“Where is Mr. Capello?” Vince asked. “We haven’t seen him at any of these meetings. How do we know he’ll show up?”
“He’ll show,” Sophia said between her teeth. She smiled for the benefit of the other men. “He’s recovering from an illness. He will definitely be fine by the time we’ve raised the necessary funds.”
Mayor Riggs rubbed his chin. “Hmm…tough decision. But after some thought, we have to say the idea of preserving the old library appeals to us. Clover Park has only a few historic spots left on Main Street. If you could add some more windows, Sophia, to capture that view out front, we’d really like to go with Capello Construction.”
“Wait a minute,” Vince said. “It’s not that easy to just add windows with brick. You need strong supports, retaining walls—” He blew out a breath, beyond frustrated. He was going to lose it soon, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. How did his dad deal with idiotic meetings like this?
Sophia put her hand on his arm. “I’ll call my engineering department.”
“I’m afraid we’ve made our decision, Vince,” Mayor Riggs said. “We’ll keep you in mind for the next project.”
And with that, he was dismissed. Vince strode from the room, jaw clenched. He went outside and headed straight to the park. He couldn’t drive when he was this furious. He couldn’t believe how quickly they made their decision. They didn’t even want to hear from him. Well, why would they? They already knew what he had to say. He’d been saying it for months already. So no big job. No promotion. Just more hard days working construction. His dad was right. Vince didn’t have what it took to get the job done. He wasn’t good enough.
He was not looking forward to that parental-boss conversation. He sat on a bench in the gazebo until the quiet of the park calmed him enough to head home. He strode across the street, heading to the parking lot. Sophia was sitting on a bench in front of the library. She jumped up when she saw him.
“Hi,” she said.
He stopped short, looking to the sky for whatever patience might be offered from above and, receiving none, turned and blasted her. “Congratulations on killing my business and making everyone in town pay far more than they can afford all because you—” he gestured up and down her body “—sashay in with a pretty dress and a pretty face!”
She stopped in front of him, looking completely unruffled and calm, which just got him more worked up. “Thank you. You want to grab a bite?”
“What I want,” he growled, getting in her face, “is to bite your head off.”
“I would taste terrible. Too much hair product. Follow me. I have a proposal for you.”
She was entirely too pleasant for the level of rage he was feeling. “You’re proposing?” he barked.
“Yes, Vince, I would love to be your wife.” She rolled her eyes. “Come on.” She kept going, stopping by her damn Mini Cooper.
“I’m not getting in that thing again,” he said. “It looks like a toy.”
“Fine. We’ll take your car.” She looked around. “Which one is it? Oh, wait, let me guess. The muscle car.” She pointed over at his Camaro. “Am I right?”
He wasn’t going anywhere with her. “Everything is screwed up!” he boomed. “I’m probably going to have to quit my job—”
“No! Don’t quit. Just grab a bite and listen to me.”
He headed over to his car, and she hurried alongside him. He turned. “Leave me alone.”
She put her hand on his arm. “Please! I’ll make it worth your while. I promise.”
She sounded desperate. He stopped. “You promise?”
She blew out a breath. “Yes.”
“What if I don’t think it's worth my while?”
A beat passed while she thought it over. This should be good. “Then I’ll let you kick my ass,” she said with a nod. “I know you want to.”
“Let me—” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Geez, you’re demented. I would never hurt a woman.” He headed for his car and unlocked it.
She appeared at his side, looking up at him with big puppy eyes. The eyes and the sexpot body made it tough to hang onto his mad. “What, then?” she asked. “What would make it worth your while?”
“Nothing.”
Her hand was on his arm again. The spicy rose scent wrapped around him. “Vince, please.”
He glanced down at her hand. “Are you begging me?”
“Yes, I am begging you.”
“You’re in over your head, aren’t you?”
She nodded.
“Too bad.” He got into the car and turned the ignition. The passenger door opened. He dropped his forehead to the steering wheel. Would this day never end?
“I’m grabbing a bite with you,” she said, fastening her seatbelt. “And then we’ll talk.”
He let out a noisy breath. Like she gave him much choice, other than physically removing her from his car. He eyed her, sitting there in that flaming red dress, bare knees and a bit of thigh showing. The idea had merit. He’d get to touch her and toss her.
“You can’t kick me out!” she exclaimed, gripping the seat tightly. “I’ll just follow you in my car until you listen!”
He raised a brow. “Fine. I’ll get food with you.” She sounded just desperate enough that he thought maybe he could still salvage the project.
She immediately started ordering him around, giving him directions to where she wanted to grab a bite. He felt a muscle tick in his cheek. He was used to giving orders, not taking them. Especially not tonight when she’d stolen the business right out from under him.
“Are you done?” he asked.
“If my directions were clear, then yes.”
“We’re going to Burger Shack.” She might be in his car, she might be insisting on prolonging this night with a damn proposal, but he’d be damned if they weren’t going where he wanted.
She smiled sunnily. “Perfect! I love burgers.”
He deflated. He just could not win with her.
He put the car in gear and peeled out of there. Now his car was going to smell like her, all sex and roses. Sophia fiddled with the radio, annoying him as she tried to find a song she liked. Finally a song he liked came on, and she started singing along. Great. She even had to ruin that. Now he’d never hear this song again without hearing her sultry voice. He loosened his tie. Damn, he was so screwed. In every sense of the word. All because of this crazy, ridiculously appealing woman.
~ ~ ~
Sophia walked through the door of Burger Shack that Vince held open for her, working on not noticing the way his thick dark brown hair was sexily rumpled like he’d run his hands through it. Or the way his eyes were at half-mast, which gave him a hooded, sexy look, but was probably a result of him checking out her bare legs right this very minute. She’d seen him eyeing her knees in the car. And she definitely didn’t notice the way he filled out that shirt. He’d left his tie and suit jacket on the backseat of his car. Why was she so obsessed with his size? Yes, he was a large man built like a lumberjack. That had nothing to do with her purpose here tonight. She had no idea if her dad would ever get his shit together and take the lead on this project. There were many employees depending on it, on her. And she still had her own job, and her boss wasn’t happy about all the time off she’d had to take. She couldn’t be running a construction crew. More importantly, she didn’t know how. She turned to the one man who could help save the project and her father’s company and said, “Grab us a table. I’ll get the food. My treat.”
His dark brown eyes burned into hers. “Oh, really. Your treat. How generous.”
She shrugged. “It’s a business expense.”
He crossed his arms in front of his chest, making his biceps bulge. “You don’t even know what I want.”
“Double burger, medium rare, large fries, and bottled water.”
He uncrossed his arms and stared at her. “Did you do some research on me?”
“Not at all.” She turned back around, moving up with the line,
and said over her shoulder, “You’re very easy to read. Big hefty guy likes red meat and lots of fries.”
She faced front, heard some heavy breathing behind her, but no response. She glanced over a moment later to find he’d grabbed them a table. Step one in reaching a palatable compromise, let your opponent know who was in charge. She ordered herself the same, paid for both meals, and joined him at the table.
Vince took a big bite of his burger, chewed, and swallowed it down. “One, I’m not hefty and two, I gotta tell ya, ordering a guy around doesn’t make him want to listen to much more of what you’ve got to say.”
“No?” She took a fry and dipped it in his paper cup of ketchup.
He shifted the ketchup out of her reach.
She took a bite of burger and chewed. Took another bite.
“Okay, what?” he snapped. “What is this proposal of yours? Just spit it out.”
She held up a finger, finished chewing, and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Don’t you want to eat?”
“I’m rapidly losing my appetite.”
She picked up a fry and pointed to his ketchup with it. “Could I just…” He let out a heavy sigh and pushed the ketchup toward her. She bit back a smile. Step two in reaching a palatable compromise, make your opponent give you something.
She dipped another fry in his ketchup and took a bite.
“Sophia,” he growled, “I am this close to walking out of here.”
“But you won’t,” she replied. She unscrewed the cap on her bottled water and took a sip.
“What do you want?” he said through his teeth. “Just tell me so I can tell you no and get out of here.”
“What’s the rush?” she asked, taking another bite of burger. After she chewed, she added, “I thought you liked burgers. You’re the one who wanted to come here.”
He scowled and took a bite of his burger.
She smiled. “Good, right?”
He grunted. Step three in reaching a palatable compromise—find common ground. They were both enjoying their double medium-rare burgers.
Then she remembered what he said the last time they’d shared a meal and reminded him. “I want to enjoy my meal without any indigestion, capisce?”
He stood. “Let’s go.”
“Vince, I’m not done eating.”
He snagged her burger, strode over to the garbage, and tossed it in. “Done.”
He returned to the table, glowering down at her from his full six-foot-something height. She grabbed his burger and took a big bite, nearly choking on it. She coughed and her eyes watered, but she managed to keep it in.
He slammed his hands on his hips. “You are a piece of work, lady.”
“I know,” she said around the burger.
He barked out a laugh. She laughed too and spit some pickle. He handed her a napkin. “You drive me crazy, you know that?”
She nodded, still working on chewing the burger.
He sat down again and grabbed a fry. “Pass the ketchup.”
They ended up sharing what was left of his burger. She figured sharing food was as close as she was ever going to get to him, so she launched right into her proposal as soon as they finished.
“What I’m thinking is, you know construction, you know how to get the job done—”
“Thank you!” Vince boomed. “This is what I’ve been saying.”
“So I’m proposing a merger of Capello Construction and Marino and Sons. I could create a historic architecture department that I would lead, and you could lead the new construction of both companies. We could add significantly to your client list. We’ve done commercial work and a lot of residential new construction. I know you haven’t broken into the residential sector yet. What do you think?”
He leaned back and let out a low whistle. “Does your dad know about this?”
“It was his idea.”
He slapped a hand on the table. “No fucking way. What are you trying to pull here?”
“Okay, okay, it wasn’t his idea. It’s mine. It’s the only way I can see for Capello Construction to stay afloat.”
He scowled. “Riding on my coffers.”
“Maybe it’s time to end all this hostility between our families. The way our fathers compete, underbidding the projects just to win—”
“Your dad’s the one who always lowballs us,” Vince retorted.
“Either way,” she said diplomatically. “Their competing hasn’t helped either business in the long run. I know I’ll have to let some of our guys go, but maybe I can bring in enough new business on the restoration of historic buildings that I could bring them back. Soon, I hope.”
“What the hell’s going on with your dad and this company? Why would you want this?” He fixed her with a hard stare. “Be straight with me.”
She looked around the restaurant. They were in Eastman, only one town over from Clover Park, but she didn’t see anyone she knew from the library project. She gestured him closer. He leaned in, and she started to whisper her explanation.
He shook his head. “I can’t hear you that well. Too much noise in here. Let’s go back to the car.”
The car was his space. They needed neutral territory. She got up, walked over to his side, and sat next to him on the bench seat.
“You don’t take direction well, do you?” he asked.
She stared straight ahead and spoke out of the corner of her mouth. “Promise you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to say.”
He let out a noisy sigh. “Should we pinky swear?”
She turned to him. “Promise!”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He slid a little further down the bench seat, leaving some space between them.
She closed the gap, pressing up against his side to confess.
“Gimme a little space here,” Vince said, sounding aggrieved. “You’re practically in my lap.”
“I don’t want anyone to hear.”
“Which is why I suggested the car.”
He shifted away again until he was against the wall. She started talking in a low voice, casually leaning closer so her voice wouldn’t carry. “My dad took a million dollars from the company, and we’re on the verge of bankruptcy. That’s why we needed this project so badly.”
He hissed out a breath. “I can’t believe you would steal this project, knowing this. How were you planning on keeping the whole thing going? You know they don’t just give you the whole amount up front. It’s in payments as work is completed.”
“I was still working on that part.”
He muttered a curse and shook his head. “Why didn’t you just let me have the project and ask to join in?”
She scoffed. “You’d never take us on once the project was yours. Now it’s mine, and I can share.”
“You can share,” he echoed. “This is nuts.”
“It’s still a good deal for you,” she insisted. “We have a great reputation. Lots of contacts and clients. It’s just a temporary cash-flow problem.”
“What would your dad say about all this?”
“He put me in charge. He’s gone off the deep end. My brother was supposed to take over the company, but he has no interest in it. I’m sure he wouldn’t care. He’s a groupie for a punk rock band.”
He gave her a sideways look. “I need to think it over.”
She pressed up against his side, ignoring how hot and tingly it made her. She wasn’t letting him out of the booth without an answer. “Think fast.”
“Would you like to sit in my lap?” he asked.
She lifted her chin. “I’m not letting you out of this booth until I know if you’re for or against my proposal.”
“Moving you is not a problem.”
She crossed her arms, working on being an immovable force.
He let out a noisy breath. “How many do you have on payroll?”
“A hundred, give or take.”
He shook his head. “You’re going to have to let more than half go. I’ve got seventy on my side, and I c
an’t keep both crews on payroll.”
“So you’ll do it? You’ll merge us?” When he didn’t respond, she added in a soft voice, “Save us?”
He pressed his lips in a flat line and slid her a foot away. “I can’t believe I only got half of a lipsticked burger out of this deal.”
She bounced a little in her seat. “So you’ll do it?”
He gave her a hard look. “It’s not that simple. Our dads have to sign off on it. Lawyers have to get involved. This kind of thing takes time. I need to look over your books, meet your crew, get all up in your business, capisce?”
“Capisce.” She licked her lips, and the next words felt like they were wrenched from her throat. “Thank you.”
He raised a brow. “Don’t thank me yet. It’s far from definite. We have to handle this delicately, or we’ll have an all-out war on our hands with the old guys.”
“My dad can be a pit bull.”
“My dad is a bulldog.”
“So what should we do about the library project?”
“We?” he asked in a tone that said he knew he had the upper hand.
“Well, yeah.” She swallowed hard, extremely uncomfortable with him having the upper hand. “I thought—”
“Ya know what? That’s a good place to start. The library will be a trial project. A test run, so to speak. The way I see it, I’m in charge. I’ll take on thirty of your guys and you, the rest is Marino and Sons. Our name right alongside yours at that groundbreaking ceremony. You won’t recoup a million up front, but by the end of the project you’ll have it plus you’ll have kept thirty of your best guys employed.” He paused. “Do you know who your best guys are?”
She wanted to say you. You are my best guy right now. But instead she shrugged one shoulder. “The guys that have been with us longest stay.”
He frowned. “You got a bunch of old geezers over there, don’t you?”
She was in no position to demand anything, and she knew it.
“They stay or the deal’s off,” she said.
Not My Romeo Page 6