“Mm-hmm. And you wouldn’t have had anything to do with that, would you?”
Hayden glanced up. “Of course I did. Club Tahoe needs help with the restaurant software, so I offered your services.”
“How did you know they needed help? I only found out last night.”
“Cali.”
Ireland sank back into her seat and groaned. “My cousin has the biggest mouth.”
“Your cousin saw what I did. There’s something between you and Bran.”
“A passionate urge to kill each other?”
Hayden grinned. “Kill each other with love.”
Ireland made a face. “I would never love that man. He’s a jerk!”
“So you keep saying.”
Ireland pressed her lips together. “Look, Bran hasn’t approached me about the consulting work.”
“I thought he did last night?”
“Last night Cali strong-armed him into agreeing to look into it.”
Hayden shrugged. “In any case”—she stood and walked around her desk—“you have Blue’s permission to adjust your hours accordingly.”
Earning extra money on the side wasn’t a bad idea. But spending time with Bran…
Ireland glanced up and noted Hayden standing by the door. “Sorry, do you need to be somewhere?”
Hayden winked. “Got a merger to discuss.”
Ireland shook her head.Merger, my ass.
Chapter 10
“Goddamn.” Bran pressed his fingers to his forehead. He’d called the Tech Banquet CEO and explained the situation. Told the guy it had been too long and they needed to bring in an outside consultant to resolve the software issues.
And the man had agreed.
Had Bran and his brothers not already invested a small fortune in the upgrade, Bran would have scrapped the entire project or found a different company to provide the service. But there was no turning back now.
Ireland came highly recommended. According to everything Bran had heard, she could work for any company in the US. It was either good luck she’d moved to Lake Tahoe to be closer to her cousin or terrible luck, depending on how one viewed the situation.
Bran lifted his head and nudged the sheet of paper in front of him. Cali had pilfered Ireland’s résumé and sent it to him, and it was impressive. Half the programming languages she was fluent in he’d never heard of, but one thing was clear. Ireland would be able to help Club Tahoe.
Which meant Bran was bringing on Ireland, whether he personally wanted to or not. That was, if Ireland agreed.
The only conditions the CEO required were a quick background check and human resources forms for Ireland to fill out. Which meant there was only one thing left to do.
Bran stretched his arms above his head and flexed his twined finger, his knuckles popping. He picked up the phone and dialed the number on the sheet in front of him.
“Hello?”
His throat constricted. What was it about this woman? Even her velvety, light voice made his body tense. “Ireland, it’s Bran Cade. Do you have a moment?”
“S-sure.”
