Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)(48)

“Good morning,” she managed.

“We have to talk.”

His tone was determined, almost harsh. She blinked. “Okay. About what?”

“Your invoicing.” He pointed to her office.

She led the way, then nearly dropped her mug when she walked inside and saw that her entire office had been attacked by some neat freak. Instead of open boxes overflowing with papers, there were neat stacks of full file folders. What looked like a comprehensive report sat next to her keyboard. Her computer was on and humming happily, but that seemed to be the least of her worries.

“What did you do?” she asked, her voice breathless.

“I apologize.” His voice was gruff. “I shouldn’t have pried into your personal business. I couldn’t sleep and I came in here to play computer games. One of the invoices fell. I picked it up and saw the amount you’d been billed. It was different from what you billed us.”

Her head came up as she glared at him. “Wait a minute. We have a contract that allows me to bill you five percent over the cost of goods.”

His dark gaze softened. “I know. But you’re not. You’re sticking to the estimate, even when the actual cost goes up. Dellina, you’re losing money on this job and that was never my intention. You’re providing an excellent service. You should be paid for that. As for the estimates, that’s what they are. An educated guess. You can’t bill off an estimate. If there’s a difference in price, that’s out of my pocket, not yours.”

Relief eased her tension. “Oh. Okay. I get what you’re saying, but I always feel guilty and maybe a little irresponsible when there’s a change in cost. I worry that if the estimate is different from the actual price, clients will get upset. So I don’t always pass it on.”

“So you’re constantly eating a significant percentage of the costs of food and entertainment?”

When he said it like that, it sounded less than intelligent. “Not all the time,” she murmured.

“How much of the time?”

She cleared her throat. “You’re saying I shouldn’t do that.”

“Not if you expect your business to succeed.” He ran his hand through his mussed hair. “Look, we’re both busy right now. My parents are in town, the party’s in a couple of days. Let’s talk about this after. I want to go over all the billing and make sure you were paid what you were owed.”

“I’d like that, too,” she told him.

“Good. I’m going to take a shower and get dressed. I’ll see you later?”

She nodded but what she was really thinking was that while her shower was small, it was plenty big enough for two. And if it was a tight squeeze...all the better.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“I DON’T HAVE TIME,” Dellina said as she opened the big box that had just been delivered to her place. It was the last of the items for the goodie bags. She had to say that Sam had good taste. The clients would be thrilled, but jeez, putting them together was going to be a lot of work.

“You have to come,” Taryn told her. “We’re all having lunch with Lark and you won’t want to miss it.”

“I don’t but look at this.”

Her dining table was covered with forty empty large gift bags. Dark blue for the men and a metallic-red for the women. Twelve bright yellow bags lined the kitchen counters.

“I have to fill everything and it’s not as easy as it sounds. The children’s bags are all different, based on their gender and ages. I have to do the name tags and put in the tissue, then stuff them all. There are also some last-minute phone calls and a meeting with the hotel manager.”

Taryn tilted her head. “All I’m hearing is a buzzing sound. You have to eat. Come have lunch with Lark.”

Dellina tucked her hands behind her back. “She scares me,” she admitted in a low voice.

Taryn grinned. “A believer now, I see.”

“Yes. She’s very sweet and funny, but the stuff she talks about. It’s not right.”

“I agree,” Taryn said. “Poor guy. I don’t know how he survived his family.”

Having his ex then write about him in a tell-all disguised as a self-help book hadn’t been good, either, she thought.

“Just say yes,” Taryn said. “You know you want to be there. I’ll help with the bags later.”

“Seriously?”

“No, but I can send someone over.”

Dellina laughed. “That’s more like you.” She hesitated. “What time?”

“Twelve-thirty. Margaritaville. When you spend a lot of time with Lark, you need access to tequila.”

“I’ll be there,” Dellina said. “Now leave me to my work.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Two hours later Dellina hurried into the restaurant. She was only a few minutes late, but she didn’t like not being on time. The good news was she’d finished all her calls and was nearly ready for the weekend party. With Sam helping her with her billing, she was going to be in good shape financially. Which made this project a win for her. Not that she would celebrate until it was over. She wasn’t one to tempt fate.

“May I help you?” the hostess asked.

Before Dellina could ask about her party, there was a burst of female laughter in the back of the restaurant.