Page 5 of Daddy's Intern

“Next, we have a meeting with Harold Guildford,” Tate tells me, and I smile. I adore Mr. Guildford, he was my neighbor growing up when Mom and I moved after she and Tate got divorced. His son also works with him, Connor is sweet, sexy, and is co-owner with his father at the General store.

“Okay, is there anything we need before the meeting?” I could do with an iced tea, but I doubt Tate would let me run to the coffee shop.

“No, Harold is waiting for us,” he says tersely.

I roll my eyes as I get to my feet. “I’ll show him in.” I walk out of the conference room and am pleasantly surprised when I find not only Mr. Guildford but also his son, Connor. “Wow,” I say with a bright smile. “I don’t just get one Guildford but two. Now I am being spoiled.”

Both Harold and Connor move toward me, giving me a hug and a peck on the cheek. “It’s lovely to see you, Anna, dear,” Mr. Guildford smiles, his weathered face brightening with the movement. “My Suzanne would love to see you, it’s been a while. How are you settling back into Hallow Falls?”

“Here you go, Anna,” Connor says, handing me a tall iced coffee. “The town is abuzz that you’re back, I couldn’t turn up empty-handed to see my favorite girl.”

I laugh as I take the coffee from him. Touched that he remembered my favorite. “I doubt that Molly would appreciate that,” I murmur so that only he can hear me. Molly works at the general store with her sister Mora, both of whom were fostered by the Guildfords only a few years ago.

Connor tries to hide his attraction to the sweet woman, but he fails miserably.

He nudges my arm as I take a sip of my drink. “Hey,” I whine. “Don’t get all pissy because I know you’re secret.”

His eyes narrow. “And how is it that you know that?” he scowls. “Not saying that it’s true.”

I merely smile brightly at him. “Come on, we don’t want to leave the Mayor waiting,” I say snarkily.

Mr. Guildford laughs. “We wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

We enter the conference room, and Tate’s scowling at us, his eyes narrowing on Connor, who’s standing a little too close to me. “Thank you for waiting,” Tate says, his voice cold and empty.

Harold doesn’t even blink at the tone, whereas Connor tenses beside me. I lay a hand on his arm, letting him know that he shouldn’t say anything. His father is more than capable of taking care of Tate on his own. I have no idea what’s crawled up Tate’s ass anyway, but whatever the fuck it is, it needs to come back out. Ass. He shouldn’t be treating people this way.

“Please take a seat, gentlemen,” I instruct as I move around the table and retake my own, which is closer to Tate than Connor.

As the meeting goes on, Tate seems to unwind a little, he still has that damn scowl on his face, but his words aren’t so cold and distant. Mr. Guildford tells us about the problems he’s having with contractors wanting to buy his store from him and not leaving him alone. He’s already said no. Guildfords has been hounded by multiple contractors into giving them his store and the land that’s on it.

It’s not just him, but the majority of stores. It’s beyond ridiculous what's happening to the small town. We’re a relatively small town, of around about twenty-six thousand people. We like it this way, we know who our neighbors are, and we trust them. Having contractors come in and want to build a freaking mall and God knows what else isn’t something any of us want.

The meeting overruns by almost an hour, meaning that we’re late for our next one. Each and every meeting is the same, everyone is beyond angry at the contractors, and they want them to stop harassing them. Which is totally reasonable and something that does need to be stopped.

Hopefully, that means that Tate will make a stand and get this shit sorted. With him being the Mayor, he has to have the people of Hallow Falls backs, and no one wants this development to happen, they want the contractors to go away.

“What a shit show,” he growls, running his hands down his face. “We have one more meeting. This one is Mr. Untermeyer and his friends.

I sigh. It’s almost seven in the evening, and I’m beyond tired. Today has been chaotic, to say the least. We were on the back foot since the Guildford’s meeting went over, and we haven’t been able to play catch up. All the meetings since have also ran over, although, not by a lot, but it all adds up.

“It is,” I agree. “Something needs to be done about those pesky contractors. How dare they harass people. No is a complete sentence, and nothing else is needed. Period. Those contractors are trying to get people to leave their homes and businesses. It’s not okay, Tate. It’s beyond ridiculous. Enough is enough.”

He watches me with wide eyes. “I’m impressed,” he says thickly. “You’ve kept your cool throughout the entire day. Not once making a comment on whether or not you agree with the townspeople or the contractors.”

I sigh. “There’s no point in getting people riled up, Tate. It doesn’t do anyone any good. It’s time for you to step in and end this harassment, though. There’s only so much pushing one can take before they snap.”

He nods. “Do you have to flirt with every man that walks through my doors?” he asks, changing the subject.

I blink. “Excuse you?” I reply sternly. How fucking dare he?

“You heard me, Anna-Beth. No more,” he snarls.

I get to my feet and stomp toward the door. Childish, I know, but damn, the man infuriates me to no end. I open the door and am greeted by Mr. Untermeyer and his five friends, all of whom are rich—filthy rich—businessmen.

“Mr. Untermeyer, what a pleasant surprise,” I greet him with a smile. “You look dapper as always. If I were twenty years older,” I say.

God help Tate, if he thinks I was flirting before, God help him now.

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