Her radiance snatched the breath from his lungs.
“I’ve taken another one since—”
“And loves them,” Charlie chimed in. “Unfortunately, I can’t convince her to go back to school and to get her degree.”
“Too…”
“Restrictive?” Griff guessed.
“That’s it,” Priscilla said. “How did you know?” She seemed taken aback at his astute observation.
“We’ll figure out something,” Marcus said. “Right, Prissy? I did like your remodel ideas for some of the other departments. Until then, you’ll help manage the salon.”
Griffin watched dawning chase across her features. “I think I know what my next project should be.”
Her unwavering stare concerned him. “Not me.” He tried to make it a joke. “I don’t even have the job.”
“Yet,” she said. At his raised eyebrow, she pointed out, “Do you see any of the other candidates here?”
That brought him up short. He turned to look at Charlie for confirmation or denial. She smiled. Why hadn’t he realized that? She’d told him last night he was the last interview; she’d switched the date to appease her guilty conscience. He assumed the others would arrive shortly or even already been there on a different day or time. He assumed she’d chosen one of them, and he’d have his work cut out for him to convince her otherwise. Why hadn’t he fit this option into his plan? Too easy. Nothing came easy for him.
“She’s right.” Charlie smiled. “I have the contract in Alex’s study. The terms are generous, I assure you. You can have your attorney read it over and if you or he has any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them. However, I am offering you the position. If you’d still like it.”
The breath rushed out of him. Griff eased back in the chair. Like it? It’s all he’d dreamt of for years now. He glanced from her to Marcus and last to his pixie. She held his attention for a moment too long.
How could he hurt her? How could he not when he’d pledged vengeance for his late father?
Griffin turned away from those cat-green eyes and back to Charlie. “Barring any issues with the contract, I accept the offer.”
“I knew you would,” she said, reaching over and shaking his hand.
“Not over-qualified?” He reminded her of what she’d said during his interview.
“Oh, yes, but we’ll take you. Better to have you on our side.”
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. “I agree,” he murmured.
“Charlotte King Royale,” Priscilla exclaimed, “you set us up. This is a celebration party, isn’t it?” She tapped Marcus’ arm. “You knew?”
He held up his hands. “I was completely in the dark until,” he checked his gold watch, “about five hours ago when she called us all to come over for a family outing this afternoon. We’ve been hammering out the details for the last two hours.”
“When did you know?” Priscilla asked Charlie the question Griff wanted the answer to himself.
“Oh, let’s say, right before I completed the interview with Griff. No one else would do. Daddy would approve, I think.”
Griffin swallowed hard. She had to bring up Charles King, didn’t she? Ruining his company he’d built from nothing never set right with Griff. But it was the only way to get to his widow; she lorded it over everyone and anyone who she came in contact with, especially the employees.
“So, now will you hear about my new project?” Priscilla insisted.
“Can we stop you?” Marcus asked, grinning.
“No.” She nudged him. “It’s perfect now.” Her enthusiasm bubbled over. “I think King’s should make over a home next.”
“An entire house?” Charlie asked.
“Yes. One room won’t hold the customer’s attention. A week and it’s over, two at the most. This will keep them interested. We use King’s products: furniture, accessories, drapes, vases, frames, you name it. From recent experiences, we know whatever product we showcase, the customer clamors for it at the store. Of course, we add this to the website; have a reveal day each week. We can even have its own blog, whatever that is. Francie and Rico said the wedding boutique’s blog is a sensation. And we can bring a piece of the design into the store, say, a small space that groups the same items from the house together, so the customers can see it, feel it, try it out, and get an idea of how it looks in real life—”
”Whoa.” Marcus’ halted her. “King’s is just coming out of a very unstable financial time. There’s no way we can purchase a home.”