Chapter Three
Grady
“No, thank you.”
I ignore the knock at my door and swivel back and forth in my desk chair, the way I used to in Dad’s when I’d come in on the weekends to bug him silly.Only, now he’s gone, and this is my desk I’m sitting in.
Jesus, why did I ever agree to all this in the first place?
The door knocks again and, before I can huff another denial, it whips open and Parker storms in, all 5’6” of him, and that’s with his big ass cowboy boots on.He’s huffing and puffing, but suddenly?I’m oddly ...calm.
“I’d say don’t bother knocking,” I tease, nodding toward the open door.“But you’ve already done that.”
“Your father never made me knock,” Parker insists, easing into the chair across from my desk without being asked.“Your mother didn’t, either.”
“Stepmother,” I remind him.
“Yeah, well, the point is...”
“I’ve never made you knock either,” I insist.“Because my door isn’t usually shut.”
“Only when dealing with one of our biggest clients?”
I frown.“Correct me if I’m wrong, Parker, but ...is Wild West Studios paying us for this?”I tap the dossier on my desk.
He looks dubiously impressed.“Not exactly, no, but the publicity?On the day of the event?All of our Palmer Properties signs in all those storefront windows?You can’t pay for that kind of publicity.”
I nod and glance past him out the floor-to-ceiling windows of my office.“Fine, yeah, I get that, but ...we already manage the Galloping Galleria, am I right?”
“Sure, but there’s only the one occupant right now, and that’s the whole point of this big, showy Grand Opening—to get more occupants and, hence, more properties to manage.”
When I nod and remain silent a little too long, still studying the open folder on my desk, Parker nudges quietly, “You get that, right?”
“Yes, obviously, it’s just ...that guy’s not my boss.”
Parker smiles at my obvious huffiness.“No, not technically, but Wild West Studios is a big get and the sooner you appreciate that fact, the sooner you’ll get up from out behind that desk, put your tail between your legs and go make peace with that nice young fella.”
“I didn’t think he was very nice.”I pout.
