Page 40 of That Time in Venice
When Anika entered the office,Jasmine was sitting on the edge of the desk and laughing hysterically as Edgar made exaggerated motions with his hands during the course of telling what appeared to be a very interestingstory.
She greeted them and headed for thestaircase.
“Mrs. Winthrop called,”Jasminesaid.
Anika paused with one hand on the handrail and groaned. “Oh, no. What was the call about?” The Winthrop project had wrapped up weeks ago. There had been no complaints, but no glowing reviews, either, and no response to the customary follow up message left to ensure clients were one hundred percentsatisfied.
“She said something about a beach house needing a redesign.” Jasmine raised an eyebrow above herglasses.
Anika raised an eyebrow, too. “Didshe?”
Jasmine nodded vigorously. “Yes. I guess we were worried about nothing. She must be happy if she’s calling to have us work onanotherhome.”
“I guess so.” Sometimes you couldn’t tell with clients, but this was definitelygoodnews.
Edgar jumped into the conversation with a smug grin. “She must be happy withourwork. Me and my guys did a helluva good job over there. Tell thetruth.”
“Oh, of course,” Anika agreed, climbing the stairs. “My education and creativity are secondary to your demolition ability. Why, this whole firm would be nothing without you andyourguys.”
“I sense sarcasm,” Edgar calledafterher.
“And you’ve got great intuition,” Anikacontinued.
She killed time in her office by returning Mrs. Winthrop’s call and discussing the details of the new project, a beach house in Hilton Head. After a lengthy conversation to discuss her needs, she wrapped up the call in time for her meeting withLaura.
Taking a deep breath, she made her way to her boss’s office and was waved in while Laura was on the phone. Anika crossed her legs and waited, listening as Laura finessed a supplier into giving her a bigger discount than usual, her voice dripping with warmth and pure Southerncharm.
When Laura finished the call, she folded her hands on the desk and gave Anika her undivided attention. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. We’ve talked about this in the past, and after much thought, I want to offer you a fifteen percent stake in Davenport Design Studio. Are you stillinterested?”
Anika remained momentarily speechless but kept her face as neutral as she could, hands clasped in her lap. Meanwhile, her insides turned perfectly executed backflips. Laura had offered her a greater stake than expected. She assumed she would offer around five percent or even ten percent, max. Fifteen percent was a wonderfulsurprise.
“I am still very interested, and fifteen percent isperfect.”
Laura’s smile widened. “Well, hot dog! I was hoping you’d say that. I’ll have my attorney draw up the papers for yourreview.”
They spoke for a few more minutes about the dollar amount and other details. Anika would call her business broker to help her negotiate the particulars, but had already secured conditional financing, and with her personal funds could easily closethedeal.
She and Laura shook hands, and Anika raced up the stairs to her office. She slammed the door and let out a silent scream, then danced around the room before collapsing into herchair.
“It’s happening. Oh my goodness.” She snatched up the phone and plugged in the first three digits of Reed’s number. Thenstopped.
She hung up. She stared at thephone.
He was the first person she thought of calling. Not her mother, who’d be proud, or her cousin, Ronnie. The first person she couldn’t wait to tell the good news was ReedStewart.
It’s okay, Anika. She pressed her forehead toherfist.
Was itreallyokay?
She was falling for him. She loved his warm smile, especially when he did that cute thing where only one side of his mouth lifted into it. It was crookedly adorable and sexy at the same time. His sense of humor never failed to make her laugh or lift her spirits. His hotness—lord, that man was fine inasuit!
She laughed to herself. “It’s okay, Anika.” This time she said the words aloud, giving herself a mini pep talk. She picked up the phone and dialed his number. Funny how she already knew all his numbers byheart.
“Hello.”
Anika let the warmth of his voice wash over her. Her heart went berserk and filled with a sensation she couldn’t adequatelydescribe.
“Hi.” Her voice came out much softer than intended and she couldn’t complete another word. She was simply overwhelmed by him and the emotions heevoked.
