Page 25 of The American

“Are you coming with me?”

He nodded, eyes searching the parking lot.

She shrugged. “We’re here Thad. I’ll see you in a sec.”

“Come to the conference room. They already started.”

She hung up. “Ugh.” So unprofessional to be late. She was supposed to be running this meeting. And if Thad was flirting with her on the phone, he wasn’t running it either. Which was probably for the best. How much did he know about running a business anyway?

And these doubts brought a whole new set of concerns to light. She knew so little about him and she was falling for the fun date planner who was also his public persona which he himself said was only a part of who he really was. The part he didn’t let the public see, his private side, she didn’t think he let her see either. She knew she needed to guard herself as much, or more than he was.

In the meantime, she shook her head in disbelief at herself, she had a company to run.

Chapter 14

She rushed out onto the floor and turned a corner hurrying for the conference room. Thad stepped in front of her, swinging her into his arms. “Are you alright?”

She hugged him back, surprised, and then glanced over her shoulder at the new bodyguard who trailed behind her. “I’m fine, but late. We should get in there.”

“Just a minute.”

“No, Thad. I’m never late. Look, we have a job to do, an actual real life job with a company to run.”

His eyes flashed with hurt and he stepped back. “You’re right.” He held his hand out for her to lead the way.

She felt such a twist of pain inside at his reaction but they didn’t have time to work through this. She couldn’t even believe he wasn’t in there at least trying to get it going.

But when they opened the door, the group was quietly working in buzz sessions, scribbling on notepads.

“What’s everyone doing?”

“Brainstorming. I told them about our new plans for the other divisions and tasked them with solving a few of the minor problems we hadn’t worked through yet.”

She pulled Thad back to the doorway. “What plans?”

He winked. “Just work with me here.”

Sage did not work this way, and she had a specific plan and timeline. What was Thad doing? He could change months’ worth of work here if she wasn’t careful. She sat down with the nearest group.

Zachary stepped in and motioned for her to follow him.

Trying to keep the impatience out of her voice, when they stepped into the hallway, she whispered, “I need to stay in there. Thad’s doing something and—”

“I know what he’s doing. It’s a good idea. Come into my office for a minute.”

Zachary knew? And now Sage felt like the boys’ club was crowding her out. A sense of panic started to set in. So often she had to bide her time, read people carefully and win respect the hard way because of this very thing. She always felt on the outs of a group of men who seemed to plan things in the bathroom and now she felt two steps behind.

He closed the door behind her. “I need this publicity thing to work, Sage.”

She counted to five. “I know Zachary, we’re doing it. Did you see the YouTube hits?”

“Yes, fantastic. I want you guys to boost it even further. And while you are at it, let me share some of the assets our man Thad brings to the company. Give you some motivation.”

He clicked and beautiful mountain side properties, lining blue green waters flashed across the screen. “This is Torren, and a few of the nearby islands.”

“It’s gorgeous.” She had not traveled much, but even pictures she had seen were not nearly as lovely as these islands. “But I don’t understand.”

“No one has been able to buy these parcels of land. But these, and several others along the coast of the Mediterranean are some of the most valuable land in the world right now.”

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