Page 36 of The Merger

His hands shove into his pockets as he turns his back to me.

I watch him for a long minute, and then two, giving him time to respond. But the longer I stand quietly, the quicker the power dynamic shifts to favor him. It’s nothing I haven’t experienced before, and I know what to do—leave while I still have a somewhat upper hand.

Leave him scratching his head instead of vice versa.

“All joking aside, I have openings on my schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I don’t think it’ll take three days as soon as I get everything repotted, treated—that sort of thing. At that point, we can probably do two days.”

He turns slowly to face me.

Keep talking. Stay professional.

“I inventoried all the plants today and took pictures and notes,” I say. “There are forty-seven. Getting them all tended to will take a bit of time, just so you’re clear.”

He lifts a brow. “There are forty-seven plants?”

“There are. John from your accounting department, I think, helped me during his lunch hour.”

Gannon’s jaw sets.

“He was super helpful,” I say, grinning. “Great guy. Do you know him?”

Instead of answering me, he tugs on the collar of his shirt.

My body screams at me to stay in his orbit. It begs me to slide in a cheeky comment to get him worked up again. But my brain tells me that’s a bad idea. I need to leave while I can.

“As long as it’s okay with you, I’ll let Keisha know I’m a subcontractor and not an employee of Brewer Group, and I’ll be here as long as it takes to get the job done. I’ll stay out of your way. You’ll never even know I’m here.”

His brows furrow. “Great.”

“And, I know I’ve said this to you before, but I’ll say it again. Thank you, Gannon. In all seriousness, I truly appreciate you giving me and Plantcy a try.”

He nods. “Of course.”

A buzzer rings through the air, cutting the tension in half. I heave a breath. Gannon’s shoulders instantly soften as he moves toward his desk.

“Yes, Kylie,” he says.

“Mr. Brewer, you have a call from Mr. Tom Siegfried,” she says.

I take a step backward. “I’m going anyway. Thank you again.”

Gannon starts to speak, then stops. “Thank you, Carys.”

Before I can say anything else, I leave.

Chapter Nine

Carys

“No, no, no! Don’t fall!” I rush to the counter and snatch a jar of pickles midair before it smashes against the floor.Oof. “What do ya know? I still got it.”

I laugh at myself and place the sweet gherkins safely in the pantry.

“No one has ever, in the history of the universe, said you have good reflexes,” Courtney says through my earbuds.

“Because I do my most impressive feats when I’m alone. The best superheroes never display their powers for the world to see.”

“Sure.”