He knew she was right. He also knew that they couldn’t move forward without Julia’s consent. “Then we come up with a new strategy.”
She stared at him with that skewering glare she was so good at. “You thought this was a great plan this morning. What happened?”
“Nothing.” Which was the truth. No signed contract. No verbal one. Just a promise that they’d meet in a week and that sizzle of attraction.
Mal scowled, her earlier good humor disappearing. But she’d been like that lately. Quick to grow irritated over small details. About the same time she’d returned from a visit to Aruba no longer wearing the sapphire ring Travis had given her. “Then what am I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for you to dole out information? When, Donovan? I need to know when to start contacting my people, dropping hints about an exclusive and setting up other events.”
He rubbed his temple. “I know. Let’s discuss later.”
“When?”
He knew Mal wouldn’t leave until she’d pinned him down. It was just one of the many reasons she was so good at her job. He made a decision. “First thing tomorrow morning. You and me.” They could pick some hard dates and make decisions based on the assumption that Julia would have signed the contract by next week. He didn’t want to consider the fact that Julia might turn him down.
“You and me and coffee,” Mal agreed. She tapped on her phone again. “Should we invite Owen?”
“Why?” Donovan loved his brother even though he was regularly annoyed by him, but Owen was not a businessman. “What’s he going to do? Offer to sleep with the reporter?”
Mal smirked, some of her earlier good mood returning. “Oh, I don’t think you should be throwing any stones, brother.”
“Me?” Donovan enjoyed the company of women. A lot. But he was hardly the Romeo his brother was. Donovan doubted Owen had ever gone out with the same woman twice in a row and he regularly juggled multiple lady friends. Donovan was a one-woman-at-a-time guy. It was just that he hadn’t met a woman who made him want to give up all others forever. Nothing wrong with that.
“Yes, you.” Mal shrugged. “Hey, maybe you’d find the reporter so appealing that you wouldn’t be able to help yourself, and the great story with excellent placement on the front page would just be a bonus.”
“You would pimp me out for the family business?”
Mal considered that and then shook her head. “You’re right. It would be wrong of me.”
“Exactly.” Now, if she wanted to pimp him out to convince the new chef to sign...
“I’d pimp out Owen. He’s much prettier.”
Donovan snorted.
Copyright © 2015 by Jennifer McKenzie
ISBN-13: 9781460345900
More Than Neighbors
Copyright © 2015 by Janice Kay Johnson
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