Sure enough, she came down the hall ten minutes later looking like she was ready to attend her best friend’s wedding. While Lawrence liked this sight of her too, the tight pants would’ve been fine.
“Do you like dressing up?” he asked as they left through the front door.
“Sometimes,” she said, a guarded edge in her voice.
“What about just to go to a taco truck on the beach?” he asked. “Do you need heels for that?”
“I’m not wearing heels,” she said. “My ankle still isn’t at a hundred percent.”
Lawrence exhaled, wishing he knew how to frame this conversation. He opened the passenger door for her and walked around the front, his mind churning. Behind the wheel, and driving down to the beach, he tried again. “I wouldn’t have cared if you didn’t change.”
“Lawrence,” she said, and he thought it might be one of the first times she’d said his name. He didn’t like that it carried a warning undercurrent, but he pressed on anyway.
“I’m just wondering, Maizee. Why do you get all dolled up?”
“Is it wrong if I want to look my best in public?”
“Not if it’s you who wants it.”
She reached down to her feet for her purse and fiddled with it on her lap, finally pulling out a stick of gum. “I do.”
“And I don’t think so.” He parked the car across the street from Manni’s noting the long line. He’d forgotten about Manic Mondays, where the mahi mahi tacos were buy one get one free.
Didn’t matter. He didn’t have anywhere else to be. With anyone else, he thought, slipping a little further toward being in love with Maizee.
“Winn didn’t—Winthrop liked it when I looked nice,” she finally said, holding perfectly still in the passenger seat.
A slow anger began in Lawrence’s gut. “He told you that?”
“He suggested the earrings I should wear with a certain sweater,” she said, her voice robotic now. “He bought my shoes most of the time. He once pulled me into his office to say I’d worn the wrong pair with my skirt. He was….”
“A jerk,” Lawrence said, quickly adding, “Sorry.”
“No.” She shook her head. “You’re right. He was a jerk. I just didn’t know it at the time. I was so desperate to please him.”
Lawrence touched her arm, hoping to get her attention, get her to look at him. She swung her head toward him in slow motion, her beautiful blue eyes too watery for his liking. “You should get to be you.” He leaned his head toward hers until their foreheads touched. “I like you just how you are.”
“You keep saying that,” she whispered. “And it makes me think you’re insane.” She half-laughed, half-sobbed, quickly leaning away from him and swiping at her eyes. “This is ridiculous. Let’s go get a burrito.” She got out of the car in a hurry after that, and Lawrence gave her a few seconds alone before he got out too.
He didn’t want to push her too hard, push her too far away. But he couldn’t help linking his fingers through hers and saying, “Then I guess I’m insane.”
She didn’t answer, and Lawrence was smart enough to drop it at that point. But her confession and emotional display had only convinced him of one thing: He would show her and tell her he liked her how she was until she believed him, until she knew how wonderful she was—with or without makeup and earrings.
Lawrence couldn’t get the deal on Austin Exchange closed during the next day. Or even the next week.
In fact, three weeks went by before their negotiations felt less than strained and sometimes downright hostile. At some point, Lawrence thought he’d lose the deal completely, and he couldn’t imagine having to tell his father about that.
He threw out all his notes and made new ones. Talked to everyone he’d spoken with previously and dug up anyone new that he could. He spent most evenings with Maizee, but he was afraid he was poor company, especially because he showed up with food, they ate, and she made him something with a lot of chocolate in it.
He was comfortable with her, and she didn’t seem to mind him crashing on her couch or in her backyard hammock and then baking for him while he went over sheets and sheets of numbers, re-read emails, or made late-night phone calls to contacts all over the US.
At the beginning of the fourth week, the tension in Lawrence’s neck required an expensive massage therapist, but he’d hit a major breakthrough. Daniel Austin had taken his sweet time to review Lawrence’s new proposal and had responded to his email with four words that made all of Lawrence’s sleepless nights worth it.
When can we talk?
He whooped, right there in his office, his first thought to run downstairs and share this news with Maizee. He’d gotten very good at walking past her office with nothing more than a friendly wave, though if anyone at the branch had bothered to drive by her house, they’d find his Benz in the driveway almost every evening.
He quickly tapped out a response—My schedule is wide open. I can call you anytime. Just let me know—and practically ran down the stairs, swinging around to enter Maizee’s office with a “You will not believe the—”
Email I just got died on his lips as he realized Maizee had customers in her office. “I’m so sorry.” He backed out of the office, both hands up in a general display of I apologize.
He caught Maizee’s eye, and she couldn’t be more surprised than if he’d dropped to one knee and proposed.
His excitement built up inside him, and he couldn’t stand to wait around in the lobby. So he strode out, his smile practically bursting off his face. He checked his email to see if Daniel had responded and found a bench just down from the bank that was drenched in shade.
He sat down, and said to the older woman there, “I just got a really great email.”
She stared at him like he might be an alien invader and actually scooted down a little bit.
“I mean, you probably won’t care, but it was a great email for me.”
The woman got up and walked away, leaving Lawrence to check his phone again to see if Daniel had responded. Still nothing. But it was a glorious day in Getaway Bay, with an ocean breeze, and the sound of laughter and the ocean waves in the distance. If he walked down the road another block and turned south, he’d be able to see the beach, but he stayed right where he was in the shade.
About ten minutes later, Daniel still hadn’t responded, but Lawrence’s phone buzzed, indicating a text. Where’d you go?
From Maizee.
That manic smile came back, and Lawrence tapped on the phone icon to call her. Before the call could connect, another one came in.
Daniel.
Lawrence almost dropped his phone in his haste to end the call with Maizee and open the one with Daniel.
“Mister Austin,” he said smoothly, glad the swooping in his stomach couldn’t be conveyed through phone lines and across oceans.
“I liked your last proposal,” Daniel said, no hello or formality in sight.
Thank goodness, Lawrence thought but didn’t say. “What did you like about it?” he asked instead. His father had taught him that. Listen more than you talk. Ask more than you answer. Be more offensive than defensive.
“I think the price is finally right,” he said. “But I’m not keen on point seven.”
Lawrence had been through the proposal forward and backward. “The health insurance? Everyone on your team will be seamlessly integrated at Gladstone Financial.”
“No, the severance insurance for me and my family.”
Lawrence blinked. “It’s very standard to offer the twelve months,” he said. “And then it’s up to you.”
“That’s the part I don’t like.”
Of course he didn’t. But Lawrence was paying almost six hundred million dollars for a company worth five and a half, and he wasn’t going to give Daniel Austin and his family unlimited health insurance until the day they died.
“I can offer eighteen months,” Lawrence said. “But I’m afraid that’s all.”
The silence
on the other end of the line unnerved him, and he almost blurted that he’d give Daniel whatever he wanted. But he held that tongue, like his father had taught him. Silence didn’t always mean something bad. And he knew how to be silent too.
“My son has recently been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes,” he said, his voice on the quiet end, almost like he’d moved the phone away from his mouth to speak.
“I’m very sorry to hear that.” Lawrence’s phone rumbled and beeped, the indication that another call was coming in. It was probably Maizee, and a hint of anxiety passed through him.
“My wife is worried about moving insurances so soon after the diagnosis,” Daniel said.
Lawrence said nothing, hoping Daniel would have a solution to his own problem.
“I need four years,” he said. “And I’m willing to take four million off the purchase price to get it.”
Lawrence let another beat of silence go by, and then he said, “I can do that. I’ll get my lawyer to draw up the changes.”
“Thank you,” Daniel said, and it wasn’t hard to hear the relief in the man’s voice. “You’re a good man, Lawrence.”
The call ended, and Lawrence stood next to the bench, feeling many things that didn’t fully settle.
He’d done it. Negotiated one of the biggest deals in Gladstone Financial’s history, and he’d helped someone too.
Instead of calling Maizee, he headed back to the bank, ready to celebrate with her face-to-face.
Thirteen
Maizee stood at the window in her office, watching cars ease down the street. She’d tried calling Lawrence back, but his line had gone to voice mail. He’d literally called her a moment before, but her phone hadn’t even rung.
It did now, and she swiped open the call with, “Where did you go?”
“Nowhere,” a female voice said, and Maizee whipped her phone away from her ear to see her sister’s name on the screen.
“Oh, hey, Evie,” she said. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Who?” she asked, though she surely hadn’t called to know that.
Maizee took a deep breath, her mind oscillating between telling her sister about Lawrence and keeping him secret just a little longer. But it had been weeks since they’d started seeing each other, and she did want to let everyone know that she’d moved on from Winn.
“Oh, just my boyfriend,” she said, a happy hint in her voice. She expected Evie to shriek or ask a million questions.
She got silence.
She checked the phone again, but the call was still connected. As her sister started to talk, Maizee put the phone back to her ear.
“…been going on?” Evie finished.
“Oh, several weeks now.”
“You left Lanai several weeks ago.”
Maizee glanced over her shoulder, but no one loitered in her open doorway. Lawrence had not returned. She felt certain she’d know the moment he stepped foot in the building. “He’s my boss.”
“Is he a better boss than Winn? Because that man is the worst.” The venom in her sister’s voice made Maizee feel better, actually.
“I think he’s quite a bit better than Winn.”
“You were always too good for him.”
Yeah, well, now she had a boyfriend that was too good for her. She kept that thought to herself, though, because she was working on believing that he could like her as much as he claimed to.
“Thank you for saying so,” she said, catching sight of a sharp dressed man striding down the street. Lawrence. She needed to wrap this conversation up quickly.
“Did you need something?” she asked her sister.
“Just calling to chat,” she said. “Jules is so wrapped up in Johnny. It’s Johnny and Jules, and Jules and Johnny, and….” She let the words hang there, which clued Maizee into the fact that she had something important to say.
“And what?” She turned toward the door, watching for Lawrence. He would stop by, wouldn’t he? Or would he walk up to his office without popping in? Seeing him burst through the door earlier had really put her heart in a shock, and she was just starting to feel more settled.
“I got a date with Tommy Pinnacle, and I need help.”
So this wouldn’t be a short conversation.
“Is he still going by Tommy?”
“Yes, and he’s the cutest.” Though her sister had just turned thirty, apparently cutest was still a word she could use when talking about boys. Of course, she was about to go out with a grown man named Tommy, so that was probably okay.
She also didn’t get many dates, and Maizee wished she were there in Lanai to help her, especially with bubbly, always-had-a-date Jules on the prowl.
Lawrence’s broad shoulders filled the doorway, his face one of beauty and grace and pure joy. She held up one finger, silently begging him to wait. Thankfully, he ducked into the office and closed the door.
He busied himself with closing all of her blinds while she said, “Evie, I would love to help you, but I just had a customer walk in. Can I call you at lunch?”
“Sure,” her sister said, none the wiser that her “customer” was the man she hoped would kiss her until she couldn’t breathe.
“Great. Talk soon.” She hung up and flung her phone onto the desk just as Lawrence finished with the last set of blinds.
He turned toward her, magnificent and radiant, and Maizee once again wondered why he liked her. “The Austin Exchange is ours.” He laughed, the sound heartfelt and happy, and he grabbed onto her and twirled her in a circle. “I closed the deal.”
“Good job,” she said behind half a squeal, holding onto him as he steadied her on her feet. He gazed down at her, his smile so wide she thought she could get lost in it.
He kissed her, half-laughing so their mouths didn’t quite match up. She giggled and leaned her forehead against his. “You’ve been working on that for weeks.”
“Oh, did someone miss me?”
“Yes,” she said, not trying to hide how she felt about him. She ran her hands down the front of his jacket, straightening it and enjoying the playfulness between them.
“I missed you too,” he said, suddenly serious. He ran his fingers through her hair and this time when he leaned down to kiss her, it was the kind of kiss she always wanted.
She lost herself for a few moments, purely wrapped up in the taste and touch of him. Somewhere, far beyond her circle of conscious thought, she heard the noise from the lobby.
Which meant…someone had opened the door.
She jumped out of Lawrence’s arms at the same time he turned.
“There you are,” a man said, but Maizee couldn’t see him around Lawrence. She knew that voice though….
“Winn?” dripped out of her mouth and she side-stepped to peer around Lawrence. Her whole face heated, and she wanted to crawl beneath her desk the way she had in grade school when they had earthquake drills.
He flicked a glance at her as if she wasn’t worth his attention and then did a double-take. “Maizee?” The color left his face, and he looked back and forth between her and Lawrence.
“What are you doing here?” Lawrence practically barked, moving forward. He tossed over his shoulder, “I’ll come back, Miss Phelps,” and walked out, guiding Winn in front of him. And while all of Maizee’s blinds were closed, she caught one last look of surprise on Winn’s face before he was forced to turn and head up the stairs just outside her office.
She slumped into her chair, feeling weak and breathless and not only because Lawrence had stolen her heart.
Realization hit her, and she took several long moments to savor that she’d fallen in love with Lawrence Gladstone.
Then she muttered, “What a stupid thing to do, Maizee,” and pulled her mouse closer to her so she could check her email. After all, he still wasn’t ready to show their relationship to anyone.
So maybe this wasn’t real to him. Maybe she really was just someone to keep him occupied in the evenings, though she’d never felt like that bef
ore.
Worry needled her, but she managed to go through her emails and read through two online applications before finding the right percentage rate and approving the loans. She kept her blinds closed and her door open, but she didn’t see Lawrence or Winn leave.
Her skin itched, and just when she was going to go marching upstairs and find out what in the world Winn was doing on the island again, she heard footsteps coming down. A loud voice.
She got up from her desk and hurried around it, thanking the stars that her ankle had healed completely. She arrived at her door at the same time Winn hit the ground floor. “You’re dating him now?” He practically threw a punch toward the steps, where Lawrence was hurrying down.
Maizee had no idea what to say. Winn’s loud shout had drawn the attention of nearly everyone in the bank, and she felt the weight of all the eyes in the building.
Winn leaned closer, his eyes angry and the scent of him so familiar. “Did I mean nothing to you?”
She scoffed, her own fury shooting to the top of her head. “Are you serious? You broke up with me, remember?”
“Not so you could run off to a bigger island and date your next boss.”
“Would you stop it?” Lawrence said, his face flushed.
“You know he’s ruthless, right?” Winn said next. “Rigid. No flexibility at all. No compassion.” He glared at Lawrence. “I can’t believe….” Winn shook his head. “I just can’t.” He spun and stormed off, leaving so much awkwardness in his wake that Maizee was having a hard time breathing.
Winn left the bank, and Lawrence sprang into action. “All right, everyone. Back to work.” He glanced at Maizee, said nothing, and went right back upstairs as if he didn’t need to clarify anything else.
She glanced around the bank, catching the surprise on Polly’s face and the displeasure on Willie’s. Suddenly her head was too heavy to keep up, and she ducked, turned, and scampered back into her office.
Maizee let forty-eight hours go by before she stood in front of the mirror and told herself, “Call him. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
The Brave Billionaire (Clean Billionaire Beach Club Romance Book 11) Page 9