Page 3 of A Family Affair: The Plan
“Good. And Martin—” he turned to their boss a.k.a. his uncle “—I think it would be a great idea if the winner could select a partner to help with the project.”
“I guess that would work.” Martin glanced from Kent to Hope. “Would you be amendable to that, Hope?”
Kent only made that suggestion because he thoughthewas going to win.
“I’d rather wait to decide the particulars.”
“Okay, fine.” Kent turned to Hope. “We’ll see how it plays out. The town where you’re going has some old Italian dude who wears high tops and sweat outfits. He’s supposed to be some sort of relationship guru.” Kent laughed, held up a hand. “Can you imagine whatthatmust look like? It’s almost as good as the oddball who runs around in designer suits doling out care packages and advice. Sounds like hillbilly haven. I told Martinsmall towns aren’t your thing, but he wouldn’t budge. Said he wants your input.”
“And the other bed-and-breakfast? Does that have an Italian senior citizen in high tops and a do-gooder in designer suits?” Of course, Kent would choose the better option.
The throat clearing and shift in his chair gave her the answer she suspected. “No, sorry but I couldn’t deal with that for a whole month. You’re better suited to handle the eccentric types. I just don’t have the patience.” He shrugged, blew out a loud sigh. “Besides, I want to meet Daniel Reese, see if he’ll sign a bowl for me. That means you’ve got Magdalena, New York, and I have Reunion Gap, Pennsylvania.”
Kent always considered himself first,and everyone else third or fourth. Hope had once been so enamored with his business success, his style and charisma that she’d missed the other parts of him: the self-absorption, the lack of compassion, the boredom with anything that wasn’t business related. When she did finally notice, several months after they began dating, she remained quiet instead of confronting him.
Why?
The truth burrowed through her brain, settled in her gut like a lump of undigested cheese. Their “relationship” was comfortable and didn’t require enormous amounts of energy or emotion. Okay, maybe she wasn’t deliriously happy, but shewascontent and thought that was enough. Until it wasn’t. She’d been so close to talking to him about finding a way to be more than just “content” when he committed the unthinkable and slept with an old girlfriend. Kent might not have told her if she hadn’t found the graphic text messages.
Sonia and I were engaged in college, but then she went on to law school and I moved out West…long distance didn’t work. I haven’t seen her in years.
Should that make me feel better?
Of course not, but at least she wasn’t a casual hook up.
Oh, that makes such a difference.
“Hope? Do you have a minute?”
The man who’d stolen her heart and crushed it, walked into her office and sat in a chair across from her desk. “Sorry to spring that on you earlier. Martin didn’t want to tell you about it until he had more information.”
“I see.” She didn’t like that she’d been excluded, but she was not going to whine about it or let him know it bothered her. Kent believed deals were won and lost based on who held the edge, real or imagined. Well, she wasnotgoing to give him anything to weaken her chances of having Magdalena, New York, selected as the template for this project. Was her desire to win about more than business? Probably. Who was she kidding? Of course, it was personal. She wanted to beat Kent, knock him down and stare into those blue eyes and tell him he had lost. The man thought he owned the world and could do whatever he wanted and everyone would be waiting for him, desperate, hopeful, awed by his words and his presence.
Well, not her. Not any longer.
“Hope?” His voice turned sad. “Are you ever going to forgive me?”
She’d answered him several times before, but he hadn’t liked her answer and therefore continued to rework the question, sometimes accompanied by flowers, a bottle of wine, a scarf, even jewelry. Why couldn’t he understand what she’d been trying to tell him for the past five months? “I do forgive you, Kent, but that doesn’t change things between us. We still have abusiness relationship, but anything beyond that is not going to happen.”
He’d heard that same answer too many times, but the frown said he still didn’t like it and didn’t plan to accept it. Kent dragged a hand through his blond hair, frowned. “But don’t you see how limited that thinking is? Mistakes help people grow and learn, make them better, more committed.” He splayed his hands on her desk, leaned forward. “I know it will take time, and I also know I don’t get to say how long, but will you just consider it?”
“I’ve already considered it.”
Big sigh. “Okay, what if I back off until we get the bed-and-breakfast project settled? No pushing, no hard sells, just thirty days for you to think about another chance? That’s all I’m asking and if you say ‘no’ this time, I won’t ask again.”
Was this a trick question? Kent never gave up this easily…unless he didn’t think he’d lose. Fine. If he thought backing off would change her mind, he was wrong. But if she had thirty days without him pestering her? She’d take it and not feel bad about the answer a month from now, which would still be “no”. “Sure.”
His expression relaxed, and he shared the smile that used to dazzle her, but now only annoyed her. “Perfect. That’s all I wanted to hear.” He raised his hand, made a motion with his thumb and forefinger. “Less than an inch of opportunity is all I’m asking.”
If he believed she’d ever get involved with him again on a personal level, he’d end up disappointed. But right now, she needed him to back off and let her concentrate on this new challenge. “We’ll see.”
“Yes, we will.” His voice turned softer than melted caramel and just as sweet. “I’ve missed you.”
“No more personal talk, right?”
Those blue eyes sparked. “Not until the deal’s done.”
“Good. So, do you really think the bed-and-breakfast scenario is the next chapter for this company?” Her ex might not be trustworthy in the boyfriend arena, but he had a sense about the development business, what worked, what didn’t, and what could.
