Page 39 of The Enemies With Benefits Deal

“I don’t know about that.” I take a deep breath before forcing a smile to my face as I look at the two men sitting on one side of the conference room table.

They both stand as we walk in, the one with gray hair stepping forward and holding out his hand. “You must be Jade and Grayson. I’m Pierre, and this is Christian.”

I shake his hand and Christian’s. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us. I know that this is all very last-minute, but we’re trying to save a family business and I think you might be our last hope.”

Pierre and Christian take their seats. Grayson nods to the chair closest to them and I sit down, putting my purse on the floor and pulling out my tablet to show them the website designs and branding packages.

I bring up the presentation and pass the tablet to them. “As you can see, we’re trying to bring the nostalgia of a newspaper into the modern age. We’re going to keep running the physical newspaper and the website, but we thought that having an app would be a good place for our readers to go.”

Christian swipes through the slides, taking his time looking at each one. “When Paloma said I would be interested in working with you, she wasn’t kidding. She designed these, yes?”

I smile and nod. “She did. She spent the last few weeks working on getting the website together, and in that time, we’ve been working on expanding the content in the newspaper.”

Pierre hums, his fingers steepling together beneath his chin. “And you said that you need the app done within the next six weeks?”

“We know it’s a big ask,” Grayson says, his voice smooth as he looks between the two men. He gives them the warm smile he saves for charming people to get what he wants. “However, my father started the business before I was even a glint in his eye.”

“Then why are you here and not him?” Christian’s lips press into a thin line, his tone dry.

Grayson shifts in his seat, but the smile doesn’t falter. “One day, the company is going to be mine. When Jade came to us with a plan for taking the newspaper back to its former glory, I didn’t quite see her vision at first, but once I did, I knew this was going to work.”

Pierre nods. “I have to admit, this is an interesting project.”

I lean forward a little, barely able to contain my excitement. “Does that mean you’re going to do it?”

“Yes.” Christian hands the tablet back to me. “I reviewed the notes you sent the other day about everything you would like to incorporate into the app, and we should be able to do it all within the timeline.”

Grayson stands and holds out his hand. “Thank you both for taking the time to meet with us today. To be honest, I was expecting this conversation to be more involved.”

“It would have been,” Christian says as he shakes Grayson’s hand, “if Jade here didn’t send overly detailed notes.” He turns to me. “I spoke with my colleague who worked with you, and he assured me that you would be able to answer any questions in a timely manner.”

I nod, my heart soaring at the confirmation that they’re going to work with us. This is everything we needed. The last piece of the rebrand puzzle. “I will. You have my email, so if there are any questions, just send them over and I’ll answer them right away.”

Christian looks impressed. “I have to tell you this is one of the tightest deadlines we have ever agreed to take on.”

“And we are so grateful for you being able to fit us in,” I say. “I only had great experiences working with the Pelletier team in the past.”

Grayson’s charming smile wavers a little as if it’s getting harder to keep up now that he has what he wants. “I may not have worked with your team before, but you came with Jade’s highestrecommendation. She was champing at the bit to get me on side about working with you.”

Pierre winks at me, his grin stretching. “It seems like the woman knows what she wants.”

I nod. “Only the best for LRH Global. I really believe in the company, and I know this rebrand is going to push them over the edge.”

Grayson sits a little taller beside me, his chest swelling with pride. “We’re glad to hear that you’re on board.”

Christian stands, his chin tipping to the door. “I’ll be in touch if there’s any more information I need from you.”

Pierre walks us to the door. “Enjoy the rest of your time in Paris.”

“Thank you.”

Grayson leads the way out of the office, waiting until we’re out onto the street before sweeping me into a big hug.

I laugh as he spins me around before setting me back down. “I thought that was going to be a lot harder than it was.”

He chuckles. “I’m glad it was easy. It gives us time to go get dinner together before we fly out tomorrow morning. I was thinking we could go to a vineyard that’s not too far from here.”

My eyebrows climb high, the butterflies in my stomach coming to life at the thought of spending a seemingly romantic evening with him. “That sounds great.”

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