Making You My Business (A Lennox in Love)

by Tina Martin

  “A place. Time. Where are we going to meet, Joelle Bannon?”

  She noticed every time he said her name, there was derision and a hard edge to his voice. He didn’t like her just as much as she didn’t like him. How were they supposed to work together when they couldn’t see eye-to-eye?

  “Well?” he asked, then finished his tea.

  “I don’t know where to meet. This is your thing. What do you suggest?”

  “My house. Every evening. Seven o’clock sharp.”

  Jojo frowned. “Well, that’s not going to happen.”

  “How’d I know you’d say that?”

  “If you knew what my response would be, why’d you—”

  “Because you asked,” he said, cutting her off, fed up with her smart remarks. He needed to put her in her place and quick. “You asked for my suggestion, and I gave you my suggestion.”

  Her glare sharpened. “Well, it was a stupid one. Why would I agree to meet at your house? I don’t know you like that. Don’t know you at all.”

  Frustration seeped into his bones. If it wasn’t for her expertise at the lodge, he’d dismiss her, here and now, but Remington was adamant about getting Jojo back, so he said, “We’ll meet at a restaurant then.”

  “That’s fine, but not here. It will have to be someplace else. And I’m not going to be able to meet every day at seven. I work in the evenings.”

  “Oh, right…your restoration business.”

  Her mouth fell open. Had he really been digging into her life, trying to find out everything he could about her? How else would he know about the restoration business?

  “I told you I would make it my business to find out why you were wearing those goggles.” Giovanni dabbed the corners of his mouth. “By the way, I saw your portfolio. You do pretty good work.”

  Jojo was too shocked to respond. She just looked at him, not believing what she was hearing. Did Lennox Enterprises want her back so bad that they had Giovanni snooping around into her personal affairs? Were they trying to strong-arm her back to the lodge?

  “This is the part where you’re supposed to say ‘thank you’.”

  Jojo blew a breath and said, “On second thought, I don’t think I can work with you.”

  “Why not?”

  “You’re a jerk.”

  Giovanni laughed. “I’m not a jerk. You don’t know me well enough to call me a jerk.”

  “I know what you’re presenting to me. First impressions are everything, right, and you’re coming to me, asking for my help, but you’re being rude about it.”

  “I’m not being rude. I’m being straightforward.”

  “Then why not be straightforward with someone else? There are still a couple of part-time front desk clerks at the lodge. I’m sure they can give you the information you’re seeking.”

  “I’m sure they could, too.”

  “Then why not harass one of them?”

  “Because I don’t want them. I want you.”

  Jojo’s breath quickened. She’d never met a man so direct and to the point. I want you. He said it so clearly, it left no room for misunderstandings. He wanted her for this task and no one else would do.

  “Why should I help you? I don’t need the money.”

  “I know you don’t, but you worked at the lodge for ten years. It means something to you. Well, it used to.”

  Jojo thought about how the front desk position at the lodge was a stepping-stone to the beginning of her life without her parents and her little sister. She swallowed to relieve the tightness in her throat and closed her eyes briefly to force away the sad memories. Looking up at him again and opening her glossy eyes, she said in a mellow tone, “We can start whenever you want, but I have to get some work done some evenings, like this evening. So…”

  Giovanni studied her for a moment, seeing the sadness in her eyes, and he knew the source of that sadness. “Do you think you can do your woodwork and talk to me about the lodge at the same time?”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “Yes. That’s what I want, only if you’re comfortable with me at your house,” he said.

  “We’ll be on the back porch, so that’s fine.”

  “Seven still good?” he asked.

  “Yeah. That’s fine. Is that all?”

  He held her gaze then said, “Yes, but I feel like I’ve upset you.”

  “You didn’t,” she said, finally sliding out of the booth. “Do you need anything before I leave?”

  He locked eyes with her again. “No.”

  She walked away with the tray in her hand, feeling like she’d just been run over by a truck. Dealing with Giovanni was emotionally draining, so much so that she considered asking Jerry for the rest of the day off.

  Giovanni watched her as she walked away. Finally, he’d gotten somewhere with her, but at what expense? The sadness in her eyes made him feel horrible. He knew about the woman’s family and what had happened to them. Still, he almost insisted that she help him with the lodge – a place that brought back painful memories for her. But this is what Remington wanted. He’d just have to tread softly with her from here on out.

  Chapter 8

  Joelle sat on the porch with gloved hands and a piece of sandpaper, still working on the table she’d started last night. She wouldn’t be able to prime it until all the table legs were smooth to the touch. Then she’d paint it.

  She sat up, sighed and took a sip of water. While this hobby of hers was enjoyable and made her feel close to her father again, it was draining, especially after being on her feet all day. Then, Giovanni was supposed to come over.

  She glanced at her watch. He was due any minute now.

  “Hello?”

  Speak of the devil…

  She heard his deep, ultra-sexy voice near the side of her house. He was unlatching the fence. Now, she wished she kept it locked. She smiled to herself, then quickly concealed the grin before he barged into her backyard.

  When he came into full view, she saw that he still had on the suit he wore earlier and was holding a bag with what appeared to be two carry-out food containers inside.

  “What the heck do you think you’re doing?” Jojo asked.

  “What do you mean? You do remember we agreed to meet here at seven.”

  “Yes, but I didn’t tell you to burst in through my fence. You can ring the doorbell like everybody else.”

  He smiled. “My apologies. I’ll remember that for next time.”

  That’s if there’s a next time, Jojo thought. She’d lost her mind inviting him over to her house – her personal sanctuary – to talk about the lodge. What was she thinking? Oh, right…getting him off of her back.

  Jojo resumed sanding the table.

  “You look like you know what you’re doing,” he said taking a seat at an umbrella table.

  The way he said it implied that she didn’t know what she was doing. Instead of taking offense she responded, “I do…learned from the best.”

  Her father, he thought and didn’t say anything more about the touchy subject. “I bought some dinner.”

  “Oh, well my hands are dirty and I need to finish the sanding portion of this table tonight, so—”

  “Then, I’ll eat while you work.”

  “Yeah. Just pretend we’re at the deli and eat up a storm.” She smirked.

  He smiled. Opening the takeout container, he began eating the fried chicken he’d purchased.

  Jojo’s eyes lingered on him longer than she had wanted. When it came to men, Giovanni Lennox was as fine and built and perfect as they came. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t find him attractive? But she had to keep her head on straight where he was concerned. Besides, a man like him being the slightest bit attracted to a woman like her was nothing short of wishful thinking.

  “What?” he asked chewing, with a pair of greasy, slender lips.

  “Nothing.”

  “No. Ask me. It’s on the tip of your tongue. I can feel it.”

  She smi
led uncomfortably. “I was just wondering why you were still in your suit.”

  “Because I work until six…had to stop by Smoky Mountain Lodge today and speak with Kevin Knicely.”

  “Oh.”

  “While we’re on the topic, tell me what you think of Kevin?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Give me your opinion about him.”

  “Is this questioning a part of this consulting thing?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Um…” She stopped sanding the table to chew on her lip. “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble so I’d rather just keep my mouth shut.”

  “It’s not about getting anyone in trouble, but I do need you to be completely honest and one-hundred percent transparent with me. Now, I already know he’s a slacker if that’s what you’re worried about telling me. You’ve been gone for two months and he hasn’t been able to match your performance which tells me he spent all this time—all these years—riding off of your hard work and now that you’ve left him out to dry, he’s folding under the pressure. So, tell me, Jojo. What do you think about Kevin Knicely?”

  The fact that he called her by her nickname again didn’t bother her as much as her dislike of Kevin. So, she let it slide. He wanted to call her Jojo, fine. Now, she just wanted to vent about Kevin.

  “Jojo?”

  She looked up at Giovanni. “You really want to know what I think?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. I think Kevin Knicely is an idiot.”

  Giovanni chuckled. “Jeez. Tell me how you really feel.”

  Jojo laughed. “You told me to be honest. I think the man is a world class, idiot. He walks around with that stiff, stuck-up walk of his like he can’t rotate his hip and sends the dumbest, most moronic emails I’ve ever read. I used to feel so stupid replying to one of his emails…then he’d have the nerve to sign his emails with ‘KK’ instead of the company-approved signature format with the Lennox Enterprises logo. And he never took the time to learn anything. The new computer system we got a few years back…guess what…he still doesn’t know how to use it.”

  Giovanni started on another piece of chicken but was listening intently to her every word. She said, the computer system ‘we’ got a few years back – as if she was still a part of the organization. He also picked up on her detestation for the man in her descanting.

  “You ran the place, is what you’re telling me,” Giovanni said.

  “Yes. I did. I did everything, and I’m not saying that to be arrogant or boastful, but I really did know that computer system inside out. Whenever I ran into any problems with it, I didn’t need to call tech support. I was tech support.”

  “The training you received with that new system…did that help you master it?”

  “Honestly, that training was just enough to get a person comfortable making a general reservation. It didn’t cover what happened when you needed to cancel a reservation, change a date, or even how to handle it when the system froze, which happened frequently, by the way.”

  Giovanni ate more then asked, “You ever ask Kevin for a raise?”

  “Yes. A few times.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. The first time I asked, he told me to give him a month to come up with a performance review template.”

  “A template?”

  “That’s what I said. There’s already a performance review packet for employees available to all managers on the portal.”

  “How do you know that?” Giovanni asked.

  “Because the moron gave me his login information. I logged in under his name to do stuff all the time. He didn’t care, just so as long as I wasn’t disturbing him.”

  “So you could’ve submitted a pay raise to human resources, pretending to be him and they would not have been the wiser.”

  “I could have, but I’m honest. I wouldn’t do that. My conscience wouldn’t allow it.”

  He nodded. He was beginning to like her already. “Tell me more about when you asked him for a raise.”

  “Nothing much to tell, really. He’d just brushed me off like he’d get around to it. Then I see him getting a company vehicle and it made me hate Lennox Enterprises because it’s like, how do you bring in a man as dumb as Kevin Knicely, then turn around and give him a company vehicle.”

  “It was my understanding that he requested a company vehicle to travel and book business for the hotel.”

  “That’s a lie. Booking business falls under Kenton Lennox’s scope of work if I’m not mistaken.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “That car is for Kevin’s personal use. He did drive it to the company-sponsored seminar earlier this year. You remember the hospitality and tourism convention in Asheville?”

  “I do.”

  “He drove it there, checked in, then left so the executives would think he was there the entire day.”

  “I see,” Giovanni said. Now he was getting a clearer picture of Kevin Knicely – one in which he didn’t like. He wanted to fire the man today, but he’d have to talk to his brothers before taking any action on that front. “Are you going to be working on this table tomorrow evening?”

  “Yes, if I don’t finish sanding these legs.”

  “Then do you mind if I helped you finish it?”

  “Why?”

  “I need you to come to the lodge—”

  “No. I can’t go back there,” she said in a panicked breath.

  “Why not?” he asked, but knew the answer to that question.

  “Because I can’t.”

  “But I need you to,” Giovanni told her.

  “I know, but—”

  “Okay, one thing at a time,” he said when she looked like she was losing it. He licked his fingers.

  “And I don’t need your help. This is my project. My job. Just ask me what you need to know about the lodge. Let’s just stick to that.”

  “Okay. Fine.” Giovanni took a napkin from the bag and wiped his hands and mouth. “Anything else I need to know about Kevin?”

  “No.”

  “What about you, Jojo? Anything I need to know about you?”

  She stopped sanding and looked up at him. He told her he would make her business his business, and he’d already done enough research on her to find out about the restoration company she took over for her father. If he was able to find that out, maybe he knew about the fire, too.

  “No. There’s nothing you need to know. Like I said, let’s stick to questions about the lodge.”

  “Okay. I spoke to the cleaning staff today.”

  A smile came to Jojo’s face, thinking about the ladies who spent their days cleaning the rooms at the lodge. She’d been friends with them all and missed every single one of them. “Why did you speak to them?”

  “To get an idea of why they think the lodge has been getting a rash of complaints, and they all said the same thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Said it was because you weren’t there.”

  Jojo’s heartwarming smile stained her cheeks. “They’re sweet…good people to work with.”

  Giovanni nodded and said, “You know what else they told me?”

  Jojo began sanding the last leg. “What?”

  “That you organized a small award ceremony for them.”

  A smile grew on her face. “I did.”

  “And they told me about the bonuses you gave them out of your own pocket. Said you bought apples and bottled water for guests at check-in. I’m sure our guests appreciated that.”

  “They did.”

  “What baffles me about all of that is how a woman who makes nine dollars an hour can afford to give away money for bonuses.”

  “They deserved it. Lennox Enterprises, the company you represent, didn’t give them bonuses.”

  “I’m aware of that, and I told you that’s why I’m in this new role.”

  “Well, it’s a little too late, now ain’t it?”

  His eyes squinted. “W
oman, you got a mouth on you. You know that?”

  “Yeah. I know that. I like to speak my mind, especially when it comes to crooked and greedy corporations whose top executives net millions of dollars every year while paying the little people pennies. People who have families, who work their fingers to the bone to clean those rooms, but still have to apply for government assistance because they make minimum wage.” She began sanding harder, taking out her frustration on that poor table leg.

  What could he say? She was right. He and his brothers had inherited the company from their father using the antiquated policies that were already in place, but still, they were responsible for the company now. “All right. You’re right, Jojo. I don’t know how else to make that clear to you, but what I do know is, if we’re going to work together, we need to do just that—work together—without you criticizing me and downplaying my efforts. Do you think your animosity towards Lennox Enterprises will prevent you from working with me?”

  A frown dented her forehead. She blew dust from the table leg, saw some of it land on his leather shoes and smiled. “Sure. I can do that, Giovanni.”

  “Friends?” he said, reaching to shake her gloved hand.

  “Yes. Friends,” she said, completing the handshake.

  She smiled, feeling a sense of relief. He used the ‘f’ word. Friends. He just wanted to be friends, work with her on this project and bounce. She was good with that.

  Chapter 9

  Jojo got up the next morning earlier than usual and still tired. She didn’t sleep well last night because of him, Giovanni. He’d been here, at her house. While he hadn’t stepped a foot inside her home, the fact that he was actually there was messing with her head. She could still smell the enduring after effects of his cologne as if the scent of him had become lodged inside of her nostrils. And whenever she closed her eyes to make an attempt to go to sleep, she’d see his face – that carved jawline of his and the cute dimple that helped to offset his rudeness. The dimple that also gave him a look of innocence – one that she was sure had fooled a lot of women into falling for him despite his personality flaws. She was glad she wouldn’t have that problem. He said he wanted to be friends. They’d shook on it. She was safe and didn’t have to worry about his advances, not like there would be any advances. Still, it was a relief. Now, if she could only stop thinking about him…