Page 21 of Resisting the Temptation
When I finally make my way down to the lobby, Emma is chatting with our receptionist, Gia, but they stop when they see me coming.
“Emma and I will be gone for a few hours.”
“Of course, Ben. Enjoy your lunch.” Gia smiles and bats her eyelashes at me.
I nod once in response and head out to my truck, assuming Emma is following me.
Once we’re both in the truck and pull out of the parking lot, Emma turns to me. “Tell me about Mr. Allridge.”
“He’s the owner of Allridge Developments, the biggest developer in San Diego. We’ve bid with him three times, and he’s rejected us every time.”
“Okay… did he say why?”
“Just that we weren’t a good fit.”
“Okay, tell me more about him.”
I glance over at her, and she has her pen poised to take notes in her notebook. “What am I supposed to know about him?”
I swear she rolls her eyes, but I can’t be sure because I’m looking at the road. “Is he married? Does he havekids? Grandkids? What are his hobbies? Why did he want to go into development? What’s his story?”
“Why the fuck would I know those things?”
“Because,Ben, that’s what you do when you’re trying to make connections with someone. But I suppose you wouldn’t know much about that. You don’t even know anything about your own crew members.” She takes her headband off and rubs her temples.
“Why would I need to know personal things about them? They’re employees, not my friends.”
We’re stopped at a red light, so Idocatch her eye roll this time. God, it makes me want to bend her over my knee and spank her—
Nope. Not professional.
“Any good employer gets to know their employees.”
“Technically, my dad is their employer.”
“But you’re going to be taking over the company eventually, right? Enzo is great at connecting with people. You’ll need to be able to do that to keep the connections he’s made.”
I’m pretty sure this is the most we’ve spoken since she started.
I don’t like it.
I especially don’t like that she has a point. No one else has ever been so bold as to tell me to my face I need to work on my people skills. Everyone else lets me be a broody asshole.
“I like to think our work speaks for itself, so the people we do repeat jobs for will continue to hire us, even after I take over the company.”
The sigh she lets out makes my skin prickle with irritation. “Whatever. I guess I’ll just have to make my own connections with him.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.”
Emma doesn’t grace me with a retort, thankfully, so we spend the rest of the short drive in complete silence. I notice she doesn’t put her headband back on until we’re pulling into the restaurant, and I wonder if it hurts her head.
I curse myself for giving a fuck.
River’s End was Emma’s suggestion. I’ve been here once with my family and enjoyed the atmosphere and the food, so I agreed, but I’m not sure it will impress Mr. Allridge.
Emma walks right up to the hostess stand and tells the girl her name for our reservation, and they chat like they’ve met a million times before.
How andwhyis she so friendly?
