Page 15 of Love and Loathing

She scowled at him. “You know, just because he’s your friend, that doesn’t mean it’s your business.”

“When he’s my business partner, it does.”

She pulled her chin back. “But … you’re an actor.”

Alex clenched his jaw. “Iwasan actor. Now I co-own Young and Beaumont Real Estate with Charlie.”

“Oh.” She gripped the back of one of the leather swivel chairs, her knuckles practically turning white. “Sorry.”

He stared at her.

She stared back.

“Not to sound presumptuous, but I still don’t know what you’re doing here,” he said.

“I … I thought this meeting was with Charlie.” She played with the hem of her suit coat, and he couldn’t help but notice how the green of her blouse complemented the color of her eyes. “Maybe we should wait for him.”

Alex clenched his jaw. Her too? Really? Would no one ever take him seriously? “I assure you I’m more than capable of understanding—”

Charlie burst through the door. “Ah, there’s the fast food. I thought they’d lost it. Hi, Jessie, how are you?”

Jessie stared at Alex, mouth open, her normal rage gone and replaced with confusion. She tore her gaze from him and smiled at Charlie. “Hi, Charlie, how are you?”

“Starved.” He gave her a one-armed hug that she reciprocated.

Alex felt a pang of jealousy. He couldn’t imagine why. This woman was so disagreeable. Even if she was adorable in an infuriating kind of way. And now, she proved to be just like everyone else, assuming that because he was an actor he couldn’t do anything else.

Charlie glared at him over her shoulder and mouthed, “Be nice!” He turned to the food and peeked inside. “I wasn’t sure what was good on the menu, so I ordered a bunch of things. Do you like Blue Shadow? I should’ve asked before ordering …”

Jessie turned her back on Alex and chuckled. “You can never go wrong with Blue Shadow. Trust me. You did good.”

Alex eased around the table on the other side so he could look at them. She refused to meet his eye.

Charlie looked at Jessie and pointed to Alex. “Why don’t you start telling Alex about our idea while I put the food out?”

Ouridea? Alex’s brows shot up. He had so many questions. Since when were they a team? And why hadn’t Charlie said anything? He never excluded Alex from anything. How long had he been talking to Jessie behind his back? And why did that make him want to sock Charlie in his shoulder?

“Oh.” Jessie flushed. “Okay. I didn’t really prepare. I didn’t know you two worked together or that I would need to explain—”

Alex took a seat and stared at her. Openly.

Charlie chuckled. “Don’t worry, Jessie. Alex’s bark is worse than his bite. If you hit the highlights for now, that should suffice. Reassure her, Alex.”

“I won’t bite.” He resisted the urge to add “hard.” What was it with this woman that made him want to rile her?

She nodded, a resolve coming over her face that he found irresistible. She took a seat in the same chair she’d been gripping earlier.

“So, regale me,” Alex said. “What’s this idea of yours?”

“Well, it’s not really my idea. Charlie came up with it.” Jessie stared at Charlie as he unloaded the bag.

Charlie glanced up from a takeout container. “Nonsense. The only idea I came up with is having you film for us.” He held the plastic container out to Alex. It had a see-through lid. “Roast beef?”

Alex nodded and took it. He loved roast beef sandwiches. He set the container aside. He wanted to give Jessie his full attention; he’d eat after she told themtheiridea. “So, you want to film something?”

“Yes,” Jessie said, looking him right in the eye and holding it. “Charlie told me about Kevin Lance and Steven Howard, and he thought it might be a good idea to pitch the project and the town with a video. I figured we could take video of the construction crew, the house going up, and the property where the houses will be built. Then we could do some of the town and the people here.” She used her hands, making big gestures as she spoke. “We have an unusually high number of young entrepreneurs in Harvest Ranch, which might appeal to potential buyers. And with spring coming on soon, there are all sorts of town events—the tulip festival, the town cleanup, concerts, the balloon festival—that would make for visually appealing footage.”

Alex practically held his breath—she never took her gaze off him, instead holding it like a professional should. This was brilliant. He’d taken photos to show Steven and Lance, but photos wouldn’t have the same impact as a video. And even if he could convince them to come down for a day, they wouldn’t get the wide-scope feel of the town like they could with a video. But he couldn’t put all his eggs in one basket. He and Charlie had too much riding on this. It had to go without a hitch.

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