Page 16 of Level With Me
It felt strange, knowing that bit about her ex. But Brynn always gathered personal information about our clients. Nothing that wasn’t public or easy enough to discover, but I did always know more about my clients than they knew about me. A lot more. Our data collection was designed to help us understand our clients’ motivations and to tailor our approach to their personalities and lives.
But even before I met her, I knew I’d wanted more on Cassandra than I had. I’d resisted, until just before this meeting. I’d looked up her ex to determine what kind of idiot would leave Cassandra Kelly. He was an investment banker, and just last month he’d been featured in the social pages of Manhattan Magazine with his current girlfriend, a woman who used to work for Cassandra.
That had explained a lot.
“Alright, any questions?” Lila asked.
Shit, she was wrapping up.
“Will you be following the rec team?” Jude asked. His siblings threw daggers at him as he lowered his phone. “Sorry if you already explained this,” he said sheepishly. At least the guy was humble enough to know when he’d messed up.
Lila smiled graciously. She had already explained it. But we never made clients feel bad for anything. Ever. “Yes, we’ll be following all departments, and as much as we can, all staff. We’ll have Blake start with a full walkthrough with Cassandra starting next week.”
Cassandra’s eyes darted to mine. Did I imagine it, or had a flush gone up her cheeks?
“We’ll be starting in the head office, going over the business planning with Cassandra and books with Eli,” Lila continued, “Then we’ll do the departmental walkthroughs after that…”
Lila went over the schedule in detail again, but this time, all I saw was Cassandra, dropping items into her bag.
She was getting ready to go. Nervous energy shot through me—I needed to catch her now.
“… then we’ll deliver a final report with our findings and recommendations after our review concludes,” Lila finished.
“Are you going to be staying at the hotel?” Chelsea asked.
“No,” I said, eager to wrap up. “While we’ll be spending the bulk of our time here, we’ve rented a home in town. We’ll be up in your business, but notall upin your business.”
Now it was Jude who laughed. “I like you guys,” he said.
“Great,” I said. “That’s always a nice bonus.”
I spent the next few minutes answering questions, my eyes returning constantly to Cassandra, who now looked eager to leave. It occurred to me that she knew I’d try to talk to her. That she might be trying to avoid me. That stung, but it made sense. But it was too bad. There was no avoiding me now that the project was officially on.
“I have a question,” Eli said. People were getting up now, Cassandra saying something to her sister.
“Sure,” I said.
“This one’s for Cass. How are we paying for all this?”
Cassandra folded her hands on the table as a sudden awkward coolness slipped into the room. This was normally the place where we’d bow out—financial discussions didn’t need to include the ones being paid.
“We’re running tight as it is—” Eli began.
“Eli, these questions really don’t require the Harringtons’ presence,” Cassandra said, echoing my thoughts. “But to be succinct, I’ve negotiated a deal with the best consulting firm on the East Coast. The costs will be covered out of contingency A.”
“Contingency A?” Eli repeated, bunching his brows.
“A fund under my accounts. If you have more questions, please come to me directly.” Then she stood. “I believe that concludes this meeting.” She wanted out of here. “Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Harrington, for the comprehensive presentation.”
Eli didn’t look pleased. He opened his mouth, but I spoke first.
“How about dinner?”
All eyes turned to me. I realized, when Cassandra’s eyes went wide, that it sounded like I’d asked the question of her. I’d only been trying to deflect Eli’s questions for her. It was clear she hadn’t talked funds with him and I’d put her in a shitty headspace to do so.
“The Kellys and the Harringtons,” I said, as if it was obvious. “It’ll be a chance to get to know each other in a less formal setting,” I said. “On our dime, of course.”
I glanced at Lila. Though it wasn’t at all out of the ordinary for us to have a kick-off event, it was one more thing I’d sprung on her without asking.
