“You see right through me.”
“I most certainly do,” I say and grin at him. Then, before I can stop myself, I turn his way. “Are you okay?” I whisper.
He shakes his head. “Not really. But I’ll be fine.”
“Where’s Isabella?”
“She’s with Rhonda. Thankfully, she’s amazing with her. I only hope everything will be fine tonight.”
“It will be.”
“I hope so.”
We sit for the next thirty minutes and Grant goes over all the concerns he has for the property he purchased on St. Barts.
“Your plane is ready, Mr. Lancaster.”
We get up and walk over to the tarmac where the private plane is parked. Once inside, we sit next to each other. My nerves are on high alert for multiple reasons, including but not limited to the man sitting within inches of me. I’m not ready to be this close to him, but I told him I’d be here for him, so here I am.
I grip the seat and close my eyes, dreading the next part.
“Afraid of flying?” Grant asks from beside me.
I nod without opening my eyes. “I don’t like taking off.”
I wait for him to mock me, but he doesn’t. Instead, he takes my hand. I open my eyes to see his hand on mine. He squeezes and I squeeze back, feeling soothed by his touch. When the plane finally takes off I hardly notice. I’ve been so focused on our hands joined together that I forgot every one of my fears. Nothing matters but the feel of Grant’s skin against mine.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Grant’s voice has me snapping into the here and now. I pull my hand away. I can’t allow myself to go down that path again. My heart’s too fragile and nothing has changed.
“Nothing. I was just thinking about the mess waiting on us.”
“Let’s not even think about it for these next few hours. When we get there, we’ll get it straightened out.”
“You seem much more confident than you did earlier.”
“I have you here.”
I will my heart not to skip another beat.
“Don’t, Grant. It’s not fair.”
“I’m serious. I don’t mean to upset you, but having you here calms me. I don’t know what else to say.”
“Just don’t say anything,” I sigh. “When you say shit like that you give me false hope, and it isn’t fair.”
“I never meant to hurt you. You have to know that. Not then, not now, not ever.”
“We’re on a work trip. We’ll be professional, get our work done, and get home. I’ll finish my time with The L and then I’ll move on. After that, we won’t see each other again unless the universe seriously hates my guts and throws you in my path.”
“It would be that bad to see me again?” Grant sounds hurt and I almost regret my harsh tone.
“Yes. It would. I care about you, but that doesn’t matter because Chelsea has her claws so far imbedded in your skin you’re stuck in place. She’ll keep pulling you down, but there isn’t anything you’ll do about it. And I get it. I really do. Isabella is amazing and she needs you.”
“You care about her.”
I look him square in the eye. “I do.” I take a deep breath. “Let’s just do what we came to do and not make this hard. Please?”
He nods and that’s the end of further conversation.
I can’t help but feel sad when the plane lands safely and we have to get off. I might’ve shut him down, but I can still feel the warmth of his hand on mine.
We head straight to the address for the project manager without any pit stops. The lady at reception holds our bags while we meet with the unsuspecting man, who’s apparently having lunch in his office.
“Fredrick?” Grant asks when we walk into the office.
“Yes? Who are you?”
“Grant Lancaster.”
Fredrick’s eyes widen. “Mr. Lancaster? From New York?”
“Yes, and I want to know what the fuck you’ve been doing with my hotel.”
“I, uh . . . I was hoping to have it all sorted out by the time you called.”
“Not acceptable.”
“Uh, well, yes, I-I’m working on the issues as we speak.”
Grant leans forward and laughs. “You are? Because it looks to me like you’re playing Solitaire.”
A bead of sweat drips off Fredrick’s face as he gulps. “I’m not. This was, uh, well, you see, it’s because I’m having something to eat,” Fredrick mutters. He doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself. I almost feel bad for him. Almost.
“We’re going to figure this shit out today. If you haven’t given me a plausible reason for why we haven’t broken ground, then you’re out.”
“You’ll fire me?”
“Now you understand.”
“Would you like to meet in an hour or so? That way I can gather up everything and we can maybe sit somewhere a bit more comfortable.”
Grant looks around. “I’m perfectly happy where we are now.”
“Oh. Okay then,” Fredrick says, dropping his eyes to the ground, shoulders slumping in defeat.
“Can you stay?” Grant asks me.
“Yep.”
I sit and listen to Grant and Fredrick run through everything that hasn’t happened. I jot down notes. I can see Grant getting more and more upset and I don’t blame him.
Grant stands up. “Right. I think we’ve seen enough. You’re out.”
“Excuse me, but you can’t fire me.” Fredrick grows a set of balls the likes of which we’ve yet to see from the scrawny man.
“Says who?”
“I’ll get my lawyer.”
“From what I see, you have two choices: call a lawyer and I’ll ruin you or—”
“Or?” His voice shakes.
“Fuck it. You have one choice, and that choice is I’ll fucking ruin you either way. Now, get your shit off my site. You have eight hours.”
We march out of the office and head to the car parked on the street.
“So, what happens next?”
“We need to find a new project manager, and I have just the man in mind.”
“You do? Already?”
“Yeah, there’s a guy I used to know in New York who moved here about a month ago. He was hoping to take on the project manager job for me, but I told him I’d already hired someone. I’ll call him now and see if he wants to meet.”
Grant makes the call and then grins at me. “Looks like he’s interested. He started a new job already, but he’s far more interested in this one. Problem is, he can only meet with me tomorrow. I’m sorry this delays our departure.”
“No problem. What do you need me to do?”
“While I’m meeting with my guy, I’d like you to stop by the job site to make sure Fredrick has gotten his shit off my land. If it isn’t gone, call the police.”
“Sounds easy enough. Anything else?”
“You’ll want to survey the property and make a record of anything that seems unusual. Vandalism is my primary concern. If there are any issues with that, take notes and pictures and we’ll take action once I get back to the property. I shouldn’t be long.”
“Sure, that sounds great,” I say, genuinely happy there’s something for me to do here. I was beginning to question the reason for my presence. If I’m able to help and learn, the trip was worth it. “Which hotel are we staying in tonight?”
“I have a suite. You can stay with me.”