncomfortable while working with me, either. “About Saturday—"
“Forget it,” she says, fiddling with her tablet.
“If I offended you—"
But she smiles and shakes her head. “You’re not the first drunk guy to get a little too comfortable, Beau. It happens. No big deal. We don’t even need to talk about it.” Then she goes back to her tablet. “Here.” She passes it back to me.
“Thank you for being cool about that.”
“Of course. What do you think about this?”
I hate it.“It’s not bad, but it’s not what I’m looking for.”
“Okay.” She takes the tablet back, searching through the drawings.
I cannot believe she is being this relaxed about everything. It feels like she’s not. Like she’s burying her thoughts in work. She strikes me as the type to do that. But if I try to pry it out of her, I’ll make things worse. So, I try to let it go as easily as she is pretending to.
“What about these? More your style?”
When she passes the tablet over this time, I’m struck. “Is this a joke?”
“What? I thought you’d be into it.”
“This looks like the Cargills’ yacht club.”
“Yes. It’s traditional and fits in with the esthetic of Somerset Harbor perfectly—"
“We are not the Cargills.”
She blinks. “Why are you so offended, Beau? You said you wanted more traditional, and thisistraditional. Without completely ripping off The Sagamore, this is the next best design per your request. I don’t know why you’re against having similarities to the yacht club.”
I take a breath. It’s not as though she knows about our long-standing feud with that family. Nor about the fact my sister is engaged to their youngest. Thankfully, he doesn’t appear to take after the rest of them. The thought we will be bonded to them is enough to put me off my lunch, but it would be all the worse if our resort resembled theirs. “Elsie. I do not want the resort to mimic or resemble the Cargills yacht club. The similarities might confuse the visitors and make them think we are in business with those… people.”
“You sayCargillsthe way I saytraditional.”
“And I mean it that way.”
“Oh. So, you hate them?”
I nod once, then pause. “Hate is a strong word. Abhor is more accurate.”
“Damn. I really thought I was onto something with these.”
“I must ask—how did you see their unimaginative building and think of me?”
“Because you want something boring and dull, and that building hit the mark.”
