Page 11 of Forty and Fighting Dirty
“It doesn’t line up at all,” she replied, “but you might’ve considered it as simply paying a premium for the centerpiece of the lodge’s design. Now we might have to compromise to get the job done.”
We made our way upstairs, where the bare subfloor and unfinished walls opened onto the big windows that gave a fantastic view of the mountains towering around us. Concrete columns held up the roof, with not a single finished element complete.
We were way,waybehind schedule.
“Boss!” a man called out.
I turned and nodded. “Ollie.” I greeted my cousin, our site superintendent, with a nod. “Meet the newest addition to the team. Piper Darling is the woman who’s going to transform this space in record time.”
Piper shot me another one of those glances, and this time I thought I read a bit of surprise. Maybe she’d resigned herself togetting fired for her little stunt this morning, and she was shocked that I was keeping her on.
“Piper!” Oliver exclaimed, pumping the woman’s arm as he shook her hand. “Just in time. Hopefully you’ll have better ideas than the last group of losers this guy hired.” He jabbed a thumb at me.
“Careful, Ollie.”
My cousin flashed a grin at Piper and winked. For some reason, it made me stiffen. We’d been attached at the hip since we were kids, and he was one of the only people in this world who truly understood what drove me. He’d been there to witness the car crash of my childhood, the disaster of my one and only serious relationship. Where acquaintances and friends would occasionally question me about my love life, Ollie knew I had no interest in dating.
I’d found a new obsession: my business. Baldwin Consulting was my wife, my mistress, and my baby. Everything I’d worked for over the past twelve years was right here—and it had been worth it.
So no, I didn’t want to date. And I certainly didn’t want to date Piper Darling, no matter how much I enjoyed needling her until she shot me a glare and stuck out her pointy little chin at me.
But for some reason, I didn’t want Oliver to date her either.
And why was I even thinking these things? He was giving me a hard time and being friendly with the newest member of our team. Nothing more.
Except I knew that glimmer in his eyes, and I knew it hadbeen three months since his last breakup. That was about the time Ollie usually decided to find someone new.
Piper didn’t react to the wink. She just arched a brow as she slid those blue eyes in my direction, dropping Oliver’s hand in the process. “I have ideas,” she hedged. “But we’ll see how open-minded Mr. Boss-Man is.”
Ollie snorted, and I didn’t like the interested gleam in his eyes. “I like her,” he told me.
“That’s because you haven’t spent enough time together,” I said, wanting to poke Piper until she snapped. And shedidreward me with a narrowing of her eyes—the same look she’d given me in front of all those people in the coffee shop.
But Oliver chuckled and said, “Well, that can be arranged,” and I realized I’d basically just suggested that the two of them start spending more time together.
Swinging my glare in Ollie’s direction, I watched his smile melt off as he cleared his throat, eyes darting between Piper and me. “I’ll leave you two to it. We’re putting in the last of the windows on the east side.”
“The one that was cut to the wrong size?”
Oliver grunted. “Manufacturer got it right this time. We’ll be all sealed up by the end of the day.”
“Good,” I said, dismissing him.
“See you around, Piper,” Oliver called out. His gaze flicked to me briefly, then away, and he disappeared down the stairs we’d just climbed.
Clearing my throat, I tried to bring my thoughts back in line. This woman was my employee, which meant I couldn’t be interested in her. And I wasn’t! I wasn’t interested in anyone.Sure, I dated occasionally. I had flings. But I wouldn’t do that with someone who worked with me. Wasn’t worth the potential fallout, especially when my business meant everything to me.
So why did Oliver’s reaction to Piper bother me so much?
“So,” I said. “Cafeteria over there.” I pointed to the corner of the building where the professional kitchen had already been installed. “Dining room. Lounge area over here,” I said, pointing to the space in front of the big windows.
Piper nodded. “And all hard-wearing materials, since people will be tracking snow through here on their boots. They’ll have wet gear with them all the time, maybe just coming in for a quick bite before hitting the slopes for another session.”
“Sure. But I still want it to be refined. Nothing that feels cheap.”
Piper hummed. “Based on the documents Todd sent over, I was under the impression that you were looking for something leaning more toward comfort than luxury.”
“I’m trying to open us up to a new market segment.”
