“Again, I’m sorry about the confusion. With your different last names…I had no idea Stephanie was your daughter. But you had some questions—and rightly so. What can I tell you to ease yourmind?”
Declan realized he was no longer speaking to a busy, stressed homeowner client—now he was faced with Leslie Nakano, CEO and millionaire. The tone of her voice, the expression on her face: both had gone completely businesslike and impersonal. Appropriate, but a little unsettling for some reason. He liked her better when she was using words likedastardlyto describe a piece ofdrywall.
Not that he liked her—or needed to like her—any more than he normally liked a client. Which was to say, no more thannecessary.
His contrary brain immediately reminded him of Margie Hamberg again—a thought that he shoved away with the force of a sledgehammer on an anvil. “Well, to start,” he said, fumbling for this thoughts, “Steph mentioned her working hours—an hour and a half each day afterschool—”
“Except Thursdays, and Fridays if there’s a home football game,” Leslie clarified as she set two tall glasses of water, both with lemon wedges, in front ofthem.
“Right. She mentioned that. And then four hours on Saturday afternoon. But I’d like to know exactly what she’s going to be doing during those worktimes.”
“Of course. I envision her as a sort of assistant, Jill-of-all-trades for now. Initially, I intend to have her handling social media accounts for the business—her first few tasks will be setting up Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and whatever other social media sites that make sense. I figured a teenaged girl would be more than familiar with how to do that. Additionally, we have a basic website that’s already been created, and she’ll be doing simple updates to it as necessary while we’re going through the remodel process. I’ll have videos and photos of before and after, and on some of the restoration processes—in fact, your work on the stairway was one of the topics I’d intended to highlight. I’d like Stephanie to edit and post the pictures and videos on the site and on social media as a way to generate interest in the B&B before it even opens. There will also be some market research involved too, as well as listing some of the old items left here on eBay or other auctionsites.”
Declan was beginning to feel slightly foolish. “So, administrative work is what you hired herfor?”
“Why, yes. You didn’t think…” Her eyes suddenly lit with humor. “I see. You had a completely different scenario in mind, didn’t you? I assure you, Mr. Zyler, I want experts like yourself doing the work on this house—not a fifteen-year-old girl. That’s not to say I wouldn’t hire a bunch of teens—boys, but girls too if they were interested—to haul away debris and help with some of the demo, but that wasn’t why I hired yourdaughter.”
“I admit, I was pretty mad on the way here, figuring you were taking advantage of a young, star-struck girl. Myapologies.”
“Star-struck?” Leslie seemed genuinelyperplexed.
He shrugged and sipped his water. “You were on the cover ofFortunemagazine. You’re almost as famous as Marissa Mayer, she told me.” His lips quirked in a smile. “We don’t get many celebrities here in WicksHollow.”
Her own mouth turned up at the corners, and she gave a short laugh. “Well, I’m flattered. But the days of boardrooms, shareholders, and press conferences are long over for me. And apology accepted. I’m sure if I were in your shoes, with a daughter to protect, I would have been similarly concerned and upset.” The smile faded from her expression, and Declan had the impression she’d just thought of somethingsad.
There was silence for a moment as she drank from her water, and Declan tried to figure out how he could finagle staying here a little longer now that their business was done—and then he was surprised at himself for that very crystal-clearthought.
But he realized, suddenly and surprisingly, that he didn’t want to leave. Maybe because he didn’t want to walk back through town and stop for something to eat alone, or, worse, try and find something to make for dinner at home. Or maybe because he liked the feel of this house, the homey comfort of this astonishingly large kitchen with its sleek appliances, fancy urban lighting, and chop-block wooden table. Or maybe he simply wanted thecompany.
Hercompany.
“Is there anything else I can tell you that would alleviate your concerns?” she asked, sounding once again like a cool, impersonal businesswoman. “I hope you’ll give your permission and allow Stephanie to keep the job, Mr. Zyler. She was very excited, and to be honest—it would be a great experience for her. Working with a celebrity andall.”
Declan looked up sharply and was relieved to find her dark, almond-shaped eyes sparkling with humor and her mouth curving again. She was quite a gorgeous woman, he realized with a start—especially in person. Much more attractive than when she’d appeared perfect and well-groomed in the photos he’d seen online. And even more lovely now that she wasn’t covered indust.
Her shiny hair was a sleek and smooth black swath around her shoulders. She’d tucked one side of it behind an ear, and a diamond the size of his pinky nail (surely it wasn’t real, was it?) glinted on her earlobe. There might even be some mascara or eyeshadow or whatever that was called—the stuff around her eyes that made them look larger anddarker.
Perhaps that was why he wasn’t in any hurry toleave.
“Yes, Stephanie can work for you. Thank you for alleviating my concerns. And—it’s Declan. Not Mr. Zyler, allright?”
“All right.” She stood abruptly. “I know it’s too soon to ask you how things are going with the railing,but—”
“I was actually working on ittoday.”
“You were? Already?” The surprise and delight on her face washed away the crispness of Ms. Nakano, celebrity CEO, and replaced it with a softer, more approachable version of herself. “I didn’t think you’d be able to get to it soquickly.”
“Well, I had some spare time this afternoon,” he lied, suddenly feeling sensitive about how he’d pushed aside two other projects to work on this one—just so he’d have an excuse to see her again soon? Nah, that was silly. He wasn’t about to make the same mistake he’d made with Bethany Hamberg—getting involved with a client only to be discarded when the job wasfinished.
“It’s a beautiful piece,” he continued, “and I was looking forward to working on it. So I started tinkering around when I had some extra time. Drew a few sketches so I could finalize a rubric.”Don’t read anything into it, he told herandhimself. “It’ll still be a few weeks before it’sdone.”
“Well, I’m glad you started on it already. I’ll try to be patient, but—it’s just that it’s such an important part of the house. The staircase is the first thing you see when you come in. I want it to be right.” Then she sobered. “After working with the wrought iron, do you have any further ideas about what that discoloration might be? I have to have a mold expert come out and sample it,but…”
He shook his head. “No. But it’s not rust. That much has become clear, as it doesn’t seem to be able to beremoved.”
“Can I show you something?” Leslie gestured in the general direction of the frontroom.
“Sure.”
