“It’s not my habit to agree with Johnathon, but I think it’s a smart idea. I think we should go for it. It’s such a high-profile project and it would be amazing publicity if we landed the contract.”
“Your ex-husband pissed off a lot of people with the city. You have no idea the headache this would be.”
“He was your best friend, too, you know. And he’s not here to make people mad anymore. Let me try with the city. Let me see if we can throw our hat in the ring.”
Grant pinched the bridge of his nose. A terrible headache was brewing. “It’s not what we do. We do large private projects. Office buildings. Like this one. Big paydays. The margins are so thin with a government contract. I don’t see the point.”
Tara gestured to a chair opposite Grant’s desk. “May I?”
“Be my guest.”
She perched on the very edge of the seat and crossed her legs. He tried to ignore how amazingly sexy they were in her sky-high heels. “Look. You need to know how Sterling is seen in this town.”
Grant stepped closer, unsure of where she was going with this. “I know our reputation. Smart. Nimble. Timely.”
“You’re also known as a bad neighbor. You only go after massive projects, the big kill. Greed and profits at all costs is not a good look.”
He could see some people viewing Sterling in that light. It still didn’t make it easy to hear. “You keep saying you. You need to turn that into a we. We’re in this together now. Working together, remember?”
“And you put me on the other end of the building. That’s not togetherness. You’re assuming I’m going to be a pain in your butt. It’s fair.”
If only Tara knew that the pain she was putting him through was of a different variety. It was probably time to go with his first idea—give in and take away the friction. “Okay. Fine. We can talk about Seaport Promenade. Why don’t you call down to the city today and see where they are with the application process? I’ve been doing nothing but stalling this whole time, hoping Johnathon would get distracted by something else. For all I know, we’ve missed several key deadlines.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door frame to Grant’s office. It was Sandy, Johnathon’s assistant. “Mr. Singleton, I’m sorry to bother you, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing today.”
Grant sighed. He’d told Sandy to take last week off, but he’d forgotten to get back in touch with her about new responsibilities moving forward. Sandy was inexperienced, but she was an excellent employee—a self-starter who always arrived early and stayed late. “Yes, Sandy. I’m sorry. Come on in.” Grant gestured for her to have a seat. “I want you to meet Tara Sterling. I’ll be working with her over the next several months, keeping our heads above water as we move forward without Mr. Sterling.”
Sandy offered her hand to shake Tara’s. “I know who you are, Ms. Sterling. I’ve seen your Realtor ads on the bus benches.”
Tara smiled warmly. “Well, I’m moving out of selling and into developing. Hopefully you won’t have to look at those ads too much longer.”
“I’d love to hear more about what you used to do. I’m interested in all aspects of real estate.” Sandy took a seat next to Tara.
All of this was giving Grant an idea. He needed a place to put Sandy and he needed a way to keep Tara preoccupied for at least part of the day. He had work to do and a lot of it. “Sandy, I apologize for springing this on you at the spur of the moment, but how would you feel about working for Ms. Sterling? As her admin? It seems like a logical step. You know the ins and outs of the various projects we’re working on right now. And you know everyone in the office and how things run.”
“I’d be happy to work for Ms. Sterling. I’d love it, in fact.”
That was one less organizational challenge Grant needed to face today. He was thankful for that. “Perfect.”
Tara nodded, but seemed wary of having this new person foisted upon her. “Sandy, maybe you and I can brainstorm some changes to my office when you have a minute. If I’m going to be over in no-man’s land, I might as well make it look good.”
“Sure thing, Ms. Sterling. Whatever you need.”
Tara rose from her chair. “Okay, then.” She made her way for the door, following Sandy, but she stopped at Grant’s side. “On my way to the other end of the building now. I’ll call you when I get there. Should probably only take an hour.” She cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Tara. It wasn’t personal. I made a choice, okay?” Except that it was personal. Everything between them would always be that way.
“It feels a bit intentional. I’m not hurt. Just don’t want to let you off the hook too easy.”
If only she knew that deep down, he wanted to be on her hook. He might already be on it. “Would it make you happier if you had my old office?”
“It would. It would certainly send a better message to the rest of the company regarding my role.”
Grant drew in a deep breath through his nose. “Okay. But let’s get maintenance in there to paint first. The walls are scuffed up. It should be nice.”
“You get a little wild and crazy a few times in there, Grant?”
“More like tired and frustrated. I might have kicked the wall once or twice, but only out of exasperation.”
A crease formed between her eyes as she narrowed her sights on him.
