“Just you and Astrid, then? What is she qualified to do?”
“That, I don’t know exactly. But I have to think we can find something for her.”
“You know, this isn’t a good time. Morale is very low. Everyone was crushed by Johnathon’s death. This isn’t a great time to bring in the Norwegian supermodel and let her take someone’s job.”
Tara shook her head. “We won’t fire anyone, Grant. We just need to make room. I know there are parts of the company that are short staffed or have vacant positions.”
“How exactly do you know that?”
“I have a friend who’s an executive recruiter.”
Grant took in a deep breath through his nose. There was an open job in project management that might work for Astrid, but that involved working closely with the architects on staff, and Miranda’s brother Clay headed up that department. That seemed like a big potential problem. “What about Astrid and Miranda? Can you keep those two in check? They hate each other.”
Tara took another sip of her wine. “Well, something sort of miraculous happened tonight. Astrid found out Miranda’s pregnant and she didn’t freak out. In fact, she congratulated her. I was pleasantly surprised.”
“You have got to be kidding.”
Tara shook her head. “I wouldn’t kid about something like that.”
So this was really happening. And he couldn’t do anything to stop it. “What about you? Where do you fit into this equation?”
“I figured you and I could work together. You can show me the ropes. I can bring my real estate expertise and contacts into it. We could make a blockbuster team.”
“Co-CEOs? I don’t think so.” That was not what he wanted. This was supposed to be his chance to step out of Johnathon’s shadow and finally show the world how much he’d been responsible for making Sterling run all these years. It would be too easy to end up in a different Sterling shadow—Tara’s.
“So call me an advisor to the CEO. I really don’t care about titles.”
It was so easy for Tara to set her ego aside. He admired that in her, among other things. “You realize we could have made a different kind of team at one point. Before you let Johnathon get in the way.”
Tara knocked her head to the side and a lock of her hair fell across her beautiful face. She slowly swept it back. “I don’t know, Grant. We have chemistry. We like to flirt. That’s not the basis for a partnership. At least not the kind you’re talking about.”
“Every relationship starts with chemistry. Plus, you can’t deny that you felt something the one time I kissed you.”
“You promised we would never talk about that. I was engaged to Johnathon at the time.”
Memories of that night flooded his mind. It was the one time he’d thought he might have a chance with her, although he hadn’t taken the time to think out the repercussions. Johnathon never would’ve stood for it. It never could’ve been a long-term thing. “You’d broken up. You were about to call off the wedding.”
Tara drew her lips into a tight and anxious bundle. “But I didn’t call it off. I went through with it.”
Grant didn’t like to think about that day. It still hurt to think about his front-row seat to watching her say those vows to Johnathon. “Yes, you did.”
“Look. It was an amazing kiss, but that doesn’t mean the world. Plus, you wouldn’t last five minutes with me. You’re a nice guy. I don’t do well with nice men. I tend to chew them up and spit them out and then I feel bad about it.”
He’d heard that argument from other women and it made him nuts. He wasn’t a nice guy. He merely refused to be a jerk. She could blame his wholesome midwestern upbringing, and a father who treated his mother like a queen. “You think you know me, but you don’t.”
“Well, it’s not a good idea now anyway. We’re about to be working together. It’s never smart to mix business and pleasure.”
If only Tara knew that as far as he was concerned, she was making a case for her to sell him her shares and let him take her to bed. But he didn’t see tonight working out that way. “Only on a temporary basis?” He wasn’t sure which part of their agreement he was talking about—the work side, or the romantic side, which was admittedly all in his head.
“We’ll call it a trial.”
“This conversation is a trial.”
Tara laughed and it was such a boost to his sense of self, just at the right time, too. He was otherwise feeling a bit beat up. “Why? You’re getting what you want. You’re CEO of Sterling. And you’re going to get to work with me every day, which you know will be fun.”
Grant made a silent prayer for strength. He was about to walk into a less than optimal circumstance—finally CEO of the company he’d been running from behind the scenes for years, while working side by side with the woman he’d never stopped wanting. He imagined he would be both incredibly excited to go to work every day and also filled with dread. “Promise? I could use a little fun.”
“How about I promise to make it interesting?”
He wasn’t happy that she hadn’t taken the bait about having fun. He desperately needed that in his life. “I’ve had my fill of interesting. Let’s focus on making it work.”
“Don’t worry about that. I absolutely will.”
Five
The headquarters of Sterling Enterprises took up the top three floors of one of the newest, most exclusive high-rises in downtown San Diego. Johnathon had moved the company two years ago after overseeing the development of the building. Tara hadn’t been to these new offices since the night of the grand opening reception, when Johnathon and Miranda were engaged to be married and Tara and Grant were engaged in a different way after a few glasses of
