Chapter 20
Linny
It’s been three hours since I left West’s office, and I’m still feeling drunk on his words.
It took every ounce of willpower in my body not to grab him by the lapels of his suit jacket, tug him closer and kiss him.
God, did I want to kiss that man.
I couldn’t stop thinking about him as I sat through a meeting with a legacy client who refuses to talk to anyone but me.
She was one of the first clients of Faye & Sons back when my grandfather ran the company.
He chose the name in the hope that his two then high-school aged sons would follow in his footsteps. My dad did. My uncle, Tom, became a nuclear physicist. From what I’ve heard from my dad, my granddad didn’t complain about Tom’s career choice once.
“How was your meeting with Mary?” My dad strolls into my office with a grin on his face.
If I were a fan of poodles and quilting, I’d call it a success.
Mary has been retired for years. The fabric store chain she founded is the largest in the country and the team that is running it, is one of the best.
I touch base with the head of their internal marketing team twice a year to offer help if they need it. They occasionally do, but I’ll never turn down a meeting with Mary.
She was instrumental in helping my late granddad find the success he did.
“It’s always nice to visit with her.” I push up from my chair. “You look especially happy this afternoon.”
“I think Diane and I found the perfect place on the Gulf Coast.”
My stomach knots, but I keep a smile on my face.
Seeing my dad this excited warms my heart, but there’s a part of me that wants him to stay in Manhattan. Some of that longing stems from the struggle over control of the company once he’s gone, but it’s more than that.
My dad has always been the steady hand that guides me. He’s been there if I need someone to talk to in a coffee shop at midnight or Central Park in the middle of a Sunday afternoon.
I rely on him and when he’s no longer a taxi ride away, I know I’ll miss him.
“What’s it like?” I ask because I want to keep the ear-to-ear grin on his face.
He tugs his smartphone out of the pocket of his brown suit jacket. “Diane sent me the real estate listing. I want your honest opinion.”
I stare at him before my gaze drops to his phone. I skim my finger over the screen, scrolling through image after image of a gorgeous beach house with wide-open ocean views.
This is my dad’s dream. It’s always been his dream.
“I think you found your forever home, dad,” I whisper.
He slides the phone back into his palm. “I can’t say that Florida and I will agree on everything, but this is a place where I can see the blue sky and hear the ocean.”
I study his face. He’s just as handsome as he was when I was a little girl.
“I’m happy for you.” I rub my chest to chase away the ache I feel when I think about him living so far away from me. “I’m happy for both of you.”
“Diane wants you to help her with the interior design.” His brows wiggle. “She’s always saying that you have the best eye.”
Diane is a gracious woman who works extra hard to include Bethy and me in my dad’s life. She’s always gone out of her way to make sure we know that we’re an essential part of her life too.
“I’ll help in any way I can.” I glance down at my dad’s phone when it chimes.
His gaze follows mine. “It’s Jeremy Weston.”
I tilt my head to try and get a better look at what the message says, but my dad brings the phone so close to his face, that whatever is on the screen is obstructed from my view.
He refuses to wear reading glasses.
“He wanted to thank us again for how we handled the tie situation at lunch.” He squints as his eyes skim the phone’s screen, confusion knitting his brow. “You replaced the tie? He wrote that you bought him a brand new tie.”
“It was the right thing to do.” I smile softly. “Getting tomato sauce out of silk is almost impossible.”
“So you tossed the stained tie?” He lowers his phone.
Into my purse so I can smell West’s cologne whenever I want.
“I took care of it.” I wait a beat, and then continue, “I spoke to Jeremy earlier about having the vanilla vodka launch party at the Bishop Hotel in Tribeca. I thought a black-tie affair on their rooftop terrace at dusk would be ideal.”
My dad’s eyes widen. “Classy and elegant. What was Jeremy’s take on it?”
I look down at the floor. Every time I hear my dad say his name it’s jarring. He has no idea that I had a one-night stand with West or that I was even in Las Vegas that weekend. He was in Paris with Diane for a two-week anniversary celebration when I jetted off to Sin City.
“He seemed receptive,” I answer with a sigh. “I’ll put together a more extensive description of the event and possible guest list and we can revisit it the next time we meet with him.”
He glances at his phone again when it chimes. “Don’t you mean the next time you meet him, sweetheart? That’s tomorrow night, right?
I arch both brows. “Tomorrow night?”
He spins his phone’s screen around so it’s facing me. I lean in and read the text message. Twice.
Jeremy Weston: Linny and I are having dinner tomorrow. I do my best work one-on-one, and Linny understands exactly what I want.
Jerk.
“I don’t have to tell you how impressed I am by the initiative you’re showing on this account.” My dad beams as he slips the phone back into his pocket. “You’re making me proud and your granddad would say the same if he were here.”
My granddad would be horrified if he knew why West was intent on arranging dinner for the two of us behind my back.
“You’ll fill me in on everything you discuss with Jeremy, won’t you?”
I stare at my dad. I can’t answer that truthfully so I edge around it. “I’ll put together a condensed version of our conversation about the launch party and have it on your desk first thing Friday morning.”
“Remember to order a glass of Rizon at the restaurant.” He winks. “Impressing the client is always the end game.”
I’d normally agree with him, but in this case, beating the client at his own game is a temptation I may not be able to resist.
“I’ve got this, dad,” I say with no conviction at all.
“I know you do.” He gives me a curt nod. “You always make me proud.”