AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why my property? Why not buy the one just north of me?”
“Because yours is next to the highway and we have all the permits in place.”
“Well, it looks as though you may have counted your chickens before they hatched.”
“I’ll make you a partner,” I said, formulating a new plan in my head. “If you sell me the property, I’ll make you a five percent partner.”
“Twenty-five percent,” said Morgan.
Twenty-five percent was a large chunk, considering he’d done nothing up to this point. But if I wanted his property, this may be the only way.
“Fine,” I said, then extended my hand. But Morgan didn’t shake it.
“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked.
“Celebrating our new partnership?” I said with a grin.
Frowning, Morgan said, “My family and I will be heading to our cabin this weekend. Before I partner with anyone, I make sure my wife is on board. She is a great judge of character. If you can impress her by the end of the weekend, we have a deal.”
All I had to do was impress a sweet little old lady? Piece of cake. A smile spread across my face. “Sounds great.”
“I presume my office will communicate a lot with your assistant on daily matters?” Morgan asked.
“Yes, but you can always come directly to me if you prefer.”
“I’m sure you’re a busy man. But that means we will need to get to know her, too.”
I glanced over Morgan’s shoulder at Ava sitting at her desk, her hand under her chin, staring at her monitor. “I will check if she’s available.”
“Oh, not that one. I want you to bring the other assistant. I noticed the way you looked at her, Colton.” He chuckled and patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry. That’s how I met my darling Marie.”
What!
“Mr. Morgan,” I began, but he stopped me.
“Is that going to be a problem, Crawford?”
I got the feeling the deal would be dead if I said yes.
“No, sir. Not a problem.”
“Good. I’ll have my assistant send you the directions. I hope you have a GPS. There are hardly any road signs in the area.”
“Wonderful,” I mumbled. But getting lost was the least of my concerns. I needed to face Frances and get her to agree to this trip.
14
Frances
On the bus ride back from work, I went over what I should’ve said to that customer who was rude to me earlier. Some great one-liners came to mind now, but an hour ago, I had stood there and I’d taken her abuse. I’d grown up with the saying, “the customer’s always right”. I believed it, too, until today.
Tired and cranky, I wanted only to curl up in bed and read a romance novel. But when I approached my house, a familiar car was parked in the driveway.
No. Not him. Not today.
As soon as I stepped inside, his voice seized my heart and I couldn’t breathe. I closed my eyes and forced a few shaky breaths through my mouth.
“Frannie, is that you?” Marco called from the living room.
