Page 40 of Say You'll Stay

“Everything okay in there?” The door knob jiggles. “Is the door sticking again?”

“Everything is fine. Be right there.” He whispers, “You good?”

“How do I look?”

He gives me the once over. “Good. Me?”

I reach over and zip up his trousers. “Okay, I think.”

He plasters on a fake smile and opens the door. “Cormac. Nice to see you.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” he teases, as he leans around Beau. “Hey, Elsie.”

“Hi, Cormac.”

Beau holds the door open. “Please, barge on in.”

Cormac rolls his eyes. “So dramatic. I merely want to see the presentation. See where we’re at on everything.”

But my tablet is on the floor. I try to subtly bend over and pick it up, but there is no subtle way to do that, and not wearing any underwear makes it a breezy proposition. Thankfully—miraculously—my tablet is fine. Must have bounced on something that broke the fall. I hope his laptop is in a similar condition.

Upon seeing Beau’s laptop, his pencil caddy, and other items on the floor, Cormac asks, “Beau, what the hell did you do?”

Beau looks so caught, and I take the hit and admit to Cormac, “Beau isn’t the only dramatic person here.”

He gives me a screwy look. “You did this?”

“On purpose?” I laugh. “Uh no. Is my face still red?”

“Yeah, kinda. What happened?”

I roll my eyes and pray this sounds plausible. “I have the world’s worst allergies and was showing Beau a drawing on my tablet when my sneezing got out of hand. Beau, again, I am so sorry about your laptop. Of course, I’ll pay for the repairs or replacement—"

“No need,” he says, picking it up from the visitor chair seat. “Seems to have had a soft landing there. All good, I think.”

“Thank goodness. I’d like to say that’s the first laptop my allergies have put in peril, but nope. I’ve killed three of my own. It’s a curse.”

“Wow,” Cormac says. “Well, if your sneezing is under control, could I hear your presentation and see where we’re at with everything?”

“Sure. No problem.” Not like I just had the three biggest orgasms of my life or anything. Present a building while my knees wobble and my heart leaps into my throat each time I look at Beau? Piece of cake.

If only I could remember how to talk.

Before I get started, Cormac asks, “Was the door locked or stuck, Beau?”

“Locked. I didn’t want the presentation to be disturbed. You know how important this is to me.”

“Of course.” He sits in the visitor chair, while Beau takes his place behind the desk. Cormac says, “Elsie, unless you have any objections, the floor is yours.”

“Thanks, Cormac.” I place the tablet on the desk and get into my spiel, detailing all the parts that Beau glossed over. Seems I have his attention now. Wonder why that is.

But as I go through the front elevation, Beau stops me like he did before. “And this is where you lose me. It’s too modern, too harsh.”

I take a breath. “That is what you said before, but I think that’s because you’re looking at it with Somerset Harbor in mind, and I am looking at it with the future in mind.”

“She’s right,” Cormac says.

Beau’s head jerks to face him. “She’s what?”

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