"He's okay. How are things here?"
"Well, I'm sad to admit it's become a routine." Olinda pulled back, but kept Paige's elbows in her big hands. "We all know our battle stations and we're on them. It will be a relief to finally settle things. And honestly?" She gave Paige's arms an extra squeeze. "As much as I hate to see Grady leave, when I was cutting the check I realized that I might actually get that money he owes me. So, you know, silver linings."
Paige's grip on her purse slipped. It hit the floor with a thump.
"What, um, what check?" she asked as she bent to retrieve her bag.
"For Grady's half, to buy him out. Walter asked me to prepare it this morning. That's why you're here, aren't you?"
"No. We haven't even-" negotiated, Paige almost said, but cut herself off as the receptionist returned to her desk.
"Walter will see you in a few minutes."
Paige gave a quick nod of acknowledgement and sat down with Olinda, side by side, and leaned close so the receptionist wouldn't overhear. "I'm not here to close the deal. I just wanted to talk to him about it."
Is that really what Walter had thought when she'd left her message? She'd said she wanted to discuss things further, not sign off. Was Walter just being his typical bullish self, pretending to take her agreement for granted? Or was he really that arrogant he thought he could name a figure and her father would sign?
"Paige, it's a real pain when Grady's not here," Olinda complained. "We only have one signing officer. The customers hate talking to Walter. Because Grady gives them whatever they want and he doesn't," she added with a tuck of her chin.
"I need more information before I can advise Dad."
"But I could really use that money," Olinda insisted in a whisper.
And Paige couldn't help thinking Britta was worried about how she would afford another child. Maybe she'd feel like she had more choices if she knew she could count on Lyle's support payments. That meant Lyle needed his job even more than ever.
"I can't let Dad sign just because it's easy," Paige argued.
Olinda played with her charm bracelet, one of them the round #1 Step-Mom Paige had given her for Mother's Day before Olinda had left, furious that Grady was cheating on her. "Is there any chance he'd sell the house? Downsize?"
"Oh, shoot. I forgot to ask Britta about that." Paige touched her temple.
"What?" Olinda prompted.
Paige debated, not wanting to throw rocks at a hornet's nest, but, "Rosie said this morning that she should be listed as part-owner of the house."
Olinda made a choked noise and sat taller. "Where on earth would she get that idea?"
"From the screwdrivers she was drinking for breakfast? I don't know. Apparently someone who got their law degree off Boston Legal reruns said that given she and Dad lived together for more than six months, they're common law. I have no idea. I'll ask Britta."
Olinda's bracelet gave a tinny rattle as she raised her hand to gesture in frustration. "I sank my life savings into that house when I married Grady."
"I know." The weight of endless responsibility pressed down on Paige, but Olinda got her support check once a month, same as Paige's mom. "I don't think he'll sell. Lyle won't leave unless it's in a pine box and he's the one that's kept it standing-"
"Barely," Olinda interjected.
Maybe he didn't care about aesthetics, but Lyle fixed all the leaks and kept the appliances running. Paige bit back saying so, only murmured, "He deserves something. More than Rosie. She can get in line."
Behind their mother, she silently added. Connie was happy enough in the apartment above the barber's, but it would be great if she could cut back her housekeeping shifts at the motel.
"You're in a position to give everyone the security your father should have provided. Don't you want to do that?" Olinda pressed. "Make him settle his affairs."
Paige had some influence over her father, but a lot less than anyone realized. He was as likely to spend every red cent on ponies as let her talk him into doing what she thought was right. At least having all his money tied up in the factory had kept him from blowing it. She was afraid of what he'd do if he had a lump sum in his bank account.
Paige rolled the ring she'd bought for her right hand because she missed wearing her wedding rings, sighing, "Affairs." She was trying for humor, attempting to cover the distress she felt. The pressure. "Could there be a better circumstance for that word?"
"Thanks for waiting," a deep, compelling voice said.
She lifted her head and was snagged by the tractor-beam of Sterling's blue eyes.
~ * ~
Her robin's-egg colored overcoat was beaded with rain-or tears, if her red eyes were anything to go by. Her cheek had blossomed with a definite smudge of mauve where she'd taken that clip from Rosie yesterday.
A surge of protectiveness rose in him, disconcerting when he was trying to keep a cool head and close this deal without sending it sideways.
"See me before you go." Olinda touched Paige's arm as she rose, waited for her nod and walked away on a clip of heels.
Paige stood and forced a distant smile. "I didn't realize you'd be here."
"I'm surprised to see you, too. Yesterday you made it sound unlikely. Can I take your coat?"
She hesitated, then nodded jerkily, turning her back, moving her purse from hand to hand as she slipped out of the long raincoat and stepped away.
Her pearl-gray skirt and short-sleeved top were knitted from something that looked like cashmere, with swirly cables running from her shoulder to the backs of her knees, hugging the contours of her body. She'd neglected a button at the top of her spine and Sterling almost reached to do it for her, wanting to linger in the subtle cloud of floral warmth. He wanted to brush his knuckles along that line of shiny, brunette hair that hung with such precision to midway down her nape, wanted to feel how fine and soft it was.
She pivoted so the button was out of reach.
"You won't be sitting in, will you?" she asked as he forced himself to turn away and hang her coat.
Here came the tricky part. "I will."
She clutched her purse in two hands, her straight arms pressing her breasts together a little, plumping them. Her hair fell forward in damp spikes against her cheekbones, and as he studied her, she rolled her ankle in her sassy laced boot.
"Why?"
"Because Dad's-" not attending to details. His father hadn't been the least bit concerned by the unlocked door. It niggled at Sterling, making him afraid to leave his father to his own devices with this deal. If it went off the rails, Sterling would never forgive himself.
He couldn't tell Paige that, though. He held up his open palm.
"Dad's old school, does things on a handshake half the time. Business is my business. I'll make sure all the T's are crossed and the I's dotted."
"I'm a CPA. I don't let columns go unbalanced."
"You're an accountant?" She couldn't have surprised him more if she'd said she was a librarian. He reflexively took a skim of her lithe figure in that understated, yet dead sexy dress. She was way too hot to be an accountant.
"What did you think I was?" Her brows pulled into a frown, warning him to beware how he responded.
He searched his mind, drawing a blank. Retail? Some kind of high-end sales? Trophy wife? He kept his mouth shut because that sounded really sexist and he didn't mean it that way. He wasn't underestimating her. He had just thought she'd be doing something a lot more interesting than filing tax returns.
"I've never understood how anyone gets through that kind of schooling. I took a few Intro To Accounting courses while taking my business degree and I would not have the fortitude to do that for four years let alone the rest of my life."
"Oh." She blinked and a hint of a blush stained her skin. "Um, thank you?"
Yeah, that was one lame compliment, delivered badly. He scratched his cheek.
Had she heard the part about business being his business? Because he moved. He shook. But five minutes in a room with this woman and he was eighteen again, barely passing algebra because the girls all wore low-rise jeans and brightly colored thongs.
"Sterling?" His father came to the archway, expression clouded with hostility. Feeling threatened, Sterling's mother had said.
Well, Sterling would only be here long enough to see Paige take the check. If she did, he could get on with his life, leaving her to pursue her accounting, and his dad to run the company he so desperately wanted.
If she didn't...
Sterling shook off that thought and waved Paige to follow his dad, confident they could work through whatever hesitations she might have. After all, she had admitted yesterday that she didn't want to stay here any more than he did.