Page 13 of Mad Rivals
“No. I mean, not really,” she says, sort of stuttering, and it’s really goddamn cute.
“We’ve met,” I say a little slyly and a lot more salaciously than entirely necessary.
Simon starts to say something up front, which cuts our conversation short, but it suddenly dawns on me that we’re in a competition for the same thing here.
She works for another developer. A competing company.
I’m not about to letanybodywin against me. Not even a woman as gorgeous as her.
CHAPTER 7: Kennedy Van Buren
He's All Man
Okay, first things first, choosing heels was a dumb fucking decision for a bid walk where we’re walking on undeveloped land.
But second…Bradley ishere? And he’s bidding on this same project?
How am I supposed to function properly when I can’t even seem to think straight with him around? It’s a valid question, honestly.
I’m trying to listen to Simon as he explains his vision. “We currently have twelve acres and are working on purchasing neighboring land for future expansion, so please consider the different phases of this project in your bids.” He points out different areas and what his vision is for them, and I’m trying to listen but having an incredibly hard time since I can barely walk on this uneven dirt, and I’m still shook over seeing the hot iced coffee guy.
“Literally this morning at Starbucks,” I say a little more haughtily than I intend to.
“Mm,” my dad murmurs, and it feels like he doesn’t really believe me.
Well, it’s the truth.
“And we meet again,” he says, and he’s so calm and collected over there, so cool, while I’m a sweaty mess who keeps stumbling on divots in the dirt.
It’s weird having this conversation with him across my father. He’s almost flirting with me, and I want him to flirt more, but he’s also my business rival. We’re here to bid on the same project, and I can’t let hormones come between what I’m here to do.
Not when this is my first project with my father. Not when he said he’s shadowing me today. I may not have wanted this job, but I took it anyway, and hell if I’m not going to see it through.
Especially now that there’s a competition at stake.
I’m nothing if not competitive.
We don’t get a chance to say anything else to one another, though the insinuation is heavy in the air.
My father explained to me on the ride here how important it is to ask questions at the end to show how interested we are in the project, so I go first.
“Can you clarify the size of the lot?” I ask.
Bradley, who is now standing beside me close enough that I can smell his cologne that’s causing my brain to misfire, snorts. “That information was in the RFP,” he mutters, referring to the initial request for proposals.
Right. Of course it was.
But I don’t like being made to look stupid and incompetent, which is exactly what he just did.
“Twelve acres,” Simon says.
Bradley asks the next question. “You mentioned commercial and residential. In your phase one vision, is that combined into one building or separate facilities?”
“A great question indeed, and that’s one we haven’t definitively concluded just yet. We wanted to take a look at the different proposals before we made that decision.”
Others ask questions, and I can’t find the nerve to ask another one. I don’t really have any, anyway. I just asked the first one toplease my father, and the coffee guy obliterated my confidence with his snort and snarky comment.
He may be hot, and I may want to ride his lap while we’re both naked, but he’s kind of a jerk.
