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“Huge for us,” corrected Delaney. “I’ve heard the same rumors. If we can land this gig not only as an architect and realtor but as developers for hire, we would be well on our way.”
“Okay. We need to get the swelling in that ankle down. I’ll get you some anti-inflammatories; we’ll ice it and then we’ll wrap it.”
“That’s what Tevryn said, only he didn’t say to wrap it.”
“Who’s Tevryn?”
“The most gorgeous hunk of arrogant alpha male that I’ve ever encountered. He, too, thought it was perfectly okay to issue orders and that I just ought to follow them.”
“He gave you orders to take care of yourself? There’s nothing arrogant or alpha in that—and what do you mean ‘gorgeous hunk?’”
“The man takes tall, dark and handsome to a whole new level. And no, the stuff about my ankle wasn’t arrogant, but he basically ordered me to stay away from Whistler.”
Lucy laughed. “He doesn’t know you very well, does he? Telling you to stay away is a lot like waving a red flag in front of a bull.”
“As I’ll most likely never see Tevryn again, it doesn’t really matter, and he’ll never know.”
The rest of the evening, Delaney let Lucy fuss over her and by the time she went to bed, the ankle looked and felt better.
Whistler Industries Corporate Office
Bellevue, Washington
Next Day
Delaney Pierce dressed with care—she wanted to portray herself as fashionable but not provocative; professional, but not boring. After all, she was meeting with the tech mogul, Elron Whistler. She needed to look her best.
He’d created some kind of conductive material that made computers and other technology work faster and more efficiently than anything that had come before it. He’d been able to patent his invention, and to date no one had been able to duplicate it or even figure out how he’d done it—and Whistler wasn’t talking.
He was about to create his new manufacturing facility and he wanted to do so far away from any of the so-called ‘tech centers’ in the United States: e.g. Silicon Valley and the tech hub outside of Seattle. The first phase of his new development was for the manufacture of his invention, which he was calling Norle. There were also unspecified plans for biotech, pharmaceutical, and artificial intelligence companies.
She was seated in the lobby of Whistler Industries with several other architects, all vying for the same job. She was the only woman and the only one who wasn’t part of a large, internationally known firm. They had all been given the same appointment time and were expected to wait for the ‘great man’ to call on them. After two previous people had left, muttering under their breath, and a third man was called back, Delaney stood.
“Ms. Pierce,” said the receptionist, “Mr. Whistler wants everyone to stay in the lobby.”
Delaney turned and smiled. After all, it wasn't the receptionist’s fault that her boss was a jackass. “Mr. Whistler can kiss my ass. He may not value my time, but I assure you I do. This will be a great opportunity for someone, but it’s become clear to me that I am not that someone. Please tell your boss I wish him well, and if he doesn’t select someone and would like to speak to me in the future, he can call, and I’ll see if I have time to fit him into my schedule. Have a nice day.”
She turned on her heel and walked to the elevator door. She’d pushed the button for the lobby floor, and the door was closing as she heard the receptionist’s heels clicking along the marble flooring as she called Delaney’s name. She might be making a huge mistake, but she wasn’t about to let a man like Elron Whistler get the upper hand.
Delaney ignored her, rode the elevator down, and ignored the building’s security guard as he tried to intercept her. Elron Whistler was well known as an arrogant, misogynist sonofabitch, and he didn’t deserve her gorgeous concept and design, not to mention the magnificent piece of property Lucy had found at the base of the Wind River Mountains.
As she pulled up to her office, she was a little surprised to see a delivery man with the most interesting bouquet of flowers—cabbage roses, chrysanthemums, sunflowers, hydrangea, and peonies.
“Ms. Pierce?” the driver said, hopefully. Delaney nodded. “These are for you. Mr. Whistler asked that I deliver them personally with his apologies.”
Delaney hid her smile. Perhaps her day was looking up.
Issaquah, Washington
Two Days Later
Delaney wondered why she wasn’t feeling more nervous about today’s meeting, but she wasn’t. Whistler’s secretary had called later in the day after the flowers had been delivered.
“Ms. Pierce? Mr. Whistler has made some room in his schedule to meet with you here at corporate headquarters tomorrow…”
Delaney cut her off. If Whistler thought she would give him the upper hand, he had best think again. “I’m so sorry. Apparently, there’s been a misunderstanding. I told your receptionist that if Mr. Whistler wanted to meet with me, he’d need to come to my office in Issaquah. Looking at my schedule, I don’t have anything available until the day after tomorrow. Would ten in the morning work for him? The only other time I have available this week is four-thirty Friday afternoon and you know how dreadful I-90 can be at that time of day.”
Delaney waited, holding her breath.
