Page 103 of Watching Her

I checked my watch. “I need to grab a few things. One hour.”

“You are a slave driver, but the timing is perfect.”

“For what?”

“You have a general manager in the Tempest Maddox in Atlanta threatening to quit unless he has a face to face with you. I wasn’t certain how to tell you.”

“You just did.” The last thing I wanted to do was waste time on a prima donna, but Bill was a damn good GM, just saddled with more issues than most. “Fine. I’ll take a swing to Atlanta after I finish my business in St. Louis.”

“Excellent. Now he’ll stop calling me. Let me see if I can catch the pilot.”

Somehow, I knew she could handle him with one hand tied behind her back.

Grinning, I checked the rearview mirror before driving off and when I did, I noticed Penelope was peering out the window. What had the lovely girl endured in her younger life that kept her joy as a hostage? I had a perfect bird in a cage and right where I wanted her, especially since we were becoming so close. And her trust in me was building.

Yet all I wanted to do was to put a smile on her face. I rubbed my jaw, still finding my reactions highly curious.

“Let me know if there are any issues.”

There wouldn’t be.

As soon as I ended the call, I made another.

I’d wanted her to come work for me, to spill all the Covington secrets. Now I just wanted her to succeed.

“Well, you must be calling to gloat,” Xander stated.

“Does that mean you’ve failed at the contest?”

“I never fail. You should already know that about me, but you are the overachiever.”

I laughed and pressed down on the accelerator. “It’s possible this is my last contest.”

“Wow. Now that is an admission I never expected.”

“It’s something I’m still debating.”

“Well, answer me this, Christian. Is there even a contest any longer?”

“Honestly? Maybe not.”

“You like this girl.”

In thinking about his question, I wasn’t surprised the answer was easy. “Yeah, I do. She’s very much like me.”

“Dark and demanding? Or a pain in the ass in being successful at everything she touches.”

“Yes.”

He snickered more than he usually did. “Well, at least you can admit your feelings. Kill anyone lately?”

A question we’d also asked each other after every family break during college. The three of us came from similar families, all taught the value of human life. Just not in the same way as many others. “Perhaps. I am handling a situation later today.”

Xander half laughed, acting as if he was interested. “Keeping up with the Joneses?”

“Eliminating a potential threat to my beautiful prey.”

“What kind of prey?”