I’m sitting there, with this realization flooding over me, when Esperanza comes back and starts handing out plates. “I’m not going to let this get cold,” she scolds us. “You’re going to have to eat now and talk later.”
It’s much later, an hour or so into the evening, that I realize I’m having fun.
***
Later, in the car, we’re both quiet. I’m processing the evening.
“That was really nice of you.” I figure this, as well as anything, can open the conversation.
“Not especially.” He shrugs.
“I think so. You’re trying to ensure he keeps his job.”
“He needs this job.” Dane’s voice is hard. “He has MS. His daughter has an anxiety disorder. Without the medical insurance form Danton, they’re fucked. What the government is doing now with pre-existing conditions? Well, it’s not going to look good for him in the future if he loses this job. I guarantee you there are ways to fire him and make it stick, especially since he didn’t disclose his medical conditions to the company. You have no idea what a clever legal and HR team can do.”
“Do you think he has the skills to make it in IT?”
“I don’t know.” Dane’s quiet for a moment. “He has no official experience in it. But he’s smart. You saw what he made. I think if he takes a few courses and works hard, he can do well enough to stay afloat long enough to keep learning. Get ahead of the curve. I think it’s possible.”
“I mean, you can’t just give him a free job. He has to do the work.” I’m thinking out loud.
“Everyone has to do the work.” He blows out a breath. “I just want him to have a chance. My uncle…”
“Your uncle what?”
“Wasn’t very concerned with employee longevity, let’s just say.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning he’d come up with excuses to get people out the door if they were injured. Clever paper trails. All legal. But unethical.”
“And you‘re different.” It’s not a question. I can feel it in his posture, hear it in his voice.
“Look, if Hector was a dick, or lazy, I’d say, too bad. Good luck and Godspeed. But he’s not. He’s a hard worker, and he’s smart. Why not give him a chance?” He brings his hand down hard on the wheel.
“I agree.”
We’re at a red light. “So the point is that if the current construction project doesn’t stay right on schedule, and if we don’t get the next bid in town, then people a lot like Hector will be laid off, Talia. And it will be legal. And there will be no repercussions for Danton. For him and his coworkers, though... different story.”
“Oh.” I bite my lip. “That’s what you wanted to talk about.”
“Yes.” His voice is taut. “And I wanted you to meet him. Are you still willing to discuss things with me?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” my tone is defensive.
“Just checking.”
“Where do you want to go?”
The question hangs between us. Where, indeed. Part of me wants to go to bed with him. But we need to talk this through. I want to learn more about him, even if it’s unwelcome news. And I need to tell him my things, too.
“My place is close. It will be private.” He glances over. Assessing me.
“Okay.”
He touches my hand. “Okay.”
***
He goes to his wine rack and pours two glasses of pinot. I kick off my heels, and when he comes back I’ve pulled up screenshots of my calendar, the crane calendar. I hand him the phone. “I designed that. Took all the pictures.”
“They’re good.” He raises a brow. “Very good.”
“Thanks.” I tuck my legs under me, sitting carefully so I don’t spill my wine. “I spent a lot of time in the woods getting those shots.”
He sits beside me. “You want to tell me about it?” He scrolls through and stops on a picture. “These are the babies, I take it?”
I nod. “They make this really cool noise when they’re young.”
“Why do you like them so much?” He sounds genuinely curious.
I sip my wine. “So when I was a kid, there was a woman in town, Margie Prentiss. She was the local crackpot bird lady. But she was cool. She was always out there taking pictures. In those days it was film, you know? And she developed the pictures herself.”
I adjust on the couch, and Dane shifts closer to me. His thigh touches my bare toe. Tingles.
“She was cousins with the owner of Chooch’s Burgers and they turned the place into a sort of crane paradise. Pictures. Really good ones that she took. Blown up.”
“That sounds fun. Did they serve them on the menu too?” He laughs.
“Stop!” I hit his arm. “That’s awful.” But I laugh. “It was super kitschy and over the top, but everyone loved it. It was our thing, you know?” I think back. “They got stuffed birds that looked similar. Let kids draw birds on the wall, or other things. They had this whole wall just for people to do their own art and graffiti. When it got too crowded, she’d take a picture and paint it over and let us start again. New slate. Fresh beginning.”
“Okay.” He reaches down and touches my toes. Curls his fingers over them.
I suck in a breath. “She’s retired now, and can’t take pictures. Arthritis. But Chooch’s is still a local draw. And that’s not all.”
“What else?”
“So. The local Girl Scout troop always does a badge for birdwatching all about the cranes. Every year the fifth graders at the local elementary school do a nature hike to see them and then write a report. It’s like a thing with our town. They’re interwoven with the culture.”
“But they’re not endangered, right?” He winces when I pull my toes away from his hand and stiffen up.
“No, Dane. They’re not.” I bend over and put my wine down. “The point is that we don’t need to care about animals only because they’re endangered. Maybe if we’re proactive we can prevent that from happening. Okay?”
“Okay, I get it.” He nods. “I was just asking.”
I try to relax. “It’s more than just being on a list or not. It’s about something fascinating that belongs here.”
“But the site in the woods.” His speaks carefully, as if he knows his words have the potential to make me snarl. “It’s not the only place they live?”
“No. But it’s a special place and it’s one of their main breeding grounds. And it’s beautiful. That particular point is where Doug brings his birdwatching groups. He has international visitors.”
“Oh?” He raises a brow.
“They were even featured on the Travel Channel. Not that that makes it legit. What makes it legit is that it’s part of this town. People come here and watch birds with Doug. The eat at the burger place. They patronize local areas.”
“Okay.”
“And your company”—I can’t keep a bitter tone out of my voice—“bought the land from the city. I don’t like that they sold it. It’s not right. They bought it and now they’re ruining it.”
He takes a breath. “Talia, I was not CEO when the land purchase was made or discussed. I came on board in an emergency situation. I’m trying to make the best of what I can.”
“I understand that, but now that you own it, you’re responsible for all the issues.” I pick up my wine.
“Agreed.” He wants to say more, I can tell, but he sits back. “What else did you want to tell me about the birds?” He crosses one leg. “All those times you wanted to find Danton. What exactly were you going to say to him?” He sounds almost sad, and that makes me angry.
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not.” He frowns, and sits forward. “Okay, I’m here. You’re here. Give me the formal sales pitch. Convince me.”
Chapter Eighteen
Talia
My stomach lurches. “The Moorish Crane is a vital part of the culture of Mapleton, and is embedded in our local culture. By destroying the prime mating group and preventing people f
rom using that land for public access, you’re removing part of our identity and our pastime. I’m asking you to reconsider your zoning. Adjust the building plans to leave the marsh area untouched. Allow people back on the land.”
He waits. So I add, “I told you about the restaurant, the trips, the scouts. The birders. Plus, they’re gorgeous animals. Why ruin them, if you can easily do it another way?”
“The problem is that the construction process has started.” His voice is distant. “Talia, plans were drawn and ratified, checked by engineering, signed off by the city and all the appropriate designated parties months ago. We’re already building.”
“So?”
“So it can’t be changed at this point.”
“I bet it could.” I stick up my chin. “If you wanted to change things at this point, of course you could. I saw the site. Yeah, you have gas lines and stuff going in. Water, sewers. It’s still—you can change it.”
“Not without a monumental cost and slip in schedule—”
“But it’s technically possible.” I pounce on his words.
“But not realistically feasible. And not going to happen.”
“How much would it be? I mean—”
“Talia, at this point? You’re talking half a million or more, with the cost rising each day we fall behind.” His voice rises. “Sure, if we had unlimited money we could change the design every damn day. Build a Disneyland. But we don’t. And…” He breathes out. “Let me take a minute.”
He looks at me. “I do think the birds are important. I do. But I care more about the people involved. And at this point, it's not just workers like Hector who will will get laid off if we don’t get that next bid. Stock prices could fall. I also owe it to all the stockholders to keep the business profitable.” He puts his hands up. “Do you see?”
I think back to Hector. His wife, daughter. I imagine a dozen more families. A hundred.
“I’m not saying birds are worth more than people. But corporations are always going to owe something to someone, and if we don’t put our foot down somewhere—I mean, where do we draw the line?” I stand up and pace. “This is my town you’re razing. You and your company, you come in and make these decisions behind closed doors—”
“And yes, it was agreed upon by the city council.” He stands too. “They agreed it was good for the town. And it is bringing in jobs. They didn’t seem as concerned about the birds.”
“I see that, and I agree that the future project would be good for downtown. I just can’t get over the fact that you’re destroying something I care about.”
“It’s not my decision. It’s bigger than that.”
We look at each other and I can’t stand this moment. I’m so pissed. It’s immediately obvious to me how foolish I was to keep looking for Danton Carter, Senior—of course he wouldn’t change his work to suit me and my birds. Who would? Dane, who is decent at heart, it seems, won’t even consider it.
I sink to the couch. “God. I don’t even know.” I pick up my phone and look at the picture of the birds. “I wish I could make you understand. Why can’t this be simpler?”
“If my uncle had talked to you earlier, when this was still in the decision phase…” He trails off. Gives me a guilty look.
“We both know that it wouldn’t have changed a damn thing.”
“You’re right.” He sits back down beside me. “The thing is, I want you to understand that I’m not doing this to hurt you. Or to be an asshole. I have obligations. People relying on me.”
“I have people relying on me, too. And birds.” I stick up my chin. “Maybe they’re not as many, or as rich. Or as... needy.” I think of Hector and my heart aches. “But I care about them. And they deserve a voice.”
“I suppose they do.” He looks at the calendar. “I suppose they do.”
We’re silent for a minute.
“I’m sorry, though, that I lied to you. That part, I really do regret.” He looks at me. “I can’t say I’m sorry about the building plans. But hurting you... I wish I hadn’t.”
“So do I.”
“I guess I panicked.”
“You? You seem in control all the time.”
“Most of the time, I am. And I don’t even have time to date.” He sounds surprised. “But when I met you, I wanted to get to know you more. Spend time. And I knew that if you found out who I was... all of that would end immediately.”
“And it did end.”
“Except maybe not.” He reaches out and takes my hand. “Because we’re both here. Doesn’t that mean something?”
“All it means is that we agreed to listen to each other. Which we did.” I let my hand rest in his.
His presses his fingertips to mine. “Thank you for letting me talk.”
“Thank you for letting me talk. Although you’re not doing what I wanted.”
He strokes my inner wrist. “I’d like to hear more about you. Not just the birds. You.”
“Why shouldn’t I just go?” I look toward the door.
He releases my hand. “Is that what you want?” He stands up.
“I don’t know what I want.” I bite my lip.
He just waits. Looks at me.
“If I stay, it will be amazing. But what happens in the morning? We’ll still be adversaries. I can’t handle this on again, off again. It’s too painful.”
“We can find a way to be friends.” He sounds earnest.
“I don’t know if that’s true. This is too personal to both of us, in different ways. I don’t think it could work.”
But when I shift my weight back onto the couch, my answer is clear. I want tonight, no matter what the cost.
He sits down and puts his hand onto my shoulder. “Tell me something, then.”
“What do you want to know?” I’m tired and energized, sad and angry, and turned on. All at the same time.
“Something special. Surprise me.” He winds his arm around me and tugs, just gently, and I allow myself to drift to his body, lean my head into his shoulder. It feels right, even if we’re adversaries. I like how our bodies just mesh.
“Just random things?”
“They won’t be random, though. They’ll be little nuggets of information about you.” He smiles.
“I read this interesting article in The New Yorker about people in Japan renting fake family members, like grandchildren, husbands and wives. It was fascinating.”
“Why would you rent someone like that?”
“Because they’re lonely.” I snuggle up to him. “Or they need to look the right way for an important social event.”
“Why not just find a real connection?” He winds a hand into my hair. “A real girlfriend.”
“Maybe they can’t, not in time. Maybe they tried.” I think about hiring a stranger to pretend to love me. “It’s kind of sad.”
“It is.” He strokes my neck.
“People hire thinner women to impersonate their wives because fatter women are shunned at school functions. Fiancées hire fake parents to replace dead ones for weddings. Others hire bosses and coworkers if they’ve been laid off and still want to impress someone. It’s all about the surface, about presentation. Filling in the cracks with social glue.”
“How widespread is it, though?” He pulls me closer, and already I’m losing interest in the conversation. Wanting the thing that comes next.
“The man they interviewed, the one who runs a company of actors, is doing really well. Busy. So... more people than you’d expect. It’s scary.”
“Yeah…” He squeezes my thigh. “But let me just take the devil’s advocate position.”
“You can take any position you want.” I make my voice low.
“Oh, I can?” His voice is full of interest.
“Maybe.”
“Unless you want to hire someone to take my place.” He leans in to whisper into my ear. “Although I doubt anyone can do it quite the way I do.”
“I think you’re right.” my voice is breathy.
/>
“About?”
“Nobody can take your place. Or mine.”
“There’s nobody like you, Talia. Nobody makes me feel this way.” He runs a hand over my thigh. Lightly, though, and he looks at me, tilts his head. Waiting for permission.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea.” I lean in until our lips are nearly touching. “We’re still on opposing teams.”
“We certainly are,” he agrees. “And you”—he nips the skin behind my ear—“have been a bad, bad girl. You definitely need a punishment for your behavior. Writing dirty articles. Accosting innocent CEOs at town meetings.”
“I can be very dirty.” I flick out my tongue and lick his ear.
“Show me.” His voice gets rougher, harder. His hands roam my body, teasing my breasts through my shirt.
“You gonna make me?”
“You want me to?” He pinches my nipples.
I suck in my breath. “Maybe I do.”
His mouth twitches. “Maybe isn’t a rousing endorsement.”
I give him a bold smile. “Change my mind. Show me what you’ve got.”
“Oh, a challenge?” He laughs and leans in over me, putting one strong arm on either side of me on the back of the couch, effectively framing me with his body.
“Y… yes.” His proximity is making me dizzy.
He leans in, until his lips are only inches from mine. I can feel his breath and I make a soft sound, a tiny whimper of need. “Oh, baby, I promise you won’t need much convincing.”
“I won’t?” His eyes are so dark and deep.
“I’ll have you begging me to stay, to do whatever I want, within five minutes.” He smirks. “And that’s without even trying very hard.”
“Oh, is that right?” My chest heaves.
“Mmm hmm.” He smiles, a slow dangerous smile. “In fact, I don’t even know if you could handle more than a few minutes, tonight.”
Hammered: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Hard n' Dirty Book 5) Page 13