Page 15 of A Secret Chance
Baxter noticed that when Lauren switched into business mode, her voice changed, becoming deeper, more authoritative. His cock twitched in response and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Miss Bunkman, we want to work with you and the town, not against you. This development is going to be good for everyone.”
If she could go into business mode, so could he. He had to look at her like an adversary, a foe, a fly to be squashed, not his dream woman.
“Really, Mr. Caldwell.” She leaned forward. “As far as anyone in this town can see, the only person who is going to benefit from this expansion is you.” Her voice was firm but tinged with anger.
“Mr. Filterton,” he addressed Thomas, ignoring her statement. “Would you care to go over the modifications for the expansion with Miss Bunkman.”
“Of course, sir,” Thomas said. He set the big leather folio on her desk, opening it to reveal thick glossy cardstock with renderings of the proposed mountain village. “We typically do this electronically,” he apologized, “But we were informed your office could not support a digital presentation.”
Baxter tightened his lips, insulting the woman and her operation was not going to help their cause.
Thomas flipped through the various renderings, explaining the modifications that they had made. Modifications that took millions out of Caldwell’s pocket. When he was finished, he handed Lauren a tube with copies of the renderings and packed up his presentation.
Lauren sighed. “What about the bear habitat? What about the request to hire local contractors? Mr. Caldwell, while you’ve taken two stories off your tower, its footprint hasn’t changed. The only improvements I can see in this plan is a slightly less phallic-looking tower in your proposed town square.”
“There’s going to be more dining options for the locals at the bottom of the tower, did you see that?” Mr. Filterton said. “That’s got to count for something. There’s no place in this town to get sushi,” he chuckled and leaned back in his chair.
Lauren shook her head. Mr. Filterton had assured Baxter that the improvements to the plan would be appealing to their opponents. He was starting to realize that they had missed the mark. By a mile.
Lauren stood up and leaned on her desk. “If this is your final version, you can be sure that the town and the conservancy will fight you every step of the way.”
“Are you sure they want to do that?” Thomas crossed his ankle over his knee and draped his arms wide across the back of his chair. “That’s going to be an expensive process. I can see to that.” He added a cocky fingerpoint.
“Are you saying that you are going to draw this out so whoever has the deepest pockets crosses the finish line first?”
“I didn’t say that,” Thomas brushed some invisible lint off his lapel. “You did,” he smirked.
Baxter noticed that when Lauren smiled, her eyes glinted. “If this is your final plan, it looks like the next time I’ll be seeing any of you, will be in court.”
She had an air of confidence about her, a certainty that both unnerved, and turned him on at the same time. This lawyer had the potential to ruin his project, and the idea of facing her in court terrified him, but as he left the office that day, he found himself hoping that this fight ended up in the courtroom. Especially, if that meant he got to be in the same room with her again.
Chapter 8
“NICE SWEATER,” CHARLOTTEraised her eyebrows at Lauren as she stepped into the mezzanine of her house.
“Thanks.” But Lauren couldn’t wait to get the damn thing off. The luxurious fabric felt dirty against her skin. She couldn’t accept a gift from the CEO of the company she was fighting against. “It’s actually really itchy. Do you mind if I change into one of yours?”
