A Not So Meet Cute(68)

“I can’t help who I am.”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know who you are. And you don’t know who I am.”

“I didn’t think you were interested in getting to know me on a personal level, given our relationship is strictly business.”

She groans. “God, you and your goddamn business. How about setting that business mindset to the side for a hot minute and getting to know me instead? Maybe it’ll make it easier to do these outings with you. To pretend, because it won’t feel as though I’m dry-humping a stranger in a pregnancy class.”

I consider what she’s asking of me, and it’s not much at all. But I do know I’ve put a wall up around her. If I get to know her more, I’m going to like her more. I can feel it. She’s the kind of girl who would easily capture my attention and keep me strung along. I’m not looking for that, to be captured, to start any sort of relationship. I don’t have the patience to focus on something like that, nor am I ready to give someone my time. I’m too selfish at the moment. Too focused on my career, on my goals.

But I need her.

Fuck do I need her.

I need her to help me secure this deal, and if that means switching gears and letting her get to know me better, then fuck, that’s what I’ll have to do.

“Fine,” I say. “Two questions during the day. Two questions at dinner. That should be sufficient.”

“Sufficient? You sound like Mary Poppins, all proper and shit.”

“Are you taking the deal?” I raise my brow.

“Are you saying these questions can happen every day?”

“Yes. Does that work?”

She shakes her head in amusement. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so formal, but I guess that will have to work. Who starts?”

I pat my mouth with my napkin. “You.”

“Right now?”

“Isn’t that what you want?” I ask as I try to hide my irritation.

“I mean, sure. I guess I wasn’t prepared for you to be so open.”

“I’m not a complete asshole, Lottie.”

Her lips quirk to the side, telling me she believes otherwise. “Okay, fine, I guess I’ll start with the questions.” Her eyes pin me. “Why is this deal with Dave so important to you that you’d go to such an extent to secure it?”

I should’ve known her questions weren’t going to be easy.

Shifting in my seat, I casually turn toward her and drape my arm over the back of my chair. “It’s pretty simple, actually. When I set my mind on something I want, I go after it, no matter the circumstances. Dave has three properties that would be extremely beneficial for our business. He’s not going to just sell them to make money, he wants to make sure they go to the right person. I want to be that person.”

“Just seems so . . . aggressive.”

“When you’re in commercial property development, you have to be aggressive. You can’t sleep on anything. You have to know what’s selling, where it’s selling, and the potential for the spot. Breaker, JP, and I always keep our eyes and ears open, while developing our existing properties to continue to make money for us. Dave’s properties would be a huge opportunity that I can’t just let slip by because he doesn’t know me as a person. That doesn’t sit well with me.”

She nods. “I can see how that might make sense. I wouldn’t go to the extent that you do, but I get it.”

The hostility in her voice has subsided and the pinch in her brow has loosened. I hate to admit it, but maybe this questions thing wasn’t a bad idea after all.

“Do you want me to ask a question now?”

She nods again. “Yeah, take a whack at it.”

Okay, if she’s going to come in hot with a hard question, so am I. “Why are you so ashamed of telling your mom and Jeff about being fired?”

“Should’ve expected that question, given what I asked you.” She sighs. “I grew up with Angela, the owner of Angeloop, the lifestyle blog. She’s giving Gwyneth Paltrow over at Goop a run for her money. We were on-again, off-again friends.”

“What’s that?” I ask. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re either friends or you’re not.”

Lottie shakes her head. “Not with Angela. She’d have a friend of the week, kind of like a flavor-of-the-week situation. She had no problem bouncing from friend to friend, and when she got tired of one, she’d move on to the next, and then they were her next best friend. Growing up in a rich city on a blue-collar income, Angela was exciting to me. I know it sounds ridiculous, but when you’re a kid, flashy things are fun. Angela had all the flashy things, and we had so much fun together. We’d roll into school in her BMW, spend weekends at her house having pool parties, and then one random day, I’d be dropped as the person she went to. It was torturous, toxic, and yet, I kept accepting her back because of the fun times we had together.”

“I see,” I say. “That’s the definition of toxic.”

“I know, and that’s what my mom said to me. My mom really hates Angela, actually. So, when I graduated from school with a master’s in business and Angela offered me a job at her growing start-up, my mom was extremely skeptical about me joining forces with someone who’s so hot and cold.”