Page 20 of Worth the Risk
Heat creeps up my neck. “What did you tell her?”
“I told her to ask you herself.” Maya heads toward the storage closet. “Rosa doesn’t believe in secondhand information when it comes to eligible bachelors.”
“Eligible bachelors?”
Maya pauses in the doorway, her expression suddenly serious. “Declan, you should know that if you keep showing up here, people are going to assume you’re interested in more than business partnerships.”
“Are they wrong?” The question slips out, honest and direct and completely inappropriate.
Maya stares at me, and I can see her weighing how to respond. The silence stretches between us, loaded with possibilities.
“I don’t know,” she says finally. “Are they?”
Before I can answer, my phone buzzes with a text from Elliot.
Board meeting moved to 11 AM. Harrison wants update on collaboration timeline. Where are you?
I check the time—ten-thirty. I’ve been at Highland for over two hours, and it felt like minutes.
“I have to go,” I tell Maya, showing her the text. “Board meeting.”
“Of course.” Her expression shifts back to professional courtesy, but something lingers in her eyes. “I’ll email you the mixed-use development research.”
I pause at Highland’s front door. “Maya, about what I asked?—”
“Focus on your board meeting,” she interrupts. “We can talk about... other things later.”
I drive back to Pierce Enterprises thinking about bamboo poles and traditional dances and the way Maya looked when she asked if Highland’s community was wrong about my interests.
By the time I reach my office, one thing is clear—this collaboration is becoming far more complicated than I anticipated.
And Harrison is going to be asking questions I’m not sure I’m ready to answer.
The boardroom feels like a tribunal when I walk in at 10:58 AM. Harrison sits at the head of the table with the other board members flanking him, while Elliot Walker—my oldest friend and VP of development—offers a subtle nod of support from near the windows.
“Cutting it close, aren’t we?” Harrison’s voice could freeze summer.
I take my seat at the opposite end of the table. “Traffic from downtown was heavier than expected.”
“Downtown.” Harrison’s emphasis makes the location sound like a moral failing. “Yes, let’s discuss your recent fascination with that particular area of the city.”
“The board authorized a collaborative approach to the Highland situation,” I say carefully. “I’m implementing that strategy.”
“We authorized you to manage community opposition,” Patricia Winters corrects. “Not to become their best friend.”
“Four visits to Highland Community Center in two weeks, Declan,” Harrison continues. “Care to explain why our CEO is spending more time in a community center than his own office?”
Ice floods my veins. Harrison’s surveillance runs deeper than I realized.
“Effective management requires understanding the stakeholders involved.”
“Understanding? Or something else entirely?” Harrison slides a tablet across the table. “Because this suggests your meetings with Maya Navarro have become quite personal.”
On the screen is a photo of me and Maya during yesterday’s Tinikling practice, both of us laughing as teenagers show us the steps. Someone at Highland posted it to social media with the caption: “Even Pierce Enterprises’ CEO can learn new moves! Thanks for being part of our Highland family, Declan!”
Highland family. The words hit harder than they should.
“Community engagement is part of the collaborative strategy,” I say.
