Page 26 of Tempting Frey
He swallowed nervously. “Sure.”
I stepped aside to let him into my office. I left the door open. I didn’t trust myself with him in an enclosed space. Then I walked around my desk so there would besomethingbetween us. Not that I couldn’t jump over it… I needed to speak before I drowned in his blue-green eyes and lost my train of thought.
“I apologize for losing my temper yesterday,” I said.
“Oh. I believe I also lost my temper. I’m sorry.”
“You were right.”
He jerked back as if I had slapped him. “I was?”
“We need to work with these people, whoever they are. We don’t have an alternative.”
Oliver blinked a few times. “I mean, we can work on several fronts, trying to influence the county, erm, and we can push for conservation in the area. Maybe they’re for conservation. Maybe. But yeah. It would be best for Beauville if we could cooperate with the new owners. It’s a large piece of land, and it’s sort of a miracle that Hughes never did anything with it until now.” His rambling answer spoke of nervousness. I’d been harsh with him and must have scared him.
“I also reread your strategy,” I said, “and I think we should prioritize and start talking about implementation.”
He shifted from foot to foot, frowning suspiciously. “Really?”
“Yes. Really. I especially appreciate your ideas on education and low-impact tourism.”
More confused blinking ensued. He looked at me as if I’d grown another head overnight. “Okay,” he said slowly and hugged his torso. He looked defensive.
“You don’t trust me,” I said.
He grinned shyly and glanced at his white sneakers. “I do. It’s just that… that’s a sudden change of opinion from you. I’m wondering where it stems from.”
His grin sent tingles through my underbelly and little sparks of happiness into my chest. It felt like a prize of some kind. As if I’d done a good job, and Oliver being pleased was my reward.
But I wasn’t doing this because I wanted to make Oliver happy. No way. I was completely rational, making wise decisions about the town’s future. While making Oliver happy.
I cleared my throat. “I understand there are parts of the strategy that are relatively low cost and low effort, and many are uncontroversial. We can take those to the council first, so as not to overwhelm them.”
Oliver nodded, mischief playing around his lips. “I would hate to overwhelm Jesse or Morris.”
I snickered. “You minx.”
He sucked in a breath, his eyes widening. What did I say?
Shit.
That sounded too intimate, didn’t it?
“Anyway. I’m sure you have work to do, and I do as well. So. Please book a meeting with Mr. Masterson. I’ll ask Jesse to find out who’s behind that trust.”
He gave me a salute. “Will do. Thank you, Frey.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded and backed out of the room. I closed the door behind him and swallowed a groan.
My office was once again full of his scent.
The brain is a weird thing. How can it think so many contradictory things at the same time and not implode?
Oliver was the smartest, most beautiful, and most maddening person I’d ever met. My respect for him grew every time we spoke, while I increasingly craved to spank him over my desk. Hell, I wanted to get my hands on that ass in any way I could. I also wanted to prove myself to him and show him I wasn’t a backward hillbilly from the past like he’d insinuated. Which, again, he deserved a spanking for. He also deserved that I took seriously every one of his suggestions because he worked hard and meant well and because his suggestions were clever all around. But then he would get sassy with me, and my palms would itch again.
It was raining outside, but we kept the window open. It seemed to be a silent agreement between Oliver and me. He’d either noticed I had issues with his scent or thought I was obsessive about airing any room I walked into. Either way,whenever we sat down to talk, we’d keep a distance and open the window.
