Divided Interests (Southern Bride 3)

The door to the conference room opened and a young woman walked in. She leaned down and said something to Pete. He rolled his eyes and nodded. “Tell her she’ll have to wait. The meeting is almost over.”

Lifting a brow, I watched Pete look down at his notes, then he stared directly at me. “I have an investor who is dumping a lot of money into this project. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. Her social presence alone will sell units. From what I understand, you are…familiar with her.”

My heart raced.

“Her name is Bianca Williams. She was late getting into Austin from Rome. Fashion show or something.”

I cleared my throat and said, “I’m sure she’ll be able to watch the presentation and get caught up.”

Pete gave me a shit-eating grin. “She has requested that you fill her in. I’m going to ask that you do this as a personal favor to me, since she is the largest investor we have on the project. I’d like to keep her…happy.”

I moved uncomfortably in my seat and shot a look at Timothy. “What exactly are you asking me to do here, Pete?”

“Lucas,” Timothy scolded.

Pete laughed and held up his hands. “I’m not asking you to fuck her.”

A few people moved in their seats, clearly put off by Pete. It pissed me off even more, considering there were two women in the room.

“Is that really how you talk in business meetings?” I asked, anger laced in my voice.

“I need this woman to be kept content. I don’t give a fuck why she ended up wanting to invest in this project, but it has something to do with the lead designer. So, what I’m asking you to do is go to the bar in the hotel lobby with the rest of us, have a drink with her and play nice.”

“He can most certainly do that,” Timothy said. “Lucas is a professional, and he knows Bianca. He can handle her, isn’t that right, Lucas?”

I shook my head and stared down at the table. I needed this fucking job to build up a nice nest egg for me and Paige. Working for my dad would pay pretty well, but it wouldn’t pay what I was previously making.

“Sure, no problem,” I said. When I looked up, one of the women was staring at me. She looked familiar, and I tried like hell to place her. Her jaw muscles flexed, and she looked at me with pure disgust. She picked up her phone and started to type on it.

What the hell is that all about?

“Okay, let’s all go down to the bar now that we’ve gotten the boring stuff out of the way,” Timothy said, clapping his hands while he stood.

I gathered up my computer and put it into my bag. Timothy stayed back, waiting to talk to me.

“Lucas, I need you to be civil with her.”

“I’m not fucking sleeping with her, Tim. I’m engaged. I’m in love with another woman.”

He nodded as he let out a frustrated breath. “I know, I know. I also know how unhappy you were with Bianca, and we both know the only reason she invested in this is to be near you.”

“Why can’t Pete see that?”

“All he sees are dollar signs. Have a drink with her, then slip away and head back to the country.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m staying at the hotel tonight. I didn’t want to drive back late, and I knew we’d be drinking.”

“Smart move. Just be nice to her, we’ll get through this.” He gave me a slap on the back and headed toward the elevator.

“Tim, wait. The woman sitting to the left of Pete. Who was that?”

He thought for a moment. “Harper, she is Pete’s VP in marketing.”

“She looks familiar to me.”

Tim shrugged. “Maybe y’all met before in one of the beginning meetings.”

I nodded. “Yeah, must be.”

Twenty minutes later, I was at the bar, on my second drink while Bianca told me all about her trip to Rome. It wasn’t lost on me how Harper kept looking at us. She was shooting daggers, and I wasn’t sure if they were aimed at me, or Bianca. Or both of us.

Another thirty minutes went by, and I had had enough. I pulled my phone out and saw I had a text message from Paige. With a smile, I opened it up to read it.

Paige: How is it going?

Me: I’m about to head up to my room. They loved the design, so looks like we are a go.

Paige: That’s great! I’m happy for you.

Me: Thank you, babe. What are you doing?

Paige: Oreo and I just put on a movie and are snuggled up on the sofa. I finished painting the upstairs bathroom. It looks great!

Me: I can’t wait to see it. How did the appointment with the florist go?