Page 45 of Without Apology

***

It wasn’t fine. I left her house frazzled. I didn’t do frazzled. I was a man who liked control. But at the moment, I had anything but. Instead, I was reeling with the idea I’d made things worse. Arriving back at the hotel, I called Emma and waited for her to knock on my door.

The moment she came in, I blurted out what had happened at Peyton’s house. Her face showed her astonishment. “She won’t fly at all?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

“Bloody hell.”

Exactly. I had to tamp down the emotions of this evening else I let them cloud my judgment. I cared. Too much. And it was eating me up inside. I paced back and forth. Thinking out loud. “Technically, she could do the job without flying. But if she tells the board members, it’s doubtful they’d be understanding.”

“Why would it come up? Not a typical interview question. Especially if she’s already traveled to be there.”

“True. But I think she’d offer it up. She’s honest that way.” One of the many qualities I admired about her.

“It’s none of their business. The company is local; what would she need to travel for?”

“The new owner would be in New York.”

“If she has enough notice, she could drive that distance. I don’t know how long it is, though. The US is bigger than I sometimes imagine.”

I was hit with a ray of hope. “That’s it. She can drive.”

Emma was already typing on her phone. “Jesus. It’s over twenty-three hours. And that’s one way without traffic.”

I frowned. If the interview was Friday morning, she would have to leave Thursday morning. Early.

“I have an idea.”

***

By the next afternoon I had a plan. Emma had finalized its logistics this morning. Now all I had to do was convince Peyton.

I found her in her office after lunch, on break from the final audit questions with Russ. At this point, the initial audit was done and the purchase was moving forward. There were only a few loose ends to tie up. Without a doubt, I knew she’d been a big part of the process moving smoothly so far.

“Hi.” I knocked and watched her look up with her sexy glasses. I didn’t understand how it was possible I’d already missed someone I’d seen only last night, but I had. Just seeing her made me feel better.

“Hello.”

I shut her door and took a seat, leaning forward so I could level my gaze with hers. “I have a plan for your interview.”

She shook her head. “I thought a lot about it last night, and I think this is a sign. A sign I shouldn’t take the job.”

I didn’t believe in signs. The very notion was contrary to the ideal of working hard to attain something. “I won’t take no for an answer. Hear me out. Please.”

She expelled an exasperated breath but didn’t stop me, so I continued.

“You are the most qualified person. Hands down. Not only is Jeff a complete pompous arse, but he also doesn’t know what he’s doing. You’re smart, you care about your people, and the owner relies on you. Those are all traits you need for this position. As far as the travel, I think you’re right to assume that if the board knew up front you won’t fly, they might make a judgment about that. But in the age of video teleconferencing, there isn’t a reason you should actually need to travel all that often. Maybe once a year. With enough notice, you can take the time to plan out a drive.”

Her expression was incredulous. “Drive to New York from Dallas? It’s gotta be, like, I don’t know—”

“Twenty-three hours and sixteen minutes. Give or take.”

“And you know that how?”

I grinned. “Because we’re driving, starting Thursday morning. I’ll pick you up at four a.m. We’ll drive straight through.”

“What? There’s no way.”

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