Page 17 of Taming the CEO

"No problem. We’ll catch up another time. I’m going to be in Essex regularly."

"Great," he said, turning to look at Gran, who was inspecting the wall behind the reception desk. It was covered with pictures of various groups of people, and Cami appeared in most of them.

"I see your daughter really likes these trees, right?" she asked.

Samuel pointed at a photo farther up the wall. Cami was standing in front of a huge tree, arms spread out at her sides, probably to prove that the tree was so much bigger than her.

"She does. That's her favorite. It’s the oldest one—120 years.”

"Will you look at that? Something that’s older than me." Gran laughed. "Could I see it?"

Samuel smiled from ear to ear. "Sure. You know what? I’ll have Cami show you. She's at Station 11, and that's not very far from the tree of interest. Let’s walk over there. "

"Oh, nonsense," Gran said. "I can go and introduce myself to Cami. Maddox, you don’t have to come either. I’ll be fine."

Slowly, I was starting to realize that Natalie wasn't exaggerating anything. I made a split-second decision not to leave the two of them alone after all. "That’s fine. I’ll come with you," I said.

Gran narrowed her eyes, and I was betting that she was thinking about how to best get rid of me. She was in for a surprise. I trusted her, I truly did, but she could be a bit of a loose cannon. The last thing we needed was for things between us and Cami to become even worse. I had to patch things up, and I couldn’t afford letting Gran scare her away.

"All right, I’ve messaged Cami," Samuel said, putting his phone down. "She’s waiting for you." He pointed at a plate on the reception desk. "Would you like some banana bread? She baked it fresh this morning."

"I’d love some!" Gran immediately grabbed a slice. I did the same. Banana bread was one of my favorites, and this one was the best I’d tasted in a long time.

"Wow, wow, wow. This is delicious," she exclaimed.

This time, I narrowed my eyes. She’d shifted into what I liked to call her "actress persona." Gran was always exuberant and a bit over the top anyway, but sometimes she liked to lean into theatrics.

"Tell her that. It’ll make her happy." He winked at me. "Maybe it’ll help with negotiations."

I would have paid good money to know what Cami told him about our meeting.

"All right, let's go," I said.

Once outside, we walked in silence on the narrow path leading to the stations.

"I think he's married," Gran said out of the blue.

"Who, Samuel?"

"Yes. He’s wearing a wedding ring."

"I didn't notice that," I said.

"I know. That’s why I came here. I notice details.”

I had a feeling it was also because she simply wanted to get out of the house. My brothers and I took her out to lunch or dinner once a week, but this was different. She had a sense of purpose today. She'd once confided in me that except when she was watching Ben, she didn't feel like she had a purpose anymore.

We passed two stations with zip lines and three obstacle courses.

Station 11 offered tree climbing. I took a moment to admire Cami once I spotted her. She was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt with a cardigan, and she looked hot—not that she hadn't at dinner. She was speaking to the three customers who’d just gotten down from the tree. They were taking off their helmets and harnesses, and I had to admit, the course looked fun.

Seconds later, she looked over her shoulder and noticed us. She smiled, but it was tight, and I knew it was for Gran. If it were just me, she'd probably hurl something in my direction. She came up to us with quick steps.

"Maddox," she said tightly. "And Jeannie Whitley. My father told me.”

"Yes. This space is amazing. It's almost like being in a forest."

"Dad and I always intended for it to remain as natural as possible.”

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