“I know.” He plucked another stuffed animal from the rack and tossed it to me. “Hopefully this will buy your silence.”
I pretended to be insulted. “A stuffed rabbit isn’t nearly enough to keep me quiet.”
“I knew you weren’t cheap.” He hopped over the wall again and leaned close to me. “What will it take?”
“I don’t know,” I said, leaning nearer to him. “You’ll have to try pretty hard to impress me.”
I took a sharp breath as he moved closer, almost as if he were going to kiss me. Instead, he reached over my head and pulled down one of the enormous bears. I laughed as he placed it down on the counter.
“How’s this?”
“Not what I had in mind, but it’ll do.”
My heart was pounding. I was sure he was going to try to kiss me, and I had no clue what I was going to do about it. He didn’t seem like a bad guy, if maybe a little intense. He was kind and funny and knew how to have some lighthearted fun. Still, he was my enemy, and I wasn’t going to let myself get sucked into his game.
I was in control here. I was full of rage.
I looked at the giant bear and then back at him. “It’ll do, if you carry it.”
He laughed again, shaking his head. “I like you, Claire Forester. You’re tough.”
“What can I say? I’m my father’s daughter.”
“I see that.” He scooped up the big bear, and I tossed the other animal behind the counter as soon as he wasn’t looking. “Where next?” he asked.
“There.” I pointed at the basketball game, and he led the way. Once there, he dismissed the worker, and we took turns taking shots.
“So what’s your father like outside the board room?”
I missed a shot horribly. “I don’t know. He fishes every morning.”
“Every morning?”
“Religiously, when we’re here at least. But he’s always working otherwise.”
“He has quite the reputation for that.”
“What else does he have a reputation for?”
Joshua missed a shot and then looked at me. “Sure you want to know?”
“Positive.”
He took another shot and made it. “Your father has a bad reputation when it comes to making local people happy. He tends to outsource everything he can, and he charges insane rates.”
“Isn’t that just good business?”
“Maybe.” He missed another shot. I made two in a row. “But business isn’t just about the bottom line. It’s about taking care of your people.”
“I can agree with that. So you’re saying my dad doesn’t take care of people?”
Joshua laughed, suddenly turning lighthearted again. For a second I thought I was seeing the real him, but he quickly bottled that up. “Who knows. It’s just a reputation. Most of it is crap anyway, or at least in our case it is.”
“You trust him, then?”
“Wouldn’t do business with him if I didn’t.”
He took a shot and made it, and I missed three in a row.
“By the way,” I said, “which place are you staying at? Speaking of my dad, he wants to see if he can comp your room, or maybe get you an upgrade or something.”
Joshua gave me a look. “I’m just staying at this cheap little motel.”
“Really?”
“Sure. I like it there. Nobody bothers me.”
“Good. What’s it called?”
“Don’t worry, Claire. I can afford my own room.”
I wanted to press, but he had made it clear that he didn’t want to keep talking about where he was staying. “I get that. Staying with my parents can be frustrating. How old are you, anyway?”
“I’m thirty-two. You?”
“Twenty-three,” I lied, wanting to sound older.
“Look at us. Opposites.”
I snorted. “Yeah, exactly.”
My heart was racing in my chest as I threw a few more shots, missing them all. We began to chat about our families, and I focused on keeping him talking. I asked about what it was like growing up in the area, what his parents were like, but I was distracted.
I was worried I had given myself up, or at least that my questioning was a little too obvious. We were chatting amiably enough, but I felt a little wedge suddenly between us, like asking about his hotel had been a huge mistake. As time went by, I began to worry that I was never going to have another chance.
“Okay,” he said finally, “I’m sick of missing. Up for one last stop?”
“Always,” I said, giving him my best smile.
I caught him glance down at my breasts, and I subtly moved my chest out, giving him a better view. Maybe hope wasn’t lost after all.