Page 16 of Bargain With The Boss (Crescent Cove: The Moguls #2)

“Fair enough.” I swallowed down my mug of coffee and handed it back to her. “I’ll meet you upstairs in a few.”

She nodded and went for another refill then climbed the spirals stairs. I didn’t bother hiding the fact that I watched her go. Damn, those legs were going to kill me.

I took care of the shower and swapped my dusty clothes for my dress pants, shoes, and a Spider-Man shirt. I found her bending over the blueprints, her other hand busily writing.

“What’s got you scribbling so furiously?”

She looked up, her eyes a little unfocused. “I found your file about who you tentatively were going to lease to. I spoke with Tatiana Jerico. I like her.”

“Oh. I was going to do that.”

“It’s fine. I wanted to feel her out. Jude left a few notes about her in the file.”

“She’s a chef in Saratoga and wants a change of scenery.”

“We were discussing the storefront. Since you’re bumping it out a bit, I think you could have two different people in there sharing the rent.”

I arched a brow. “Two?”

“Tatiana actually floated the idea, then we hashed it out. Could be guest spots if you wanted to be really creative. Seasonal style for summer fare, fall soups and heartier to-go foods. Kind of a specialty space for up-and-coming chefs maybe.”

“That would be a lot of juggling to keep the space filled.”

“It could, but it could also bring people into the area if we used some social media stars. I was talking to...she who will not be named.”

“For fuck’s sake, Duchess. Why were you talking to a Maitland about our project? Are you trying to get it flushed down the toilet?”

She put her hands on her hips. “First of all, watch your tone.”

My mouth dried at her words. Damn, even pissed off I couldn’t stop being turned on by her.

“It was a side discussion about A Place For All. We stopped in this morning to look around after we had some breakfast.”

A Place For All was a co-op style offshoot of Trick or Treat, the massive candy shop at the end of Main Street. The new add-on place had a series of booths that attracted vendors of all styles to sell their wares.

Her voice softened. “I didn’t talk things over with Claire.”

I relaxed and leaned my hip against the counter. “Okay.”

“Did you ever think that maybe your rigidity about Claire’s family is actually why you’re having so much trouble getting your own project going?”

“Of course it does, because Arthur wants that prime spot of land. It’s the only stretch of beach that actually is worth bringing people to. You were on that woman’s boat so you saw the touristy spot where the boardwalk is.”

She nodded. “I did. For some people it was all about the water.”

“And that’s why it works down there. But at the Lakeside Terrace we can utilize the beaches finally. Some people come by, but without anything to?—”

She held a hand up. “I don’t need another sell on the project, Xavier. I get it. But you’re so wound up about your competition that you’re making mistakes.” She pushed the notebook she was writing in toward me.

I frowned and looked through her list of expenses.

I swallowed when I read the black and white version of how much we’d lost wrangling in the permits and the insurance we had to take out to cover our asses. It would take a lot for us to recoup what we’d spent.

“What are you saying?”

“Is this really worth it?”

I frowned and pushed the notebook back at her. “It’s worth it. We’re aware that we’ve lost money on this. It’s why we are juggling so many other properties.”

She nodded slowly. “Okay, I had to ask. I understand you want this, but from a business standpoint this is a lot of loss.”

I straightened and fisted my hands at my sides. “You think I don’t know that?”

“I really don’t know. All I know is my brother left a lucrative position at our family company and now he’s here pouring money into a dream that you have.”

“ We have.”

“Maybe so, but I have to protect my brother first.”

“He wants this just as much as we do. This is his home with his family.”

Her chin lifted and her eyes went cool.

“Don’t give me that look. You’re his family too. He wants you here.” When she opened her mouth, I pushed on. “Permanently, Syd. He wants you here. It may have started with Owen but now he’s got roots in the Cove. He’s been getting to know his brothers. And they’re your half-brothers too.”

“I know that,” she said in a furious whisper. “Believe me, I’m well aware of the fact that I started out this year with a big change too. Jude hasn’t looked back even once.”

I relaxed and stepped closer to her. “He’s figuring things out.”

“Yes, I understand that.” She crossed her arms over her middle. “But it didn’t just affect his life when he decided to leave Seattle.”

I frowned. “He’s still part of your family’s company.”

“Not—” She cut herself off. “That’s not important. What’s important to me is that he’s financially stable with this company of yours.”

I took her arm and pulled her over to my desk.

“Xavier, I don’t want to see your records.”

“No, I think you need to see them. Jude trusts you and you’re right. You should see where we are.” I pushed her into my chair and set her in front of my screen, then reached around her to log in.

Her dark floral scent wrapped around me and I gripped the back of my chair. Hell. This wasn’t the smartest move on my end. I pulled up the first quarter earnings and glanced at her. She sat stiffly, but slowly relaxed as she clicked through the spreadsheets.

I grabbed the mouse and opened our first and second year earnings.

“You can see it was a little rocky at first, but once Jude moved here permanently, things evened off with all three of us focused on our company. Houses, properties, even flips. We have been in the black since the third quarter of our first year.”

She sat back in the chair.

“We’re not fucking around, Duchess. All of us have something to prove in one way or another.”

“I see.”

I turned the chair so I could get a good look at her. “What’s really going on here?”

“Nothing. I’m just worried about Jude.”

I crouched in front of her, letting her be a bit above me. It seemed to take a little of the wariness out of her eyes. “I get that, but you have to see he’s happy with Maddie and the kids. Or is that the problem?”

She looked away but quickly met my gaze, her eyes cool. “Why would that be a problem?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?”

“Look at it from my point of view. Suddenly he’s moved across the country and left everyone behind.”

I covered her hand. “He didn’t leave you behind.”

She pulled back and pushed the chair back, walking away from me. “That’s not relevant to this conversation. Can we just get to work?”

“Sure.” I straightened and dropped into my chair. “You can use Jude’s logins. I’ll give you access so you can make a profile for yourself.”

She nodded and settled at Jude’s desk. “Good. Thank you.”

The three of us had full admin capabilities and it was easy to add her. Something told me to see what had her so worried, and I added a backdoor program to watch where she went in the system and what she was focusing on.

I stayed most of the morning and once I was sure she was set up I returned to the office. Still, something niggled at the back of my brain.

The inner workings of the female mind were a wild and wondrous place. Syd was a quiet sort which meant she was probably an overthinker. It wasn’t a bad thing. Gavin was very much like her in that regard and I’d learned to wait him out.

I wasn’t sure why it was proving so difficult to do the same with Syd.

While I wheeled and dealed through the stock market and made a few more contacts for startups that interested me, I checked in on Sydney throughout the day.

Diligent worker didn’t even cover her abilities. She’d shredded through half the to-do list that had piled up since Jude had been distracted with his impending baby’s arrival.

I had a feeling things would be changing in FHK Property Group.

It remained to be seen if it was for the better.