He gritted his teeth and stared stubbornly ahead. He’d love to. He’d been searching for it for a decade, but damn, it was well hidden!
“Because, if not…” Penny took a deep breath, “I’ll take contract negotiations from you.”
He whipped his head up. Oh, she was being mean, knowing with absolute certainty that she would be condemning him to acute boredom. “You won’t.”
“Yes, I will.” She jutted out her chin. “We vote on these kinds of decisions within management and whose side do you think Lyle and the rest will be on?”
Fuck. “I’m a better negotiator than you, Penny!”
“I know. But not when it comes to Hazel. I’ll be generous and give you a day to prove to me that I don’t have to take away your job.”
“One day?”
“Yes. Today, to be exact.”
A bitter taste flooded his mouth. “What?”
“Well, you’re both here, aren’t you? Prove to me that you can handle her reasonably and that you can remain rational and friendly. Set up a time to talk about Fox and Devreaux without shouting or going for each other’s throats. And if I see you being polite and nice to each other, once I honestly believe you’ve made peace — then I might reconsider the whole thing.”
He stared at his sister in disbelief. “And then I’m supposed to solve the energy crisis and colonize Mars, right?”
She shrugged. “Sure, if you have enough time, but I’d think you’d have your hands full with Hazel.”
“Penny!” he snapped. “It’s not up to me if we’re polite to each other.”
“I know. But you contribute at least 50 percent.”
“Thirty. Tops!”
She snorted. “Oh, come on. You have as much power to upset Hazel as she does you.”
He found that highly unlikely. He might scratch the surface, but she got under his damn skin every time. Shit. At heart, he still felt like a lawyer — but without the contract negotiations with the agents, he’d practically be a professional signatory. God, the situation was his worst nightmare. His personal happiness lay in Hazel’s damn hands — and the last time that happened it had ended in absolute disaster for him.
“Fuck,” he whispered tonelessly, sinking back in his chair. “And they say I’m the worst of the two of us.”
“You are,” Penny said earnestly, patting his shoulder. “But today is your chance to prove everyone wrong!”
Fantastic. He’d celebrate when hell froze over, which would have to happen soon if he and Hazel were to find amiddle groundtoday.
“Come on, Gare.” Grinning, she nudged him in the side with her elbow. “You like a challenge. So smile. This is a wedding! Have some fun. And give me your phone.”
“What?” His sister was saying increasingly absurd things.
“I’m confiscating it for the day,” she said innocently. “You shouldn’t be working. That way you can concentrate on Hazel.”
He gripped the phone more tightly. “You’re not my teacher. You can’t take my phone away from me!”
“Oh, I’m much more powerful than a teacher,” she replied, unfazed. “You want to make me happy because if you don’t, I’ll take away your favorite task at work.”
Gareth stared at her stonily. When had his sister become the wicked witch from the gingerbread house next door? “You know, I’m tempted to run to Mom and tell her you’re being mean to me.”
Penny laughed. “It’s for your own sake, Gareth. Really. I…I worry about you.”
Snorting, he leaned back in his chair. “Why?”
“Gareth.” Her expression softened — and he hated the sympathy she showed him, which he certainly didn’t need. “You’re…not quite yourself these days.”
“What are you talking about?” He was fine!
