Kallie could feel the man’s eyes on her as he left and she couldn’t help staring back at him. Caspin was very muscled for a business man, but the suit had molded to him in all the right places. To see him walk away, she bit her lip when she saw his butt.
“Don’t even think about it Kallie.”
Kallie looked over at Andre and smiled. “I am not thinking about anything.”
The young man nodded, though she could see the gleam in his eyes. “Does he bat for your team?”
“I wish. He is just known to be a heartbreaker. I’ve heard things.”
She wasn’t usually one for gossip, but since that morning, she had learned more about most people in the town then she ever would be able to on her own. Andre knew everyone and he had a theory about them all. “So what have you heard?”
“That he never sees a girl twice. Ever.”
That sounded rough. She could almost believe it. Why would he stay with one person, when there were going to be so many vying for his attention?
“Well that isn’t always bad.” She turned pink with the thought and Andre gave her a hard time as they got back into the truck. The bed was empty, but there were several deliveries for the day and she wanted to get them done before lunch. After lunch she had several meetings that she had to go to, one in particular she dreaded. It was about the house on Johnson that she had only been by once. While Kallie had been hoping to stay there, it was going to need some work before that was going to be possible.
“I’m just saying be careful. You are too nice to get hurt by that guy.”
“He seemed nice enough.”
“Caspin is nice, but none of his lady friends seem to feel the same way. I just wanted to give you a heads up. I saw your knees go weak.”
She laughed, but he was right. Kallie had been instantly drawn to the man and her mind had gone to places that it shouldn’t have. All she could think about was how he would feel against her, kissing her. Kallie wasn’t going to admit that to Andre, he seemed to know from experience. Caspin was too old for both of them, but men like him were what made a girl like her think about older men in such a way. There was something about a man that was just a bit older, the muscles from use instead of a gym. What she wouldn’t give to see him like the men on the docks, shirtless and sweaty.
“I can see this is not going to end well.”
Kallie nudged him, but she could feel her cheeks getting red. There was just something about him.
She ignored the innuendos the rest of the morning and she had about fifteen minutes before the meeting with Wheeling Industries. Having gone over previous offers in the paperwork that she had requested, Kallie knew they were there to see if she would sell. She had no intentions to, so Kallie hoped that it would go quickly.
Changing in the small bathroom off of her new office, she found a stray piece of hay in her hair. She didn’t want to look like a country bumpkin when they got there, so she tried to look presentable. Pulling her blonde hair back, Kallie noticed that she was already getting color and the start of a few freckles.
Getting directions from Edith, she drove down to the small restaurant in town that didn’t have a paper menu. Conroe was too small for any kind of chains, so she was stuck with Mariachiano as their meet spot. When she had suggested they meet in her office, Craig Wheeling had been adamant that it wasn’t how business was done there. It had to be face to face. So of course she had agreed, but as she entered the dark restaurant and saw that there was no one else there, she got a little nervous. Maybe this was not the type of man that she wanted to meet.
“Miss Glenn. Please sit down.”
Kallie’s heart thumped in her chest from the deep voice. She could see his outline, but it was really dark in there and his face did not come into view until she was sitting down across from him at a small bistro table. “This place could use some light, don’t you think?”
He made a wave and the light above them went on. His actions were not normal and it made her wonder what his intentions were. “I thought we were here for business?”
“We are. You are sharp. I see you take after your father.”
She didn’t take it as a compliment, but the comment did put her on guard. “Yes, I have seen the previous offers, but I must tell you now, I will not be selling.”
The dark face in front of her fell slightly. “You haven’t even heard what I am offering you.”
“I don’t need to. It is my father’s wish that the land stay in the family.”
“So you have seen the offers, the last couple and you still do not want to sell?”
“Mr. Wheeling…”
“Craig, please.”
“Craig, I don’t need the money. Never had much use for it. I am here to run a business and I will be living in the house, my dead father’s house for the time being. Surely you can see how a week after his funeral, you here asking to buy it is a bit much. Can’t you?”
He was left without anything to say. When it was put like that, he did feel a faint touch of guilt. Craig could have waited another week or two, but the truth was that he didn’t want to. He could see now that it was an error on his part, one that would be hard to change.
“I think we have started out on the wrong foot Miss. Glenn. I am sorry for your loss. Mel was a great man.”
He didn’t sound very sincere, but she already had a bad taste in her mouth. There was no restarting the conversation. “I am here to hear your offer, but I didn’t want to bring you any false hope.”
Writing a number on a napkin, he slid it over to her. It was not how the business classes described a business meeting. This was some movie-style way of doing business that she wanted no part of. She had come there to not be rude and refuse such a highly regarded business man. But as just a person, Kallie could see that he was rotten to the core. The kind that would make the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.
The number was bigger than it should have been. There was no way that the house was worth that much. She had seen the surveys, but Kallie had also taken a look at the surveys of oil underneath the land. That is what he was after, but the number didn’t matter. For a moment, a second really, she had thought about a small island that she could buy, never caring about anything again, but it wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.
Shaking her head, she moved the napkin back to the middle of the table. “I thank you for the offer Craig, but I am not selling. The house is a landmark, historically. I am trying to get it registered. Then there will be no more need for offers. Some things are worth more than money.”