Page 4 of Bargain With The Boss (Crescent Cove: The Moguls #2)

Sydney

Xavier Hastings.

I didn’t have the capacity for his…charm.

Not exactly the right word, but that stupid smile made my skin feel too tight.

I needed to make sure my brother’s little project failed. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have to make much effort. How the hell did he think this dilapidated building would bring in revenue? It needed to be torn down instead of rehabbed.

Period.

“Is that right?”

I cleared my throat, snapping back into the moment. “Since Jude’s attention needs to be on Bernice and Maddie, I agreed to help. I have extensive experience with job sites.”

His brow arched. “For craft stores, not exactly the same, sweetheart.”

“I’m not your sweetheart or even your friend.”

Xavier only smiled wider.

“I think I can manage the paperwork and maybe I’ll even have better luck making the permits stick this time—unlike you.”

He rubbed his chest, but the smile didn’t waver. “Direct hit. This will be fun.”

“We have very different ideas of fun.”

“Hey, if you can sweet talk Maitland’s cousin into cooperating, I’ll fly in lobster from Maine with a tray of caviar.”

“Deal.” My smile was cool. The one I used on job sites when the crew underestimated me. I’d been dealing with the less than desirable areas of the business since I was twenty. My mother hated the details, she only wanted the glory and the ribbon cutting photo ops.

Xavier rubbed his hands together.

His other partner had already wandered back to the ladder near the building. Gavin Forrester had chestnut dark hair and a quiet capability compared to Xavier’s yacht boy good looks and hint of chaos.

I dug into my purse for my sunglasses. The water was ruthless with the late afternoon sun. “I’d like to see the offices you have for this company of yours.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Jude hasn’t taken you yet?”

“No. I had to go back to Seattle to handle some personal matters.” Because Jude didn’t need me and the company and my team did.

He only had eyes for his new wife and their family.

I shoved back the pain and the loss. It had been us against our mother for the longest time, but then that reporter ruined everything.

I swallowed tightly. “Then the baby came.”

Xavier dipped his hands into his pockets. His comic book T-shirt over Hugo Boss trousers made no sense at all. “I was surprised you weren’t here when Nessa was born.”

I glanced at Jude who was already checked out. He was texting furiously. “Something wrong?”

Jude looked up.“I need to get back to Maddie. Can you ride with Xavier?”

I nodded. “That’s fine. He’s going to show me the offices.”

“Good. That’s good.”Jude hustled over to his SUV without a backward look.

Another person in my life that left me to take care of details. I should be used to it by now, but it just left my chest hollow.

“Do you want to see the office first?”

I turned to Xavier. “What else did you have in mind?”

“We could have some lunch and look over the blueprints. I have my laptop in my car.”

Did I really want to spend an extended amount of time with this man? But if I got a look at where they were in the build of this project, maybe I could find a way to push them in the wrong direction.

Again, my chest ached as I looked over the crumbling parking lot and the killer view. Where I would demolish the old building, I definitely saw the appeal of the water. The entire town was picturesque in a way that Seattle didn’t own. Oh, it was gorgeous, but it had a different...vibe.

There was really no other word for it. Crescent Cove practically had a stamp over it that said Family Values .

“Or we can go for the food trucks over by the water. Unless that’s too pedestrian for you.”

I glanced back at him. “Could there be a taco involved?”

He gave a delighted laugh. “Why yes there is. Damn good ones.”

I nodded. “Then, yes please.”

“No good tacos in Seattle?”

I shrugged. “There are, but I prefer Asian cuisine in the area I live.”

“Lived.”

I swallowed. Part of me wondered what it would be like to move away from my mother. From the business that had defined me for over two decades. I pushed those thoughts back. Even if I wanted to leave the company, I couldn’t leave my team high and dry. “For now.”

He gestured around to the crumbling blacktop and the dumpsters full of decaying shingles. “What? This isn’t your dream place to live?”

I lifted a shoulder. “Crescent Cove is very different from Seattle.”

“Well, when you see the plans for the Lakeview Terrace apartments you might just be amazed.”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Do you want to walk to the trucks?” His gaze skimmed down to my feet. “Never mind. We can take my car.”

“No, it’s a nice day. I like the lake breeze.”

“In those?”

I glanced down at my Louboutins. “I can run a mile in these if necessary.”

“Good to know.” He nodded to the sports car at the top of the drive. “You can drop your...bag.”

“I’m good.”

“After you, then.”

I pulled out a pair of ballet flats and quickly swapped shoes, then climbed the incline to the path. I could feel his eyes on me. It unnerved me enough that I turned and folded my arms.

There was a level of annoyance riding me, but the worst part was the fact that I didn’t hate the way he looked at me.

Unrepentant, he grinned and stopped at his car. He reached inside, coming out with a slim computer. “You’re something, Syd.”

“Sydney,” I corrected. “And stop staring at my ass.”

“Sorry.”

“Somehow I don’t think so.”

He closed his door and scaled the hill in a few short strides as he pulled his sunglasses out of the collar of his T-shirt. “You’re well aware of your appeal, Syd.”

Unsure what to say to that, I started down the walkway leaving him behind.

The sun-bleached cement was just as crumbled from disuse as the blacktop.

Unsure if that would be something their company would have to take care of or if it was a town thing, I made a mental note to look into it.

They’d have to grade the hill, and I could already see sandstone steps framed out with some wildflowers.

Maybe some ornamental grass to soften the look and also keep the sandy hillside from eroding.

He caught up to me and we walked in silence, both of us lost in thought. The wind whipped around us off the lake and the scent of water mixed with his warm sandalwood cologne.

“You do realize that whole hill is a hazard.”

His was resigned. “I was thinking the same, actually. The path needs some work too.”

“Since the rest of the lake walk is well tended, either they didn’t bother with it thanks to the abandoned storefronts, or it’s your responsibility.”

“Something to look into. Since the project has taken three years to even get us a permit, I imagine every damn thing is going to be a headache.”

It wasn’t the first time I heard about this man who owned a lot of this area. “Hmm.”

“What?”

“How does one man have this much power in this town? It feels positively?—”

“B-movie cinematic?”

I laughed, annoyed that he amused me. “Accurate.”

“The Maitlands have been here almost as long as my family. Arthur is a prick, but he also controls the rent on a staggering number of buildings in Crescent Cove which allows him more leeway than we’d like.”

“And your family doesn’t?”

“No. We might be one of the founding families, but we play with their money instead.”

At my arched brow, he huffed out a laugh. “Hastings Investments is my family business. We also own major shares in the bank, as does Arthur. He mostly focuses on real estate along with the Hamiltons.”

The Hamilton name dampened the sunny day.

Oliver and Seth Hamilton, as well as the patriarch, James were major players in town.

Jude wasn’t the only one who had done a deep dive into them after that blasted article had come out.

Finding out our mother had a whole life before we’d been born had been an earthquake to my foundations.

Half brothers.

Twins who looked so much like Jude.

But Oliver and Seth weren’t the only half brothers. Jude held that honor as well, leaving me on the outside.

He cleared his throat as if knowing the subject was a sore one. “Speaking plainly, I worry about Arthur’s plans for the spa and resort he wants to build.”

I glanced up at him. “Wouldn’t that bring people to your town?”

“It would, but it would also price out the families and people who live here. At first the quaint stores would amuse them, but eventually Arthur and his investors would want higher end shops to equal the moneyed types they’re going to cater to.

So then places like Every Line A Story gets less traffic from the tourists.

” At my frown, he elaborated. “A gift shop and bookstore on Main Street.”

I vaguely remembered the shop with the big window full of trinkets. “I see.”

Bringing business to the town should be a good thing.

He paused and grabbed my hand to stop me.

My skin tingled at his touch, short circuiting my brain.

“What happens when the smaller places can’t afford their rent?”

“Wouldn’t they have increased sales?”

“At first, sure. But Maitland owns the properties, and he’d price out the shop owners so he could get boutique shops that cater to the rich people he’s going to market to.

Not to mention the high-end bungalows he wants to build around the lake will drive up the prices of homes on the lake. Not all of them are?—”

“Like yours?”

He growled. I tried to take my hand back because all of the passion in his eyes made my skin feel buzzy, but he held it firm.

“I’ve got money, yes. And yes, my parents have a lake house, but right next door is one of my best friends in his much smaller post-and-beam house.

” His eyes were hidden behind the mirrored lenses of his shades, but there was no denying his anger.

“Not only does Arthur want to eat up all the land and paths that make the area desirable to people, but he wants to tear down swaths of trees for a golf course, for fuck’s sake. ”

“It’s a big lake, Xavier. Progress can’t be stopped you know.”

“I know that.” His hold increased until I was so aware of him and his scent I wanted to push him away, but I also couldn’t look away from how intense he was. “Then the small shops go and so do the families. All the things that make Crescent Cove special will be gone.”

My heart raced in my chest. “That’s quite the worst case scenario you’ve got there.”

“I like this small town life. I don’t want it to be changed into a resort town.”

“It could be good for the economy though.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if it were individualized shops and eateries?

We love the tourists that come here for the lake.

And many come here for our Main Street because it’s so charming then they can take their families to the lake for fun.

We’ve expanded our park to accommodate people visiting as well as community spaces for locals.

That’s the important part of small town life. ”

“There’s no happy medium?” I detangled our fingers andturned to the view of the lake. “Vacation cottages would bring even more people here.”

“There’s no happy medium for Arthur Maitland.” He turned me toward the west side of the lake. “See that billboard over there? Future home of Crescent Lake Resort & Spa.” His breath was warm on my ear as he crowded into me.

“Yes.”

“That whole spread would be the resort. From the edge of those trees to the docks.”

“Not small.”

“At all,” he said softly.

He turned me to face him again. I tried to back up, but he just followed me. My reaction to his passion shouldn’t have left me so unbalanced. “So you think you can fight that kind of expansion with small shops?”

“No.” His jaw flexed with his exasperation. “We’re not delusional, but we are encouraging expansion without losing the good parts of Crescent Cove. We have families as well as young professionals which is why we want the Lakeview Terrace to cater to new people.”

“Okay, then let’s see those plans. As well as a taco.” I backed away from him and all that passion.

I didn’t want to see the appeal.

Not when I had to ruin it all to save my people.