The Ten-Day Baby Takeover(67)
“I bet you would,” Shane said. “But you need to just stick with your cultured European women.”
Deacon chuckled at his friend’s remark. He had certainly taken advantage of the local delicacies while he was in Europe. Even though it’d been years since he and Cecelia had broken up, it had soothed his injured pride to have a line of beautiful and exotic women waiting for their chance to be with him. He would never admit to anyone, especially Shane, that not a one of them held a candle to Cecelia in his mind.
Deacon and Shane sat there together, sipping their drinks and enjoying each other’s company. They didn’t get a lot of opportunities to just hang out anymore. Deacon’s office, however, just begged for gentlemen to spend time in comfortable chairs and shoot the shit. The walls were lined with shelves containing leather-bound books that, frankly, came with the house and Deacon would never read. They did create a nice atmosphere, though, along with the oil paintings of landscapes and cattle that hung there. It was all very masculine Texas style.
“Can I ask you something?” Shane asked.
“Sure. What?”
“You do know that Cecelia’s business specializes in children’s furniture, right?”
Deacon tensed in his chair. Perhaps his office made Shane too comfortable, since he felt like prying into Deacon’s motivations for wanting Cecelia for the job. “Yeah, I know. I also know that she’s managed to turn her small company into a furniture and accessories juggernaut since she started it. She’s always had a good eye for design.”
“She does, I won’t argue that. But hiring her to decorate The Bellamy is a huge risk. She and Brandee aren’t exactly fans of each other. And what if she and her friends are actually behind the cyberattacks? That’s not the kind of publicity we’d want for our hotel. I don’t have to remind you how much we stand to lose if our gamble doesn’t pay off.”
“That’s why we just asked her to submit a proposal along with the two other design firms. We haven’t hired anybody yet. If she’s out of her depth in this, or acts suspicious in any way, we thank her for her time and send her on her way. It’s not ideal, but not the end of the world, either.”
Shane narrowed his gaze at him. He obviously suspected that Deacon had ulterior motives in wanting Cecelia involved in the project. Deacon understood. He wasn’t entirely sure that he didn’t.
“I’m not sold on either of the other firm’s designs. She’s last to present, so if she flops tomorrow, it’s going to set the project back weeks while we find yet another designer and they start from scratch. We have hotel bookings starting day one. Every delay costs us money.”
Deacon just nodded. He was well aware that he was taking a risk. But for some reason, he had to do it. Perhaps he was a glutton for punishment. Perhaps he was looking for any excuse to see her again. He wasn’t sure. The only thing he was sure of was that everything would turn out fine. “Relax, Shane. The project will finish on time and on budget with the amazing decor you’re hoping for.”
“And how do you know that?” Shane asked, sounding unconvinced.
“Because,” Deacon said confidently, “Cecelia hasn’t failed at anything in her entire life. She’s not going to start now.”