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Me:My panties are none of your business.
Unknown Number:I’d be more than happy to make them my business.
Deeply unprofessional. Stupid, really. Still, there was that little frisson of heat curling in my belly. I’m sure he played these sorts of games all the time, so it was dumb to get carried away by it.
Stef raised an inquisitive eyebrow at me. “Mind telling me what’s got you all hot under the collar?”
“What? No one! Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Hmm.”
Unknown Number:Just picturing you with your makeup smeared all over your face…for a very different reason.
Nope. Too much. I was out. Dropping my phone back in my bag, I smiled at Stef, willing the blush to fade away. “Feel like taking a walk along the river?”
She opened her mouth to say something, to push me maybe, but then she seemed to think better of it. “Sure.”
CHAPTER 5
Rhett
Neutral ground, that’s what they called it. The second floor of the Hotel Ballantyne, Esperance, NC meeting room 2.0. The agreed-on location for the mediation between myself and the Alliance for the Utterly Useless Reptiles That Are Ruining My Life. Or whatever they were called. I couldn’t remember. But they were the ones who had hired Ms. Always Wright and were funding this whole deal. So, I guess I could thank them, in a way, for the very delectable view I now had.
The woman was too fucking gorgeous for words. That’s all there was to it. Was it the four-inch heels? The pencil skirt? The hair tied back in a low bun, but with wisps left out to frame her face. What was it with women and wisps, anyway?
She was chatting with the four nerds from the alliance. There was the haughty blonde with the permanent sneer, like she’d just caught a whiff of something unpleasant. The balding guy whose eyes kept darting around nervously, as if he expected someone to jump out at any moment. The younger woman with the severe bun and long floral dress. And the tall thin guy that lookedlike he hadn’t bought a new shirt since nineteen seventy-three. Zealots, the lot of them.
They had all of Scarlett’s attention, dammit. What I’d give for even a faint acknowledgement of my existence right now. But we’d been here for ten minutes, waiting for the judge in the upstairs foyer, and Scarlett hadn’t even cast me a sideways glance. Shame. On the upside, though, that gave me plenty of opportunity to check her out.
The antique elevator jangled loudly, rudely interrupting my ogling. The tall thin guy stepped forward and yanked the door open and out stepped the Judge. She was a short woman, with silver hair, thick, horned rimmed glasses and a friendly smile. Like someone’s Nana. Except I’d dealt with her before and knew that she was formidable. “If everyone is ready, we’ll proceed to the meeting room.” She turned on her sensible heels and led the way down the carpeted hall.
“After you…” I gestured to Scarlett to go ahead, banking on her manners to allow the Alliance members to go first. Which is, of course, exactly what happened. Now I had the perfect view of her perfect ass as she walked ahead of me. I could see the moment she realized what I’d done in the stiffening of her shoulders. When she turned her head to glare at me, I had my hands in my pockets and my eyes studiously averted. The breath of annoyance she huffed out as she turned away had me grinning.
We filed into the conference room, and the heavy oak door closed behind us with a dull thud. I felt a thrill of anticipation as we took our seats around the gleaming conference table, the judge at the head, me and my lawyer, Bob Miller and his assistant, whose name I couldn’t remember. The way they laid their briefcases on the table and clacked them open in disciplined unison was very impressive. Did they rehearse that?
Scarlett took the seat directly across from me and placed her briefcase on the floor, removing a folder from it and shooting me a fiery look. All in one smooth motion. Hot.
“Good morning. Thank you for being here. My name is Vivienne Donald. As the court-appointed mediator, my role is to facilitate an open discussion and see if we can reach a mutually agreeable solution, rather than proceeding to litigation,” the judge began in a clipped tone. “The matter at hand is between Rivers Enterprises and the Alliance of Susceptible Species. Mr. Bob Miller acts on behalf of Rivers Enterprises. Ms. Scarlett Wright is standing for the Alliance.” She fixed us all with a stern look before continuing. “Now, I’ll lay out the ground rules. There will be no grandstanding, no insults, no stomping out of the room like petulant children. We are all adults here. If you cannot follow basic decorum, you will be excused. Is that clear?” After we all agreed, she looked at Scarlett. “Ms. Wright, I invite you to make your opening remarks.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. The Pine Barren Treefrog is an integral part of this ecosystem. They are an indicator species, a barometer of the health of our wetlands. Their population has already declined by over 30% in the last decade. The development proposed by Mr. Rivers’ company will destroy their remaining habitat and push them to the brink of extinction. In short, it is recklessly irresponsible and shows a callous disregard for a vulnerable species.”
So. Hot.
“Thank you, Ms. Wright. We’ll turn now to the respondent. I give you the right of reply.”
One of us had to play the grown up and luckily for me, Bob was up to the task. “We have conducted extensive environmentalimpact assessments. Mitigation strategies are in place to minimize any potential harm to the treefrogs. Furthermore, this development will bring much-needed jobs and economic growth to the region. —”
Scarlett’s eyes flashed. “Mitigation strategies? Like relocating a handful of frogs and calling it a day? This isn’t just about the treefrogs, it’s about the message we send. Do we value profit over the preservation of our natural world? Over the very creatures that share this planet with us?”
Fascinating. Honestly. All this zeal for some reptiles. I couldn’t imagine feeling that much about anything, let alone something so pointless.
Was Bob squirming? Surely not. Guess it was my turn to be the adult. “While we understand your concern for the treefrogs, Ms. Wright, let’s not forget the broader picture. Economic development brings jobs and growth to this community, and it’s vital to consider the needs of its residents too. Finding a balance between environmental protection and economic progress requires a thoughtful approach. We’re committed to doing that, but let’s be realistic about what’s achievable.”
She snorted. She fuckingsnorted.I raised a brow at her, throwing down a challenge I knew she’d pick up.
“Do us all a favor and don’t pretend you give two fu—pretend you actually care about the environmental impact of this project.”
“Ms. Wright, I’ll refer you to the guidelines of this meeting.”