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natalie
“We have to stop meeting like this.”
Dave smiled and nodded to the seat across the desk. The guy I’d danced with two days ago. Whose arms around me had been the stuff of my dreams for the past few nights. I had no business agreeing to that dance, as if he’d really given me a choice.
Damn bossy military guys. I’d been around Lucas and Nate enough to know that I did not want to dance with an ex-Army Ranger. Specifically, that one. But I had, and now I simply could not get him out of my mind. Hiding in the corner of the bar for the rest of the night hadn’t helped. Like a big coward, I’d sent Charlee to his car to fetch my clothes with a promise I’d return his things soon. As in, hopefully never.
My new plan was to completely avoid him. Do what I could to thwart his land-grabbing efforts from afar. If he came into a bar, I’d be leaving it from now on. I simply didn’t trust myself around him.
“I wish I could tell you it was good news this time.”
“You’re killing me,” I said to my boss, clutching my travel coffee mug for dear life. His face said it all. “Just say it. I already know.”
He seemed surprised. “You do?”
“I can guess,” I clarified.
“Ahh, well. You probably can. I met with the purchaser Friday afternoon—”
I stopped him there. “You met with Jaxon Friday?”
“I did.”
Hmm. Conveniently he hadn’t mentioned that during our dance. Not that we talked much. He’d asked a question or two. I stubbornly gave him one- and two-word answers and tried to avoid eye contact. Not that it worked, completely.
And every time our eyes did meet...
“Nat?”
I came back to earth. “I’m listening.”
“We went over the conservation easements, land use agreements, and property deeds, since the impact report came back green-lighted.”
Green light. Meaning it was full steam ahead for Jaxon. Fantastic.
“And?”
“And I’m assigning you to the case.”
I nearly shot up from my seat and yelled, “No way!” until I thought it through for a second. How better to know exactly what was happening than by being the case manager on this?
So instead, I made a face to show Dave how unhappy I was about the whole thing. But he didn’t seem to care.
“I know you have a personal tie to the inlet property. This way you can see all the reports and know everything is on the up and up. And that there’s probably very little you can do to stop it.”
“Me?” I pointed to my own chest. “You think I would do such a thing?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes.”
“I love that property,” I said, serious for a second. “But I love my job more. I’d never do anything to jeopardize it.”
“I know that too,” my boss said. “Which is exactly why I’m putting you on this case. You can oversee the process and, if the land is sold, at least you’ll have full knowledge of the details. I’ve already emailed you the files.”
Looked like it would be an office day as I went over the paperwork. But I wasn’t going to complain. Now I could see everything from the initial application to exactly how Jaxon planned to weasel his way into purchasing the land. “Thanks, Dave,” I said begrudgingly.
He laughed. “We’ll find you a new spot for the program. It’s not the end of the world. When you see the files, you’ll probably feel better. I’m actually surprised that inlet wasn’t nabbed up already. Our hold on it was tenuous, at best.”
FLLT had been extremely aggressive years ago snapping up each and every parcel of land that even had a shred of environmental impact. But I was still dying to see those files. Plus, it would keep my mind offhim.
