The Executive's Decision (6 page)

The restaurant was thirty minutes away, and Regan wondered when the pleasantries of the job would end. He couldn’t get so little done on a regular basis.

Inside the restaurant, ornate Chinese collectibles lined the walls. Lanterns hung over each tall booth. It was secluded, private, and dark.

He was going to be a challenge. She found herself pinching the bridge of her nose. Was each powerful man the same? They had to have certain characteristics in common. Confidence, the ability to dominate people and situations… She wouldn’t fall for it this time. She wouldn’t.

Zach stepped up closer to her as they walked through the restaurant. “Are you okay?”

She dropped her hand. “Sorry, just feel a headache coming on.”

“You’re hungry. See, it was good I got you out of the office.” He had his hand on the small of her back and guided her to a booth. The man behind the bar raised his hand in a welcome gesture.

Zach waited until Regan sat. “I’m going to go say hello to Mr. Lee. He’s the owner.”

She watched him shake the man’s hand and then grasp his upper forearm. A sign of superiority, she’d learned. The man rested his other hand on Zach’s shoulder, which made her chuckle to herself. Yes, Mr. Lee knew what he was doing.

They hadn’t ordered, but as soon as Zach returned, food began to appear at the table, compliments of the chef.

She sipped her green tea and looked at the amount of food that had accumulated. “Everything is wonderful. You certainly don’t eat like this every day.”

“No. They’ve been begging me to come in for a month now. Figured it was time.” He bit into an egg roll. “So what is the usual fare for Regan Keller? What does she enjoy eating?”

“Ah, more interviewing?”

“Getting to know you.” He lifted his eggroll to his mouth and took another bite as he raised his eyebrows to her.

“Let’s see.” She bit into a dumpling and tried to will herself to be comfortable around Zach. “I wouldn’t be a southern girl if I didn’t love my mama’s fried chicken.”

“Now that does sound good. My mother can’t find her way around a kitchen with a map.”

Regan laughed aloud, then shoved the rest of the dumpling into her mouth to stifle it.

“You think that’s funny. You wouldn’t if had to eat her cooking. That is why she caters all events and makes me bring desserts.”

“She sounds classy.” And she loved that he could joke about his mother with his mouth full, but she saw how he dealt with people around the office, with a no-nonsense approach. There were two sides to the man before her. And she was finding she enjoyed both sides, which scared the hell out of her.

“Well, we’ll switch. Your mom can cook for me, and I’ll let mine cater for you,” he said with a nod and a smile.

They met in his office when they returned from lunch. She had a stack of files under her arm that she laid on Zach’s desk. He sorted through them. They were all projects all in his care. He walked her through the building contracts, building times, estimates, and subcontractor contacts, giving her an idea of who and what she was working with.

“This is the condo project I was telling you about yesterday.” He reminded her of her future housing options with a smile.

“John Forrester?”

“Man in charge.” He showed her the drawings and the plans for the building.

She pulled the concept drawings from the file and gazed admiringly over them. “Zach, these are going to be gorgeous.”

“This one is my favorite.” He pulled a drawing from the pile and watched again as her eyes widened.

“Yes, that one is wonderful.”

“I designed it.”

“You’re amazing.” She looked up at him.

His eyes zeroed in on hers and softened. “I was hoping you’d tell me that someday.”

“Zach…”

“I’m kidding.” He gathered up the pictures. “You’ll have to think about city living. Nice view, roomy living accommodations, ample room for entertaining…”

“More money than I will ever make in my life.” She laughed as she gathered her notes and the files.

“So what is your ideal home?” He sat back in his chair and watched her.

“Oh, Tennessee sprawling land. A few horses, bank of trees, a porch wrapped around the house with rockers for me and…” She stopped and shook her head. “Well let’s just say not here in town.”

“That does sound nice.”

“I’d better get these filed. I’ll call on the project in Kansas City tomorrow, and I’ll check your itinerary for Monday morning.” Regan stood and left the office.

Zach turned his chair toward the windows. He could see the condo project from here. It would be over a year before the first residents could move in.

When building large buildings, there had to be patience, and he’d always had that. That was, until the moment he met Regan Keller.

Since the moment she’d landed in his lap two days earlier, he couldn’t clear his head of her.

For the rest of the week he kept his distance from her. There were no more lunches out or coffee in the morning, and he heard
Mr. Benson
more times than he liked.

They had a meeting with John Forrester at the condo project, which was less than a mile down the river. Regan suggested they walk to the site, and he looked at her high heels and laughed. But just to get the opportunity to spend a few moments, with her he agreed.

She excused herself, and a minute later, walked back into his office wearing tennis shoes.

“You’re one of those women who plan for everything, aren’t you?” he asked, enjoying the subtle difference in the way her calves looked in flat shoes as they walked out of the building.

Her hand brushed the silver necklace. “Not really, but I thought it best not to wear my good shoes on a site.”

“Mary Ellen only thought of that once we were on site and she was falling over rocks and construction debris.” Regan wasn’t like Mary Ellen much at all. She took care of him, but she didn’t coddle him. She was prepared for anything, and he appreciated that. Then again, he found there wasn’t much about Regan Keller that he didn’t appreciate, except for her emotional distance.

Regan carried a notebook against her chest with items they would need to address with John. Zach walked a step behind her to watch her walk. The way the ponytail she wore at the base of her neck swung from side to side made him want to loosen it and run his fingers through her hair. But when she talked he’d catch up and hope she didn’t notice him ogling.

“Until this week I never noticed how many job sites have your company name on them. I must have seen three on my way to work this morning.” She clutched the notebook closer to her chest.

“I have twenty of them in five states, but I personally oversee four of them. They’re the four I designed and acquired. I’m meeting next week with an investor for a new project in Los Angeles.” He adjusted the hard hats he carried under his arm and thought how proud his grandfather would be to see what he’d done with the company.

“Where do you live? In a high-rise condo that you designed?” She shook her head when she said it. He knew the reaction well. Just because his name was on the side of the building, everyone assumed he had to live the lavish life. Then again, he always had. Even in adulthood he was judged.

“Would it disappoint you if I told you I don’t live all that far from you in a condo I rent?” He handed her a hard hat and put on his.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the hat and putting it on. “You rent a condo?”

“See, I did shock you.”

“Yes you did.” She smiled. He didn’t want her to think he was above the men and women that worked for him, but the world thought differently when you had money.

They entered the work site. Dust kicked up, and they both shielded their faces until the breeze died down. He breathed in the thick scents of dirt and sawdust. The sounds of progress embraced him. Cranes, forklifts, drills, saws, and the vivid curses of men working hard. This was his project, and seeing it physically standing before him, he couldn’t think of a better feeling.

“Just so you don’t go home disappointed, I get the suite on the top floor of this building, but that’ll be a year away.” They both looked up at the top floor of the building, which was only a structural skeleton.

“Now that makes more sense. You deserve the top floor.” She smiled and headed toward the offices that were located in a temporary trailer on the edge of the lot. He stood, still in awe of her. Maybe she’d be the first person in the world who understood how hard he worked to keep his name on the letterhead on which those lengthy contracts were written.

John Forrester stood from behind the old metal desk, his hand already extended toward Zach as they walked through the door. “Finally, you grace us with your presence.”

“Funny, very funny.” Zach took the stab with the humor John intended. He’d been on site every three days, sometimes more often than that just to check in, even if he didn’t go through the building every time. This particular structure had been the last one his father had overseen before his retirement. Zach had promised himself he’d never take it all so seriously that it would take three heart attacks to get him out from behind the desk. However, even as he had promised, he knew he was lying. He loved what he did.

“You must be Regan.” John extended his hand toward her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Forrester.”

“Manners. You’ve got yourself a prize.” He smiled at Zach, who nodded and gave her a grateful glance, but she quickly looked away. “Please, call me John. Mary Ellen said you’d fit right in. You look like you do.” He shifted his glance back to Zach. “Well, let’s head up.”

“Up?”

The quiver in Regan’s voice put humor on John’s face.

“Yes, the work isn’t all here on the ground.” John headed toward an orange cage that hung to the side of the half-finished building.

Zach reached for her arm, but when she took a quick step back, he dropped his hand. “If you’d rather stay down here, I can go through the notes,” he offered, hating the fear that he saw in her eyes. He couldn’t help but wonder if the fear was of him or the climb to the top of the building. Regan shook her head.

“If the job is up, then I go up.”

As they rode to the top Zach watched Regan carefully. She was pale, and her knuckles were white where she gripped her fingers around the notebook in her hands. What was it that drove him to want to wrap his arms around her and let her bury her face in his chest as they rode higher and higher? Did Mary Ellen fear heights that bad? Why had he never noticed?

When the elevator jarred to a stop, he laid a gentle hand on her back to steady her and ease her out of the cage. His father had done it to him as a child. The wind at the top raced through the space with its open walls. She didn’t flinch this time, but he heard her suck in a breath when she saw the view for the first time.

Nashville lay below them like a colorful map of trees, streets, and buildings. The child in him wanted to take her to the edge so she could see how small humanity could be from such a height.

John began showing Regan around. “We’ve got six units on each floor.”

Zach kept his eyes on her. The color was returning to her cheeks, and she’d released the grip on the notebook so that she could open it and begin to take notes. Finally she was comfortable. One thing he was learning about Regan Keller was she would adapt to any situation, but she wouldn’t give in to others.

John continued his tour. “So far each floor looks much like this. We have the interior walls framed up, and the electrical and plumbing have been run throughout the building. The glasswork will be done floor by floor. We’ll get to this floor next week.”