by Leigh Duncan
He leaned closer. “You’re not making a whole lot of sense.” But what else was new? Ever since Charlie had stepped foot on Mimosa Key, she’d thrown his life into turmoil. Breaking his feet loose from their cement galoshes, he stepped forward and cupped her face. “Ready for what? Charity will be home tomorrow. She’ll tell you she never intended to sell the store, and that will be that.” Releasing his hold on her, he brushed his palms together. The deal, as they said, was practically done. Or, in this case, un-done.
Charlie tucked a hank of loose hair behind one ear. “There’ve been some, um, developments. Come on in, and I’ll bring you up to speed.”
He gathered, from Charlie’s demeanor, that this wasn’t the time to profess his undying love. Shelving his plans, he sank into an overstuffed sofa and asked, “Now what’s this all about?”
“In the interest of time, I’ll give you the short story. I can flesh out the details later while we work.” She pulled a clip from her hair. Blond curls cascaded onto her shoulders. Before he had a chance to reach out and run his fingers through a single strand, she gave the locks a casual twist and anchored them to the back of her head. One glimpse of how sweet and sexy she looked sitting there, and his mouth went dry, making him doubly glad he wasn’t the one doing the talking.
“David, my boss, called last night,” Charlie began. “Favor Oil has taken a second look at the mom-and-pop stores they’re buying.”
He studied Charlie’s bunched expression, and his heart thudded. “Judging from the look on your face, I’d guess that’s not good news.”
“No.” In a move that telegraphed her nervousness, she bit her lower lip. “Remember the plan to remodel all the mini-marts?”
He nodded. She’d said the store would be closed for a day. Two, at the most.
“They’ve changed their minds about the Super Min—they’re going to raze it.”
Unable to remain seated, Josh stood. “When is all this supposed to happen?”
“Soon.” Refusing to look him in the eyes, Charlie studied her hands. “Once Charity signs the contract, they’ll come in with bulldozers. In a matter of weeks, all that will be left is an empty lot.”
“And if she doesn’t sign?”
“She has to. Favor Oil isn’t giving her any choice.”
“How, exactly, have they forced my aunt to go along with their plan?” Every muscle in his body tensed. He’d suspected from the beginning that Charity was being pressured into selling the Super Min. Sensing they’d finally arrived at the crux of the issue, he let his eyes bore into Charlie’s.
In a low voice that matched her downcast face, she answered, “If Charity doesn’t sell the Super Min to them, Favor will pull their franchise for the gas station part. Without gas to draw people to the store, she’ll be on the verge of bankruptcy within six months. Then Favor can swoop in and buy it for a song.”
With no income from the convenience store or the pumps, his aunt’s business would fail, taking her plans to open a new store along with it. Faced with the choice of selling now and walking away with something to show for her life’s work, or holding out hope for a miracle, Charity had taken the best option available to her. With a heavy heart, he eyed the woman who’d dropped this disaster into their laps. “You’ve known this for a while, haven’t you?”
“Not about razing the store. I only learned about that last night. But you’re right about the franchise.” Her breath shuddered. “Charity knew, too. I told her when I made the initial offer.”
“You should have told me.” His fists clenched. Deliberately, he reminded himself that Charlie was only the messenger, not the creator of this mess. Slowly, he uncurled his fingers. “You shouldn’t have kept this a secret.”
Her chin lifted then, her gaze sharpening. “It really wasn’t any of your business. This was between Charity, me and W&B. Besides, what could you do about it?”
She had no idea.
He crossed his arms, blocking the feelings of betrayal that threatened to undermine his love for her. He turned away and stared out the window at the harsh glint of the sun on the surface of the water. None of this was Charlie’s fault. Of course, she hadn’t turned to him. Why would she?
Calmly, he pushed aside his feelings for her and concentrated on ordering his thoughts. Six months ago, one phone call to the right person, a whispered word here, a nudge there, and the powers that be at Favor Oil would’ve been convinced to focus their interests in another direction. Now that their plans were already in the works, he couldn’t stop the takeover entirely, but he had the resources to save his aunt’s store.
That was the only thing that mattered now.
It was one thing to close the store for a day, a week, hell, even a month. It was something else entirely to tear it down and rebuild. Even if everything fell into place—permits, contractors, materials—a year, possibly two, would pass before the new store opened. By then, everything would change.
The Super Min was the very heart and soul of Mimosa Key. The grapevine that telegraphed news to every corner of the island had its start there. Inside its doors, people shared their greatest joys and heard about their fellow residents’ darkest secrets. They depended on his aunt Charity to keep them entertained and in the know. He tried to imagine life on the island without the store and failed.
The businessman in him urged him to walk out, make some phone calls and pull whatever strings he had to to save his aunt’s livelihood and the island’s conscience. But his heart argued for giving Charlie a chance. Slowly, his heart won out. He lowered himself onto the couch, determined to hear what she had to say. “So, now what?”
“Even though I’ve only been here a few days, you’ve shown me how beautiful it is here on Mimosa Key, Josh. I want to help preserve its sense of community. To keep things the way they are for Mrs. Yoder and others like her. To do that, we need to buy Charity some time to develop a strategy that will save her business permanently. For now, though, I think the key is W&B. We have to convince them to back away from the table. If we’re successful—and I think we will be—it’ll be years before Favor can try this kind of takeover again.”
He had to admit it—Charlie’s passion was contagious. He loved seeing her enthusiasm sparkle in her eyes and leaned forward. Propping his elbows on his knees, he offered encouragement. “I bet you have a plan for putting the wheels in motion.”
“I do.” She nodded. Several long tendrils had escaped her makeshift bun to curl around her face. She tucked a strand of hair behind one ear. “I want to stage a coup. I’d like to bring in all the store owners who haven’t sold to Favor yet and sit down with one of the partners at W&B. We’ll present our case. I have some compelling arguments for leaving the convenience stores in the hands of the current owners.”
Intrigued by her plan, he ran a hand through his hair. “How can I help?”
“I found a website loaded with facts and figures supporting privately held mom-and-pop stores. Did you know there are studies that show individually owned convenience stores actually bring in more business for the oil companies than the ones they own?” She didn’t stop for an answer, but shrugged and kept talking. “I have all the raw data, and I’ve pulled together some talking points. We need to assemble it all into a presentation.”
It’d been so long since anyone had put themselves out there for him without expecting some sort of quid pro quo that he lay back on the couch completely enthralled. “I know my way around a spreadsheet,” he volunteered at last, refusing to dampen her enthusiasm for the project by confessing that he had the power to resolve the entire issue with a phone call or two. For now, they’d do things her way.
“Good.” Charlie’s smile lit her entire face. “While you work some magic with the computer, I’ll call the other owners, see how many of them can meet us in Orlando on Monday.”
Josh felt his eyebrows lift. “This Monday?” That was fast, even for a time-sensitive project like this one. They’d barely have time to bring Charity up to speed
after her ship docked Sunday morning.
“I was able to get us an appointment for 9 a.m. It was the only time David had open. He leaves the next day for an extended vacation with his family.” The tiniest hint of doubt crept into Charlie’s voice as she asked, “That’s okay, isn’t it?”
Rather than explain that he’d planned to spend the better part of next week catching up on work he’d postponed in order to spend a week on Mimosa Key, he only smiled. “Better order room service, then. We’re going to need coffee and plenty of it. It’s going to be a long day.” Standing, he flexed his fingers, prepared to get started. The move helped clear his thoughts, and a new concern leaped to the head of a long line. “Charlie…”
“Yes?” She looked up from the room service menu.
“I was wondering… How’s this going to impact your future with W&B?”
For the merest fraction of a second, her expression fell. In the time it took him to blink, though, she banished the sad look, replacing it with a bright smile. “It’s your job we’re trying to save. Don’t give mine a second thought. Besides, W&B rewards independent thinkers.”
He hadn’t thought it was possible to love her more, but in that moment, he knew he’d been wrong. No matter how much she tried to make light of the situation, no matter how much she danced around the issue, they both knew she was putting her job on the line…for his aunt. And for him. Only the enormity of the job before them kept him from doing the one thing he wanted to do—profess his love and promise her forever. There wasn’t time for that right now. Right now, they had work to do, and the sooner they got started on it, the better. But he couldn’t resist the urge to show her how much her sacrifice meant to him. Before she had a chance to move out of his reach, he swept her into his arms and let his kisses do the talking for him.
* * *
Late that night, Josh poured himself yet another cup of coffee and eyed his cell phone. He stretched muscles that had grown stiff from the hours he’d spent hunched over a keyboard and surveyed the room. Plates and serving utensils from their dinner were piled on a tray by the door. Discarded spreadsheets littered the coffee table. A laptop rested nearby, its screen dark. Charlie lay, curled up on the couch, her hair tumbling loose about her shoulders.
He had to give her credit. She’d developed a top-notch presentation that any CEO worth his salt would appreciate. Then, she’d powered on, working the phones until her voice gave out. Still, she hadn’t had as much success as she’d hoped for. Of the ten owners she’d managed to reach, only half had expressed any interest in retaining their properties…and they weren’t all that certain they wanted to go up against the big company.
He massaged his temples where a headache threatened. During the past ten years, he’d rubbed elbows with enough corporate types to know that in a clash of civic mindedness versus profits, the bottom line won every time. Even if Charlie had been able to pack the meeting room with disgruntled owners, without giving W&B something they wanted as badly as they wanted the Favor Oil deal, her plan was all but certain to fail. Could he really let the Super Min’s future hang on such an insubstantial peg? Even for the woman he loved?
He shook his head. Setting aside his coffee cup, he tucked a light blanket over Charlie, lingering only long enough to brush a kiss through her hair. He wanted nothing more than to curl up beside her and hold her in his arms. Duty called, though. Problems with a major delivery of wine from South America had prompted a flurry of incoming calls. Unable to answer questions while Charlie was in the room, he’d delegated the task of tracking down the lost shipment to a trusted member of his trusted staff. Now that Charlie had nodded off, though, he needed to follow up on that and a few other things. Two hours later, after resolving several issues, he reassured his top admin that he’d be back in the office the following week and disconnected.
“Are you going away?”
He turned at the quiet voice. Behind him, Charlie stood in the doorway, her hair disheveled, sleep softening her features. His breath caught, and he offered up a quick prayer of thanks. Thanks that she’d walked into his life. Thanks that she hadn’t walked into the room in time to overhear the details of his last conversation. Hearing him discuss the finer points of running a multinational corporation would have surely wiped the sleepy look right off her face. Which would have been a shame, considering how enticing she looked when waking from a nap.
“Are you leaving?” She blinked owlishly.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Ever. “Not without you.” He opened his arms.
Heeding his invitation, Charlie stumbled into his embrace, her head landing in the soft space below his collarbone. He bent, feathering kisses across her forehead.
“Mmmm.” With her eyes closed, a sleepy smile teased her lips. “Josh?”
“Yeah?”
“I want you.”
Josh stilled. “You don’t know how much I’ve ached to hear you say that, sweetheart.”
Wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of the night proving exactly how much he adored her, he hesitated. Despite her declaration, Charlie had to be dead on her feet. Except for a twenty-minute nap on the couch, she’d spent the last twenty-four hours working nonstop to try to save his aunt’s business.
“Tell you what,” he murmured. “You climb into bed while I turn out the lights. I’ll join you in a minute.”
For an answer, Charlie padded softly to the king-size bed. There, she slid aside the chocolate the housekeeper had left when she slipped in to perform the nightly turndown service several hours earlier. Pulling the covers up around Charlie’s chin a minute later, he kissed her cheek.
“Hurry back,” she whispered dreamily.
He would, though he imagined he could move through the villa with the speed of Mercury and it wouldn’t make a speck of difference. Sure enough, by the time he made the rounds, checking windows and locking doors, and slipped in beside her, Charlie’s soft breaths had evened into a deep sleep. Which was all right, too, he assured himself. Assuming she loved him as much as he loved her, they’d have a lifetime of nights together. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, pleased when she snuggled closer. Drinking in the cool, fresh scent of the woman he loved, he brushed a kiss into her hair.
Chapter Five
The muted clink of silverware and the hushed buzz of quiet conversation drifted in Junonia’s herbal-scented air. Seated next to her, Josh cleared his throat when their server passed by their table as if he were on a mission to save the world…for someone else. Probably for the handsome couple who now occupied the spot she and Josh had shared during their first visit to the restaurant, Charlie thought. And no wonder. Playboy Nate Ivory’s chestnut hair and Roman nose had appeared on the cover of every tabloid in the nation until, in a story that had broken hearts all over America, he’d fallen for Liza Lemanski. Now the reformed bad boy’s face was most likely to grace the covers of influential business magazines.
She toyed with the nearly empty glass of house wine that, claiming the need to stay sharp for tomorrow, she’d ordered instead of the bottle of champagne Josh had suggested. Ten minutes passed before their waiter scurried by again, this time ferrying a tray of palate-cleansing sorbets to the famous couple.
“It’s okay,” Charlie whispered, reading irritation in the slight stiffening of Josh’s arm around her shoulders. “I’m kind of glad we’re tucked in here out of sight and, apparently, out of mind. It makes it so much easier to do this.” Leaning up, she pressed a kiss against the chin of the man she loved.
Immediately, the perplexed look Josh had aimed at their waiter’s retreating back faded. His fingers traced lazy circles on the palm of her hand. “I’m sorry Charity couldn’t join us tonight,” he said into the lull of a conversation that had centered on their trip to Orlando the next day. “The last I saw of her, she was headed straight into her bedroom, a box of tissues under one arm, a bottle of cold and cough medicine in the other.”
“What about tomorrow? Will she join us
?” She’d heard from David. Word of their presentation had whispered through W&B’s hallways until it reached the ears of the corporate bigwigs. As a result, their nine o’clock meeting had been moved to the partners’ conference room.
“Better not count on it. But I’ll be there. Right beside you.”
Did she really intend to put her job on the line for a woman who wouldn’t even show up at the meeting? No matter how sick she was?
Charlie squeezed her eyes tight. She wasn’t taking this stand for Charity. She was doing it for Josh. Because, heaven help her, she’d fallen hard and fast for the man who stood to lose everything if the Super Min closed. She was so in love with him, in fact, that she’d walk away from everything she’d accomplished at W&B if it meant giving him a chance to fulfill his dreams. Which was exactly what she was prepared to do tomorrow. No matter how much W&B said it rewarded people who thought outside the box, the truth was, unless the company agreed with her stance against Favor Oil, her career in Mergers and Acquisitions was over.
Was she willing to take the risk? She bit her lip. Leaving W&B wasn’t nearly as difficult as she’d thought it would be. Not if the company condoned the pressure Favor was placing on the store owners. And not when she had plenty of money in savings to tide her over till she found another position.
Through her lashes she studied the broad, smooth planes of Josh’s cheeks. Peace with her decision seeped over her, calming her fears and filling her with certainty. One way or another, everything would change for them tomorrow. Either Josh would retain his job and she’d lose hers…or they’d both be standing in line at the unemployment office. She could handle whatever the future brought as long as she had Josh’s love. She gulped. Before things went another step farther, he deserved to know how she felt.
Suddenly thirsty, she drained the last of her wine in an unladylike gulp. “Josh,” she began, “there’s something I want to tell you.” Her breath deserted her, and her words stumbled to a halt. The glass trembled in her shaking fingers.