The ceiling fan rattled in circles while Miller watched me. “Childhoods can mess a person up.”
Another link connecting me to Miller: We both understood the pain of fractured homes. He hadn’t only hung out at our house because he was best friends with Colin. Miller had needed a place to be safe. “One day we’ll overcome it.”
His hand reached for mine and tugged me to sit beside him. “In the meantime, do we need to review my offer again?”
A faint breeze breathed over my skin as I draped my skirt over my legs. “And I should trust your opinion because…?”
“Because I’m an excellent people-reader. If the skill was target practice, I’d hit the bull’s-eye every time.” Miller took a quick study of my face. “I’m not seeing the level of awe that this fact is owed.”
“I maxed out my ability to fake being impressed about an hour ago.”
He began to tick off anecdotes, one by one. “Ian Wilhelm. Offered the highest bid for buyout of my company when it was merely two years old. Would’ve made me wealthy beyond my wildest dreams at twenty-five, yet I turned it down. Do you know why?”
“You wanted a chance to brag about it seven years later?”
“Because he had a bad energy. My business partner loved him, the board was agog, but me?”
“Not you.”
“The guy’s now serving thirty years for money laundering.”
“You smelled it right away.”
His sigh was more than dramatic. “I hear your sarcasm and it wounds.”
“I can tell. Don’t you need to get back to the girls?”
“Babysitter is paid up for another hour.”
“Lucky me.”
His grin grew, dimpling his tan cheeks where a light stubble begged to be touched. “Madeline Hernandez was once our vice president,” Miller continued. “Her resume was flawless, her references impeccable. She served us well for nearly four years, boosting our profits and recruiting top talent. There was always something about her though. I knew if I watched her long enough, I’d find it.”
“That doesn’t sound creepy at all.”
“Two weeks shy of her fourth anniversary with the company, I traced an information leak that led me right to Madeline. She’d been selling us out to the competition for a year.”
“The hussie.”
“My cousins’s last girlfriend faked her Spanish accent for a decade, creating an entire influencer brand around it, as well as a convincing documentation trail that proved she was born and raised in Madrid. But was she?”
“I’m guessing Poughkeepsie.”
“Scranton,” he said.
“The geographical jezebel.”
“She had millions of followers, made six figures in sponsorship deals, and yet I’m the one who sniffed out her lies.”
“Your genius knows no bounds. Look, Miller, as interesting as this walk through your detective accomplishments has been, I don’t see what it has to do with your wanting to play matchmaker.”
“When it comes to your personal life, your ability to accurately assess men is lacking.”
“That’s not always true.” I patted his knee. “I find you annoying, and I think that assessment’s pretty spot-on.”
“Let me be more specific, your taste in men needs help.”
“From you.”
