“And now that my family knows that Graham is the CEO of IES, the idea of working with him and also with Carver and Dad on the IAS side seems exciting.”
Graham had finally spilled those beans as well. He’d let everybody chatter happily about the pregnancy, but after pie and coffee had been cleaned up and we were clearing the tables for our first rowdy game of cards, Margot had elbowed him, and he’d finally told everyone the truth.
My family was, as expected, excited and proud. And again, not shocked. Surprised, yes. And my mom had been a little hurt that he hadn’t told them before this. But she’d understood when he explained that he wanted to make a name for himself first.
Now it’s all out in the open, and Carver is going to be working closely with Graham to bring their combined ideas to life.
I was so proud of them, sitting and watching them talk about their plans. And not just because my brothers are amazing men making smart business and professional choices, but because what they’re planning to do will make a true positive impact on the world.
“You all want to make Sapphire Falls a fully green city,” I say.
Everett nods. “It’s the perfect place to start. Graham knows the town, the town knows Graham, and your family. IAS has all of the right resources and reputation to help us bring the farming community fully green as well.”
There are other fully green towns and cities in the world, even in the US. But having the entire town of Sapphire Falls run on wind, water, and solar energy for all of its power, including the surrounding farms, would be huge.
“We want to incorporate IES advancements with indoor farming as well,” Everett says. “That would make year-round farming possible and would make it easier to make farm operations green.”
That all makes sense to me. “Sapphire Falls is small,” I say. “But even here, even with my family’s reputation, you’re going to need someone who can explain how it’s going to work. And you’ll need someone who can be a true liaison. Someone who’s here to do outreach, who can be on site when things go wrong, who can handle PR wrinkles.”
Everett nods. “Graham says that’s you.”
“It is me. I’m perfect for it. I would be perfect for it, even if we were talking about another town somewhere. But here? I’ll do an amazing job.”
“I’m not hearing any questions so far,” Everett says.
“I think you all should start by recruiting ten to twenty percent of the town to convert their homes and farms completely to green energy. That way you canshoweveryone else how it works. You’ll have actual numbers for how much it will cost, how much it will save, how long it will take, and so on. And you’ll have people who can talk to their neighbors and friends about their experience.”
“That makes sense. What are you proposing?”
“That you let me choose the families and let me recruit them. We want people who can understand what we’re doing and also be good ambassadors. With the rest of the town, but even with the media and anyone else who has questions or wants to learn more.”
“Sounds good,” he says. “Were you afraid I would say no?”
“Well, I think it needs to start now,” I say. “Not in the spring. I know you need to get the building built and all the resources here so you can actually do the work. But we need to do the human work ahead of time.”
He studies me for a moment. “You realize you’re applying for a job in your pajamas after letting me kiss you.”
I pull in a little breath, but nod. “Yeah. I’m going with my gut here.”
“That’s disappointing,” he says.
“What is?”
“That your gut is telling you to talk business with me rather than kissing.”
I smile at him. “But thebusinessis saving the planet. Shouldn’t that be more important than kissing?”
His gaze drops to my lips. “You would think so, wouldn’t you?”
Dammit. I do want to stay in Sapphire Falls, and I do want this job. Why did my new boss have to be such a great kisser?
He narrows his gaze thoughtfully and takes another bite of pie. Again, I watch him chew, astounded that can turn me on.
“I want to start with IES on January first,” I say.
“Okay.”
I wet my lips. His gaze focuses on my mouth. Okay, no more wetting lips. I press them together, then say, “I thought I was going to marry my last boyfriend. We were very serious. I turned down a huge promotion because of him. Because we worked together and dating him as his superior would have been against policy.”
