“Yeah?”
She didn’t like the challenge on Pete’s face as he eyed Mark with a slight smirk. What had happened to the charming image he’d trotted out for her? Was he completely two-faced, or did he hate Mark Webster that much? And if so, why?
Regardless, she had to get things back on track. “And let me just say again that we appreciate so much your willingness to hear him out.”
She could almost see Pete preening at that, the lift in his shoulders and tilt of his chin. What an ego. She just wanted to get this over with. If Mark could issue the apology and Pete would accept it, they could move on. She could get Pete out of the room. While Pete’s shoulders had lifted and the corner of a cocky grin had found its way onto his arrogant face, Mark’s stance had slumped a few more inches.
If you’d asked her before she’d met him, she would have said she didn’t feel sorry for Mark Webster at all. She believed he’d gotten himself into this fix. Now, though, as she looked at the two men, she had trouble buying that version of events. Something had happened to her during the time she’d spent with Mark—aside from the obvious fact that he lit her hormones on fire. She’d gotten to like him.
You’d think it was a good thing, liking your client, but she wasn’t so sure. A good criminal lawyer didn’t have to believe in his client’s innocence to defend him, and a good image consultant didn’t have to like her client. It wasn’t up to Haven to decide whether someone was worthy of fame. She didn’t have to feel as though the old image was ill-deserved and the new one overdue. She just did her job to the best of her abilities.
Right. She had a job. She had to remember that.
“Mark—go ahead.”
“I regret any lasting damage my temper has caused you.”
Mark said it well. He raised his head, straightened his shoulders and looked Pete in the eye, just as she’d instructed him. She could even hear sincerity in his voice. As far as the apology went, she believed he meant it.
Pete’s rogue eyebrow went up farther. She could tell he wasn’t fooled. He knew a non-apology when he heard one, but he didn’t jump on it. Instead he scrutinized Mark, a cool appraisal that made Haven’s blood run cold. “That’s very kind of you, Webster.”
The hairs on the back of her neck rose, a slow reverse domino effect.
“You should know, I’m leaning heavily toward doing the tour,” Pete said.
They were the right words, and she let herself relax a bit.
Her first stupid decision.
Pete’s smirk widened a degree. “I could be persuaded quite easily.”
“What would it take to persuade you?” Haven asked. She had to keep Pete talking, to move him in the direction of closing this deal. If that meant playing straight man, so be it.
How could one not-particularly-handsome face show so much self-satisfaction? Now that she looked at him up close, he didn’t seem boyish as much as just bland. He had none of the hard lines or beautiful bone structure that Mark did. In fact, he struck her as dissipated, soft around the jawline and puffy under the eyes. He’d been living as hard as Mark had, in his own way, and for a moment she felt sorry for both of them. This was the price of early fame.
“Tell you what,” Pete said. “Why don’t you and I have dinner tomorrow night and I’ll let you do your best to convince me.”