Page 4 of The Maine Attraction

He holds his hands up defensively. “Whoa, there. No need to get so emotional.”

My blood is boiling, and I bite my tongue—hard—to keep from saying something I shouldn’t.

His wife saves me the trouble. Glaring at him, she says, “What is your problem?”

He flails his arms helplessly, realizing he’s in trouble with the Mrs. “Their name is Corbin and Sons. It’s not unreasonable that I expected to meet with a man.”

Maybe it’s time to change the name.I’ve been afraid to change it, worried that I’ll lose the goodwill with the community and the glowing reviews we’ve received over the years. Besides that, I just don’twantto. I shouldn’thaveto.

I give Mr. Bridgewater a closed-lip smile. “Actually, theCorbinin our name could be referring to either a man or a woman. Regardless, I’m here today, and as I said, I’m the owner. I have a lifetime of experience, a business degree from an Ivy League college, and a stack full of options and ideas for you right now. I’ll leave the two of you alone for a few minutes so you can look over them.”

Without another word, I turn on my heel to walk away. My long, wavy brown hair swirls in the air like the hem of a party dress.That won’t do.

As I walk around the desk, I grab a pencil from the holder, twist my hair into sloppy bun, and slide the pencil in to hold it in place. “That’s better,” I say aloud before sauntering out of the room.

My secretary, Miranda, frowns. “Where are the Bridgewaters?”

“I’m leaving them alone for a few minutes to review my proposal.”

Miranda groans. “He asked forMr. Corbin, didn’t he?”

I look at her in surprise. “How’d you know?”

She holds up two fingers ticking them off as she gives her answer. “First of all, you’re angry, and that only seems to happen when people question your ownership of the company. Secondly, he was giving off sexist creep vibes the minute he walked through the door.” She scrunches her face as if she’s just tasted something dreadful. “I still feel dirty after the way he looked at me—and right in front of his wife, too.”

A new wave of fury crashes over me. I go into fierce mama bear mode when someone mistreats my employees.

Seeing the look on my face, Miranda quickly says, “It’s fine, boss. No harm done.”

I nod slowly. “Well, if they decide they want to hire us, assign Mac and Trey to do the work. I doubt he’ll harass them.”

Miranda laughs, no doubt visualizing how a fight between Mr. Bridgewater and Mac and Trey, our two biggest, strongest employees, would go down. “Sure thing, boss.”

I pull my phone from my pocket. “I’m just going to—”

Miranda glances up, sees what I’m doing, and says, “Wait!”

I look at her blankly. “Wait for what?”

She tucks a strand of hair behind an ear. “Before you look at the Zillow listing again…” Her voice trails off.

“How’d you know…?”

She shakes her head. “You look at the listing for the old lighthouse at least five times a day.”

“Do I?” I suppose I do, but I can’t help it. I love the property. It’s a restoration dream come true. Built in the 1800s, the lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. It hasn’t been in use in years and is now for sale, along with the lighthouse keeper’s cottage, as a private residence. I’d give my right kidney to restore it to its former glory.

I blink at Miranda. “Wait… why don’t you want me to look at the listing? Has it sold?”

She nods slowly. “Yes.”

I was never going to have enough money anyway.“That’s okay,” I say brightly. “The new owner will need to hire someone for the restoration, and we’re the best in the business. Unless they’re fools, they’ll hire us.”And I’ll still get to be the one who fixes up the place. It’s better than nothing.

Miranda’s face brightens. “So, you’re not upset?”

“I’m just glad it’ll be used again.” I reach into my pocket for a breath mint, shaking one into the palm of my hand before popping it into my mouth. “I’d guess I’d better check back in with the Bridgewaters.”

Miranda’s eyes dance with mischief. “You’ll never guess who bought it?”

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