“Oh, wait,” Emmitt called out, turning his attention to Betty. “How’s she doing? Did everything go well?”
Betty nodded. “It went just as I expected. That stinker whined, howled, and tried to run from the vet, but we contained her. She got her vaccines while I helped hold her in place, and she’s been sulking ever since. But Doctor Gardner said she’s well and healthy.”
“That’s good,” Emmitt said. “I’ll have to come give her a little love later.”
Betty winked. “She’d like that. We both would.”
“I’ll come give her some love rightnow,” Maverick said in his I-can-one-up-you tone. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Sloane,” he added with a wink. “If you get bored ofAh-meat-headhere, you can ask for me.”
“But of course,” she said, suppressing hints of a grin that might be twice the size if she allowed for it. “Au revoir.”
Maverick tried repeating the French word for goodbye, but it sounded more like aardvark than anything else.
“Yeah, see you later, Mav-a-reek,” Emmitt chimed. “You might want to take a shower while you’re at it.” He turned his gaze back to the woman who had, in part, caused him a heck of a lot of grief. It didn’t seem fair that Maverick got to swoop in with his full game intact and hit on her. Easy forhim.He wasn’t the one who had to cancel tours and endure another twelve hours of training in a skill he’d mastered to perfection.
“How long have you known Betty?” the woman asked.
Emmitt gulped, a little thrown off by the question. “Um, just since we bought the place and moved out here.” When she didn’t reply, he realized that didn’t exactly answer her question. “So, a few months shy of a year,” he added.
“Hmm. I can tell she is very fond of you. In fact, I pride myself on reading people. I had her pinned as someone you have known much longer. Like a mother figure.”
This chickwasgood at reading people. Betty was the only other person outside the Duran family who knew about the mafia and Ava’s ex, Wren. That made her family. Beyond that, he’d bonded with Betty right from the start.
“Well,” Emmitt said. “She kind of feels like a mother figure to me too. Ahotone,” he added with a laugh. “But yeah, my own mother died a few years back, so…”Shut up, Emmitt.Why was he offering something so personal? Besides, he had beef with this woman. Or with the company she worked for.
He searched her pretty face for a blink, considering the best way to get out of this extra training, and realized she was shivering. Her next breath came out in a clouded puff.
“You’re cold,” he said. “Let’s, um…” He glanced around, realizing it’d be weird to invite her to his cabin, and opted for something less private. “How about we take a seat inside and discuss this whole thing?” Emmitt started to walk, but stopped when he sensed she wasn’t doing the same.
“There is not much to discuss,” she said. “That is, if the discussion is to result with you getting out of this new mandate. I simply do not have the power to change that.”
Dang, it was like she was reading his mind now too. He shifted under her scrutinizing gaze, thrown off by the bored-looking expression on her face. Another layer of unease settled over him. Was he losing his charm?
No, he hadn’t eventriedusing his charm. Attractive as she might be, this woman was the face behind the voice that had ticked him off to no end. He rolled his shoulders back, hoping to shrug off the tension clinging there, and eased into a grin. “How about we make an agreement? I get to host the tours we already have booked—”
“Absolutely not.”
Emmitt’s jaw clenched. “This is total bull crap,” he said, glad he’d caught himself from cursing. “You’re forcing me to disappoint the guests who already scheduled tours. I’m part owner of this place, and that’s not the kind of business I want to run.”
“It is a matter of safety, Mr. Duran, not a matter of, how you say, bull crap?”
Emmitt shook his head and pulled in a deep breath. “Had I known you guys were going to pull something like this, I wouldn’t have started booking tours to begin with.”
“I understand, but rules are rules.” She squared her posture. “You must finish the extra training first.”
Irritated heat flared hot in his chest. He took a step closer, eyes locked on hers. “Fine. Let’s go flying right now. I can go for twelve hours straight. How about you?”
“That is a no.A bigno.” Her tone remained unapologetic. “Each hour on the helicopter must be proceeded by an hour of video instruction. Another hour of instruction will follow, and then so on, as long as you are incorporating techniques and safety procedures.”
His fists clenched. “So now it’stwenty-fourhours of instruction?”
The woman took one step back. “It has always been twenty-four hours, Ah-meet. Reread the letter. I am happy to do two hours a day with you until the training is complete. I am even good to work over the weekend if you are.”
“I’mnotdoing this crap on the weekends,” he snapped. “And it’sEmm-itt,”he corrected again. He found himself wanting to place his finger and thumb at either side of those pretty red lips of hers to help her enunciate like he would a small child.
“Then it will take that much longer.”
“Fine.”
