Page 139 of An Engagement for Erica

At times he felt he was more in love with her than she was with him and he didn’t know why.

The holiday with her mother last week was just another example.

She’d been nervous when he wasn’t.

She was thrilled Theo “saved her.”

She talked a big game that she didn’t care what her mother said or did, but she didn’t act that way.

When he said he didn’t give a shit about other people’s thoughts and opinions, he meant it.

Even his grandfather’s when it came to Erica.

He did what he thought was right for him and maybe he was bothered she didn’t act as confident in her personal life as she did in her career.

“Just like you don’t know me as well, but one thing you should know and remember, is what my last name is. I’m not being an ass like my father. I’m just stating a fact. It’s my name on this building.”

“Heard,” Catherine said.

Joel was still grinning but nodded his head.

“Is there anything else I need to know about the fact my dating life is making the rounds or can we talk about business?”

“Nope,” Joel said. “I’ll let Catherine start and we’ll move on to operations after that.”

Considering how the meeting started, it ended fairly well and he felt things were right on track with how Erica and he had predicted they’d be.

But he also knew he had to let her know what was going on and sent her a text to see if she could talk.

She replied an hour later that she’d gotten off a call and was free, so he called her and told her what he’d found out.

“This is a nightmare,” Erica said.

“Why is that?” he asked, frowning.

“Because it will look bad for your business and mine.”

The fact she was more concerned about that was the last rock on the scale today to push him over the weight limit.

“You’re more concerned about your business and how it will look to you on a professional level than people knowing we are in a committed relationship?” he asked, his voice firmer than normal.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” she rushed out to say.

“I think you did,” he said. “It’s where you went first. I don’t give a shit if my employees know I’m dating you.”

“It’s not that,” she argued. “But all the work we did together to get you to this point could be lost. That is the problem.”

“No,” he said. “It’s not a problem. People are going to think what they want. I can give them all the facts in the world on whathas changed and what I’m doing, and regardless of my personal life, they are going to believe what they want. If the knowledge that we are together makes them doubt I can put this business first, then they can walk out the door. I told that to Joel and Catherine when we met too.”

“Tucker, do you think that is wise knowing that they report to your grandfather?”

He didn’t like being doubted by anyone, but least of all the woman he was in love with.

He expected her to support him, not question him.

“It’s my decision,” he said. “It will always be my decision and they know it. Not that I need to explain any of this to you, but I told them I was fully aware they were reporting to my grandfather.”

“Oh,” she said.

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