Page 9 of The Irish Rogue

“Sean,” he replied, bowing his head slightly. “At your service, my lady.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “No aristocracy here, Sean,” she replied with emphasis. “Americans disdain titles,” she added in a stage whisper.

“Eh, Americans are as much of a plutocracy as the rest of the world. In fact, I don’t think that the wealthy are nearly as subtle about the plutocratic control of a person’s life as they used to be. Lately, they’ve become rather brazen about their manipulations.”

“Really?” Kennedi leaned in, fascinated. “I’d love an example.”

He shrugged, but his eyes were sharp. “At the beginning of the pandemic, everyone was quarantined in their homes.”

Kennedi grimaced. “I remember,” she replied, shuddering slightly. “It was horrible.”

He laughed. “Ye’re an extrovert then?”

She shrugged. “I enjoy being around people. I gain energy from being around people. So yes, I’m an extrovert. However, I can be by myself when there aren’t any better options.”

He smiled, nodding. “Aye, well, the price of certain products skyrocketed. Such as lumber. There were still plenty of supplies, but the various industries claimed that the price increase was merely because of the pandemic and low supplies or labor shortages. That was partially true, but many companies used the crisis to boost prices and, in turn, created record breaking profits for that period.” He sipped his coffee. “And since ye’re Supreme Court rejected limits on political donations, all of your elections, all of the decisions made by the politicians, are decided by whomever provides the largest donations to ye’re politicians.” He set the half-empty coffee cup down. “It’s all about the math.”

She cringed. “I had suspicions, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it explained so succinctly.”

He shrugged negligently. “Business will find a way.”

She grinned. “I thought the phrase was ‘nature will find a way.’”

He grinned, a full smile this time. “Aren’t those two basically the same?”

She laughed. “I suppose that they are.” She looked at him carefully. “What do you do, Sean?” she asked. “Besides save damsels in distress?”

“I do a lot of things,” he replied. “I have an office outside of Philadelphia.”

“What’s Pennsylvania like?” she asked, thinking about traveling. “I’ve always wanted to see other states.”

“Pennsylvania is beautiful. Cold in the winter months, hot and humid during the summer.” He took another sip of his coffee. “Why don’t ye go find out fer yerself?”

Kennedi sighed and shrugged. “Oh, I promised myself that I would travel and see the world. But I haven’t gotten there yet.”

“Ye went to college, yes?”

“Oh yeah, college was great. But I’d been working for Tom since high school. He always had more work for me and the money was too good to pass up. I saved all of my pay for college tuition. I attended the University of Georgia and got my business degree. Plus, Tom’s scholarship money helped a lot.”

He leaned forward slightly, his long, lean fingers toying with the coffee cup. “Ye didn’t take a senior trip somewhere? Or an internship?”

She shook her head again, her dark ponytail flipping against her neck. “No. I was too grateful to Tom for the job and the benefits. So, when he asked me to cover a shift at the brewery, I jumped on it.”

“What about now? Why don’t ye take some vacation time and just get in yer car and go somewhere?”

She shuddered. “No, I couldn’t do that. I’m a planner. I need to know where I’m going and what I’ll be doing, where I’m staying. I even plan out the restaurants that I want to visit. I need organization.” She laughed softly. “It’s one of the reasons I’m so good at my job. I’m very good at planning things.”

He nodded, a slow, unexpectedly sexy smile making her skin sizzle with awareness. “Sounds like a highly organized life.”

She tilted her head. “Now, why did that sound like an insult?”

He chuckled. “No insult intended, lass. It’s just that ye’re young. Now’s the time to head out and do something wild. Even if ye need to plan it out.”

She bit her lip thoughtfully, her lashes dropping as she considered his advice. “I’ll think about it.” She realized that she’d finished her coffee. When had that happened?

She sighed and took the plastic lid, pressing it back on to her cup. “Well, thank you again for last night. I truly owe you one.”

“Ye can pay me back by telling me what there is to do in town. I’m looking for something interesting.”

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