Page 69 of Call It Home

The only surprise would be the final tally of votes on the last episode. And after seeing the other houses in person on the last day, I knew we were a strong competitor. Any worries I had that I didn’t have magazine articles or celebrities endorsing me only showed that I could hold my own against them.

Or at least, I could with Mac. Our ideas flowed seamlessly, like a river that had found its natural course. It was as if we had been partners for much longer than the few months we’d spent working up to the show plus the weeks we spent together.

And not just the contest.

We spent every night in each other’s arms, basking in the warmth and safety of his secluded cabin, where we didn’t risk being found out we were more than an employee and boss. Only my family knew.

I’d never felt more at peace than when I was with him. Which was strange for me because I usually couldn’t stand to be still. I was a workaholic, always on the go and striving for more. At home, I had my computer and design notebooks in hand. Until now, the only thing that pulled me away from work was family. Was that how I was beginning to think of Mac? He’d become such a part of my life that it had become nearly impossible to envision myself without him.

There were a few times I thought I felt him pull away, but then he’d make love to me with such possession and wholeness that I figured it was all in my head.

Still, I was tired of keeping it a secret. He was worried the guys on the teams would be resentful, but I knew I could handle them. I was going to talk to him tonight about not holding back anymore. We’d been back long enough to prove that our relationship didn’t get in the way of our work.

Tearing my thoughts from Mac, I looked through the calendar and plans for what we had going on and coming up on our schedule.

“Hey, Laura,” I called to my office manager, frustration lacing my tone. “What’s with this contract for the new housing development in Marionville? Isn’t that the one headed by Bruce Montego? I thought I nixed that.”

She came to my office, biting her lip. “He contacted Will directly, who in turn said he worked things out with Bruce. He insisted I write up the contract. Will told me he was going to talk to you about it.”

I swallowed the frustration like a lump of bad medicine. That was at least twice Will had promised to clear something with me that he hadn’t. Giving Mac permission to use the truck months ago was one thing. This was a different matter entirely. “Why didn’t you let me know?”

“You left Will in charge, and I didn’t want to cause a problem while you were gone. He used to make those decisions when your—I mean, when Mr. Allen was still alive.” She threw her hands up almost defensively.

It was true. I had left Will in charge. I’d always given him a lot of latitude since he’d been with the company for a long time. But I’d also made it clear at our final staff meeting that I didn’t want to work with Bruce in any capacity. Will knew that.

“Where is Will now?”

“He’s out at the McClaren house.” Her shoulders seemed to slump. “Are you upset with me? I should have called you. But he insisted he would take care of it. I should have known better when you didn’t mention it in one of our phone calls.”

I blew out a long breath and gave her a stern look. “Yes, you definitely should have mentioned it since you knew how I felt about it.”

She nodded rapidly.

“And if you see Will before me, tell him I want to talk to him.”

She nodded again and scurried back to her office.

I leaned back in my chair, staring at my grandfather’s picture as I often did when I worried I wasn’t handling things as well as he had. He had always been a master at handling difficult situations with grace and authority, whereas I was struggling to keep the team in line and get them to trust me. I hadn’t wanted to come in with an iron hand, but now I could see I’d probably used too soft of a touch.

Still, I didn’t know all the details, so until I did, I’d try not to jump to any conclusions.

“Ms. Allen?” Sue’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “There’s a Connor Dunham’s secretary on the phone for you. She wants to know if you have time to speak with him now.”

My heart leapt a beat. I’d tried calling him back the week following his initial phone call, but it went straight to voice mail. I hadn’t heard from him since, so I let it go. I was busy enough being the boss of my own company to track down another CEO.

I glanced at my watch. I had forty-five minutes before I was supposed to meet with a new client. “Sure.”

“There’s something else. She insisted that she fax over a nondisclosure agreement prior to speaking with him. She wouldn’t tell me why.”

Another NDA? If curiosity killed a cat, that cat would be out of its nine lives sooner than it deserved around me. “Only one way to find out. I’ll sign it.”

Once the form was taken care of, I accepted the call, and a sweet-sounding woman who introduced herself as Keeley, transferred the call to her boss. “Mr. Dunham.”

“Ms. Allen.” His voice flowed like warm honey, smooth and a little sweet, through the line. “I hope you accept my apology for being so delayed in reaching back out to you, as well as my appreciation for being cooperative about the NDA.”

“I’m sure you’re nearly as busy as me,” I teased, hoping that wasn’t completely inappropriate.

He chuckled. “Maybe not quite. I’ve heard the hours onRenovation Stationare grueling, even to someone who is used to hard work.”

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