“Sure. I was working with Gavin this morning.”
“Is that why you’re dusty and sweaty?” She pushed her sunglasses on top of her head. Her hair was a bit more loose today, the curls a bit less tamed.
“Yeah, we were demoing at the Terrace property.”
“So, we’re moving now?”
“Yes, we have some more paperwork to deal with. We’ve got the permits started to do the initial demo. The plans are in at town hall, but we still need the updated building permits to go through.”
“Okay, I can work on those.”
“You can?”
“I told you I dealt with a lot of permits and new buildings. I’ll make sure they’re ironclad so they can’t deny the build.”
“Good luck there. This is a small town.”
“They haven’t dealt with me yet, now have they?”
“All the more power to you. I’ll let you take over permits for everything. They drive me absolutely insane.”
“Deal. You take a shower and maybe we can discuss the rest.”
I laughed. “Okay, okay. I didn’t realize I was that bad.”
“You are.” But her gaze slipped a little lower to my neck, then back up to my face.
“Fair enough.” I swallowed down my mug of coffee and handed it back to her. “I’ll meet you upstairs in a few.”
She nodded and went for another refill then climbed the spirals stairs. I didn’t bother hiding the fact that I watched her go. Damn, those legs were going to kill me.
I took care of the shower and swapped my dusty clothes for my dress pants, shoes, and a Spider-Man shirt. I found her bending over the blueprints, her other hand busily writing.
“What’s got you scribbling so furiously?”
She looked up, her eyes a little unfocused. “I found your file about who you tentatively were going to lease to. I spoke with Tatiana Jerico. I like her.”
“Oh. I was going to do that.”
“It’s fine. I wanted to feel her out. Jude left a few notes about her in the file.”
“She’s a chef in Saratoga and wants a change of scenery.”
“We were discussing the storefront. Since you’re bumping it out a bit, I think you could have two different people in there sharing the rent.”
I arched a brow. “Two?”
“Tatiana actually floated the idea, then we hashed it out. Could be guest spots if you wanted to be really creative. Seasonal style for summer fare, fall soups and heartier to-go foods. Kind of a specialty space for up-and-coming chefs maybe.”
“That would be a lot of juggling to keep the space filled.”
“It could, but it could also bring people into the area if we used some social media stars. I was talking to...she who will not be named.”
“For fuck’s sake, Duchess. Why were you talking to a Maitland about our project? Are you trying to get it flushed down the toilet?”
She put her hands on her hips. “First of all, watch your tone.”
My mouth dried at her words. Damn, even pissed off I couldn’t stop being turned on by her.
