"Babe." I cover her hands with one of mine to stop her from wringing her fingers. "I'm not trying to keep anything from you. A lot of things are in play; you have to trust me."
"I want to trust you."
"I'm not going to break that trust," I reassure her.
"But if you do, this marriage—" She runs her finger across her throat. The murdering gesture is in stark contrast to her sparkly gold nail polish. I only shake my head and lean down and press my mouth to hers. She’s adorable, even when she’s threatening to end my life.
And just like that, Tinsley melts into me. All of her sweetness is right there, simmering below the surface and coming out for me. When I lift my head, her eyes are hooded, and a soft smile has taken over.
"Are you going to properly introduce me?" a feminine voice asks. We both turn our heads toward the top of the stairs. Kindred stands there, hands on her hips, assessing us. I can see by the way she’s looking at Tinsley that there’s a lot of love between the two of them.
"You'll never believe this!" Tinsley shouts back, darting up the stairs.
"This is New Hope; I believe almost anything can happen," Kindred says with a smile.
"His name is Pierce Harte."
"Interesting."
"Wait, you knew already!?"
"Of course I knew." I come up behind Tinsley and hold my hand out to properly meet her. "Harte, it's fitting for you," she tells Tinsley. "I didn't love learning about your engagement from someone else, though."
"It all kind of just happened. Not all of us dance around our man for a couple of years."
Kindred cocks her head. "All right, that's a fair point." I hold the door open for them. They disappear into Kindred's office, and I spot Hollis. He nods for me to follow him.
We step into what appears to be a conference room. "You wanted to speak," he says to me. I sent him a message an hour ago about meeting up again. I wanted to talk to him in person and explain a few things before I asked him to hand over any numbers he has. I don't mean money numbers either. This is about the townsfolk.
I lay it all out for him.
"Bullshit. I should have been told about the land."
"Agreed, and most would have extended that courtesy."
"Which makes you think they didn't want me to know."
"Bingo."
"I couldn't stop the highway being built, but I wasn't worried about it. It's far enough out that you wouldn't see or hear it. The path would have circled the outer edge of the mountain.” He rubs his hand across his short beard. "What if I give you these numbers and you fuck me? I bet they'd be worth a lot if you're trying to get investors for the property and build, and you're really with Biff on this?" I don’t take offense in the least to Hollis questioning my intentions. I would expect nothing less.
He’s right that the numbers would be worth a fuckload. Investors would see how lush the community is. They would see which other businesses could piggyback off the resort and profit.They’d waste no time bulldozing this whole town and all the small businesses here.
I want to be real clear with him where I stand on this, too, so I offer secrets that should never cross my lips.
"I'll send them over when I get back to my desk," he says when I'm done. "I think Tinsley's fantasized love story might be unfolding."
"What do you mean?" If he has information, I want it. I got some from her books, and there are more to go through, but in them, it was clear that Tinsley has a dream when it comes to the things she wants in life. These details are all part of it. Some of which you could never control, but that's not going to stop me from trying.
"A white knight coming in to save the day."
"I'm not a white knight."
"We'll see." He gives me that knowing smirk that a lot of people have around here.
I have never thought of myself as a white knight. I can be cutthroat in the business world.
For Tinsley, I'd give it my best shot, and I never fucking miss. Not when it counts.
