“Are you kidding me?” she whispered, shocked and more flattered than she could believe.
“I’m completely serious.”
She nodded her head, trying to think about everything he’d just said. “This is a lot to take in,” she told him.
He put a hand over hers. “Why don’t you think about it tonight? Write down all your concerns and we’ll discuss them tomorrow morning, over breakfast. Does that sound fair?”
Selena thought about it for a long moment, then nodded her head. “Yes. Very fair.”
“Good. Talk it over with your boyfriend and see what he thinks.”
She shook her head, still reeling with the offer. “I don’t have a boyfriend,” she admitted absently.
“Good. My research says that your parents are retired, living down in Florida and you rent an apartment here, so you won’t have to worry about selling your house.” He lifted a hand to stop her next words. “We’ll negotiate with your landlord if you’re in the middle of a long term contract.” He waited another moment. “Whatever the obstacle, I’ll figure out how to remove it, Selena. I want you out in Denver, getting started on this project.”
“Why do you need me?”
He smiled slightly. “I’ve learned that getting someone who believes in a project tends to ensure the success of that project. You believe in this idea. Furthermore, as you start working through the details, I suspect that you’ll find more ways to enhance and expand further. It makes sense to move you out to Denver, so you’ll be close by.”
She smiled, feeling hope blossom inside of her. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“Good!”
Chapter 2
What was she thinking?! She couldn’t move to Denver! It was a different world out there! Her life was here!
Selena paced back and forth across her apartment, her mind spinning with all of the questions and worries. Move to Denver…stay here. Moving to Denver would definitely be an adventure but…she lived here!
But really, what would she be missing? She had her gym and exercise classes, but there were gyms and classes in Denver. She had her apartment, but it was a tiny one bedroom located in Arlington, right outside of Washington, D.C. and rent was more than it should be. She’d already looked up some rentals in Denver and they were several hundred dollars cheaper.
She wasn’t in love with this area. Selena had moved here simply because of the job. So there weren’t any emotional ties to the area.
Besides, the salary increase was huge!
She looked around the small apartment with the tan walls and her tan love seat because the apartment was too small for a full sized couch. She wouldn’t miss the miserable summers, that was for sure. Even now, it was eleven o’clock at night and it was still hot and humid.
The current temperature in Denver was a soothing seventy degrees. “It’s a dry heat,” she said out loud to the empty apartment. Shaking her head, she slumped down onto the love seat. “What exactly is a dry heat? And why is that so much better? What’s wrong with a bit of heat and humidity? Who cares if I can’t see outside of my windows some mornings because of the humidity?”
She leaned her head back against the cushions, staring up at the ceiling.
“I don’t want to go because of him,” she admitted quietly. Looking back down at her computer where she’d started building a pros and cons list, she flipped over to her Google search and skimmed through the images. He really was gorgeous in a rugged way. There was almost always a bit of scruff on his jawline. She suspected it was because the man just grew facial hair at a faster rate. There were several pictures of him in the morning sunshine and he looked freshly shaved. And a few at night wearing a tuxedo and…yep. Freshly shaved, as if he’d shaved moments before pulling on that striking tuxedo jacket.
With an exasperated huff, she slapped the laptop closed. “Why am I even hesitating? I hate the summers here! Winters aren’t all that much better either and…well, they presumably have seasons in Colorado! Beautiful seasons aren’t exclusive to this area.”
And so it went, back and forth throughout the night. By the time morning rolled around, she was no closer to a decision.