Gabe was there, but it was the brunette in the tight pencil skirt he was talking to who had grabbed our immediate attention.
“Goddamn,” he muttered under his breath.
“You can say that again,” I said, looking her up and down. I grinned, giving him a playful smack. “See ya at lunch.”
I started toward Gabe and the woman, lightly clearing my throat as I neared. “Ah.” Gabe smiled. “Here he is now.” The woman turned, and a pair of amber eyes met mine. “This is Wesley Callahan. Wes, this is Morgan Hayes from Life Styled Interior Design.”
She smiled politely, extending her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Callahan.”
“Please, call me Wes. Mr. Callahan is my dad, and he’s down the hall in his office.” I flashed a charming smile as I shook her hand, and when I dropped it, I looked between her and Gabe with a smirk. “I thought we were meeting with the hot blonde, but I can’t say I’m disappointed with her replacement.”
Morgan’s brow arched. “Myboss, Grace, had another projectthat needed her attention, so she assigned this one to me. But I assure you,Mr. Callahan, I’m more than capable, and I promise to leave you satisfied.”
I didn’t miss how she called me “Mr. Callahan” again or emphasized it like it was meant to be a slight dig.Oh, she seems feisty. And shehadto know what she was doing with the latter part of her statement, right? “I’m sure you will.”
When I smirked again, I swore I saw her eye imperceptibly twitch. “Are you thischarmingwith every woman you’ve just met?”
“Only a select lucky few,” I lied with a grin.
She leaned in slightly with a small, condescending smile. “I think it’s safe to say that you and I havevery differentdefinitions of lucky.”
Gabe cleared his throat. “Ignore him. Why don’t we head this way,” he said before turning.
I gestured to Morgan with a grin. “After you.”
She turned to follow Gabe, and I chuckled to myself as I trailed behind them.
When we stepped inside conference room A, Morgan glanced around. “This is our main conference room, so it sees the most traffic,” Gabe explained.
Morgan nodded and began rambling as Gabe listened intently. I wasn’t paying attention to anything she was saying. I was too busy looking at her.
“This space is great with these windows,” I registered her say. “And it’s not a bad view.”
“Not bad at all,” I mused from my chair. Spoiler: I wasn’t talking about the stupid windows.
Morgan gave me a sideways glance while Gabe shot me a look. “Please,” he gestured for her to sit.
When Morgan took her seat, she began by explaining the process and our options, from paint and flooring to furniture and artwork on the walls. Then, we started with the individual offices.
“Yeah, my office definitely needs a facelift,” I said. “All of them do.”
Morgan pulled out a binder from a bag she’d brought with her. “Okay, so for the flooring in the offices…you already have hardwood, right?” she asked, and when she pointed, it was down to the floor…or at least it wasmeantto be the floor.
Unfortunately for her and my gutter-minded brain, it was more in the direction of my lap.
I smirked at the door she’d just opened, unable to help myself. “Not yet, but for you, I coulddefinitelymake that happen.”
Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose.
Morgan slowly turned her head to look at me.
I was still smirking like the asshole I am because I couldn’t help but be proud of my joke, but also because I was partly serious.
Her lips tugged into a smirk of her own as she leaned forward. “If I wasn’t a professional and you didn’t hire me…” She leaned closer, and like some magnet was pulling me in, I did, too. “I wouldstilltell you that theonlywood of yours I’m interested in are the finishes within this building.”
Gabe outright snorted. “Sorry,” he wheezed, covering his mouth.
Morgan leaned back without glancing at me again. “So, let’s move on to the built-ins…”
