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“Stop thinking, Cammie,” she growled at herself through gritted teeth. Rex popped his head up, looking around as if a real dinosaur were outside the window.
It was deep into the night, long past midnight, when she finally closed the document, the page count coming in at twenty. Rex had finally climbed onto the bed and curled into a ball, waiting for her, opening his eyes occasionally to gaze at her, pleading.
The last thing she did before shutting down her computer was to send Dane her list.
* * *
Dane looked up from his desk as she entered the office the next morning. “Lord Buttoff?”
For just a moment, she felt light and carefree. “I’m sorry. I thought that was your official title. Am I wrong?”
Laughing with her, he jumped up from the desk to grab her shoulders. “God, I love you.” Humor still threaded his voice.
Until he seemed to hear the words he’d said. For a moment, they stared at each other. What the heck?
Then he rushed on. “I mean, I love your ideas. They’re brilliant. Every one of them. We’ve got to do it all. That’s what I meant.”
If she didn’t know better, she’d think Dane was fumbling. And Dane never fumbled. He was always smooth in business. He was smooth with women of all ages. The man was a charmer.
She didn’t want to think about why he might have fumbled. “Of course I knew what you meant. We’ve been working together for twelve years. We both know the rules.”
They both knew they needed those rules, because their one-night stand, even if neither of them ever said it, had been too perfect for words.
* * *
While each Maverick had his own center of operations, they occupied a shared office space in Sebastian’s San Francisco headquarters for their group ventures. Will sat at the head of the conference table, surrounded by his brothers. He never thought of them as foster brothers, nor did he think of Gideon as Matt’s brother-in-law or Cal as just their business manager. Well, except for that blip when he and the guys found out Cal was dating their sister. But that was only natural, right? Now they were all family.
It had been more than a month since the dinner party at Mom and Dad’s, and they’d scheduled this morning’s meeting to discuss possible ventures for the two groups to organize together. It was time to get things rolling. Though they’d all talked individually, Will wanted everything out in a group meeting before Dane Harrington arrived.
“He’s been talking to Charlie,” Sebastian said. “He wants to commission her sculptures for each of his resorts. And…” He leaned forward as if the proposal was too incredible to be believed. “He wants her to teach classes for his guests.”
“He said the same to Rosie.” Gideon shook his head as if it were a marvel. “He wants her to create paintings for his hotel rooms.”
Matt sat back hard. “That’s one hell of an undertaking. How many freaking rooms does he have in each of his resorts?”
Eyes wide with surprise, Gideon shook his head. With Gideon’s being a war veteran, Will hadn’t thought anything could surprise him. “Not originals. Limited-edition prints. And he wants her to put the originals in her next few shows.”
“Wow,” was Evan’s only exclamation, but that said it for all of them.
“He wants Ari to check out the childcare accommodations at his resorts,” Matt added.
“He’s talked to Tasha about an interactive website.” Daniel drummed his fingers on the table.
Dane and Cammie Chandler had also spoken to Harper. “I’m not sure what to make of it,” Will said.
Cal leaned his elbows on the table. “He was great planning that gala with Lyssa.”
“Paige had lunch with Ava Harrington,” Evan divulged. “She likes her. Ava wanted to pick her brain on how to add more mental health sessions at her care facilities. Even for the families of her residents.”
“I had drinks with Troy.” Matt steepled his fingers. “He’s got some great ideas for a new generation of workout machines. I could really get into designing that stuff.”
“I’ve already talked to Clay about how we can combine forces—his video platform with the media I have going,” Sebastian said. “And enhance both.”
It was exactly what Will hoped to hear. He’d known this was the right thing to do. Otherwise, he would never have signed the contract. But it was good to know the agreement hadn’t been a bunch of worthless paper. This would bring real results. Dane Harrington was a man of his word.
Sebastian said what they were all thinking. “This is freaking awesome. But what the heck, man? When are we going to do the great deals with Dane?”
“Not just this piecemeal stuff,” Matt added. “But something with meat.” He curled his hand into a fist.
“Something challenging,” Evan added.
The timing was perfect. The idea had come to him as Harper talked about her discussions with Dane and Cammie. He tapped the end of his mechanical pencil on his notebook. “I’ve been giving it some thought. And here’s what I think we should propose.”
