Page 4 of Just One Summer with the Grumpy

“I mean, not that I want you to,” I said, hedging my words now. “Didn’t you just fire Blythe?”

“Of course. I would have done it last month, but it took a while to get the proof together. Embezzlement is a serious crime, and she made a pretty devastating dent before I discovered her activities. I like evidence that can’t be refuted.” He tipped his head toward the window overlooking the street. “Like that Ferrari parked on the side of the road.”

I let that sink in before stepping to the glass and looking down. Indeed, Blythe was shoving her belongings into the passenger side. She slammed the door, rounded the vehicle, and nearly got herself hit by a bicycle in the bike lane as she climbed into the driver’s seat. She seemed to shout something after the biker before closing her door and pulling into traffic.

“Maybe she saved up for it,” I said slowly, unsure why I was even defending her. “Or has a massive car payment. She’s married—her husband could be paying for it.”

“Her husband is living in Wyoming with his girlfriend. That’s why it took so long to confirm our suspicions. I had to make sure this wasn’t a revenge purchase. However, I’d appreciate your keeping that secret until the court proceedings are finished.” Chase motioned back to the chair, a note of irritation in his voice. “Shall we?”

Far below, Ty emerged onto the street. He stared back inside the building for a few seconds, then lifted his gaze as if he felt me watching him. I sensed the wistfulness in that gaze. It wasn’t the expression of a man in love with someone else. So why was he marrying this woman?

Seconds later, he strode down the sidewalk and out of sight.

Chase’s gaze could have burned a hole in my back. I squared my shoulders and practically marched to the chair he’d indicated, plopping into it. Then I pasted on my fakest of professional smiles. “What can I do for you?”

Chase sat across from me, completely missing my own irritation. “Blythe said you were the more competent of the two assistants. I need you to help sort through her mess, figure out what still needs to be done and when. As you know, Everett Events hosts only the most exclusive of celebrity weddings, and we try to keep those centralized on Isle de Pura Vida so they have the very best experience possible. We have six events left before the rainy season begins, and the next is this weekend. Blythe chose the worst possible time to pull this. I’ll have to hire someone skilled to replace her as our wedding coordinator, and fast.”

An idea sprang to mind. An idea so clever and delicious, it almost felt like fate. Like a horoscope prediction coming true, perhaps.

Suddenly I knew exactly how to get Ty back.

“Nobody else can get trained in time,” I told him. “You need someone who knows the business and has met the clients. Someone who works with all our vendors on a daily basis and solves problems almost before they occur. Someone hands-on.”

He leaned back in his ridiculously white chair, and despite being inside, he wore his usual sunglasses. Even with dark glass covering his eyes, I spotted eyes darker than a bay stallion. “You,” he said. His perfect lips curved slightly.

I couldn’t tell whether he seemed pleased or amused. “The very same.”

“You’ve been here what, six months?”

I blinked in surprise. “Almost exactly, yes.”

He rested an ankle on his opposite knee, the most casual pose I’d ever seen him use. “We have people with decades of experience. What makes you think you’d do a better job than any of them?”

“Because I’ve been doing Blythe’s job all along,” I said, surprised at the confidence in my tone.Pursuer vibes.“She only came into the office to meet with clients. She showed them books that I compiled and wrote out a list that she then gave to me to fulfill before leaving again. I assure you, the company will be in good hands with me in charge. I know that, because they’re the same hands that have kept it running for months.”

Chase dropped his leg and leaned forward. “This will be an on-site position on Isle de Pura Vida. Blythe liked to travel back and forth, but we’d have you stay there for the last few weeks of the dry season until our last event is over. You’d be dealing directly with clients and ensuring everything goes smoothly. It’s very different from placing orders and taking calls.”

Working on an island for the summer. The island where Ty would be arriving very soon. It felt like an entire vat of chocolate fudge ice cream, there for the taking.

I shrugged. “It can’t be that different. Clients want a seamless experience, so we give that to them, no matter what it takes. I know how to operate in the background.” If there was one thing I could do well, it was be invisible. Or at least, I’d assumed so until Chase Everett summoned me into his office. Suite. Whatever.

“Perhaps. But do you know how to operate in the foreground? These are multi-million-dollar clients. Every detail has to be perfect. Even…” He motioned to my blouse.

I looked down to find my blouse’s buttons corrected, but a wide sweet-and-sour-chicken stain now front and center.

My face heated, but I drew up straight, trying my best to look confident and unaffected. “I’m exactly what you’re looking for. You have my word that everything will go smoothly with me in charge.”

Please say yes. Please say yes.

Chase examined me for a long moment, then cocked his head. “Well, then, Daphne Porter. You’d better get packed, because your plane to paradise leaves tonight.”

When I got back to my apartment, I picked my way through the clutter of the living room that served as my roommate’s bedroom and up the metal steps to the loft. At least, that’s what real estate sites called it—this tiny corner of the apartment had no walls or privacy and even less space. I could cross the entire thing in four big steps and slept in a full-sized bed, not even a queen, and I hadn’t been able to scrub away the wet dog smell from its previous inhabitant. Nevertheless, it was mine, and I paid dearly for it with each month’s rental payment.

Or rather, I had until last month, when I’d been forced to choose between rent and groceries. If only my job paid better than a high-school student’s salary. Maybe that would change now, with this huge promotion.

Unless I managed to steal Ty back, which meant saying goodbye to Everett Events and its paychecks for good.

The thought made me a little sad. I’d finally found a job I was good at. Surely winning Ty would be worth the sacrifice.

---