“Got it, boss.” Savannah shot me a wink.
“Any ideas for a groundskeeper?”
Savannah tilted her head to the side, staring at the ceiling as she thought it over. “Not off the top of my head. I can ask around.”
“I have someone in Atlanta who might take the job. We can knock out security and the grounds in one shot if he’s interested.” Under his breath, he muttered, “And if Cooper doesn’t kill me for poaching him.”
“Got it. The grounds can wait, anyway,” Savannah said, scribbling on her pad. “We need the inside done first. What about uniforms?”
“Uniforms?” I asked, confused.
“My mother and the other house staff always wore a uniform,” Savannah explained.
Griffen and I stared at her, non-plussed. Eventually, Griffen said, “Do you want to wear a uniform?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” She looked around at the over-the-top grandeur of Heartstone’s master suite. “It feels weird to show up in jeans, you know? The house deserves more.”
“Then how about this,” I offered, hoping Griffen would agree. “You decide about the uniforms, and if you want them—for you or the rest of the staff—charge them to the house account.”
“Will do,” she murmured, making another note.
“Can you get this place in shape before the invasion?” Griffen asked.
“You won’t even recognize it.”
“Then we’ll see you on Tuesday.”
Griffen moved to leave. I turned to follow as Savannah’s hand closed over my wrist.
“You sure you’re okay?” she asked.
I shrugged. I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t need rescue. I’d agreed to this, foolish though it might be. A shrug wasn’t enough for Savannah.
“I meant what I said before. I’m not just here to enforce Prentice’s ridiculous will. I’m here to look out for you. I know we don’t know each other that well, but my mother loves you, and that’s good enough for me. I don’t think I’m going to have many friends in this house, but I’d like you to be one of them.”
Tears filled my eyes at Savannah’s bold honesty. “I don’t think I’m going to have many friends in this house either.” Impulsively, I threw my arms around her in a tight hug. “One is more than enough when it’s a good friend.” I had a feeling Savannah could be a very good friend.
A little embarrassed at my unexpected show of affection, I ran from the room, trying to catch up with Griffen’s long stride.
Chapter Sixteen
Griffen
By the time I got back from signing papers with Harvey, Hope had her apartment ready for the movers. Three battered suitcases were neatly arranged by the door holding the contents of her closet. A stack of cardboard boxes sat beside them, labelled Hope Personal. She’d left the rest for the movers.
My tires ate up the miles between Sawyers Bend and Atlanta, Hope silent beside me, staring out the window, lost in thought. I wanted to hear her voice, wanted to talk to her, but I had nothing to say.
What had happened in the hall just before Savannah showed up? Had I been about to kiss her again? I was pretty sure that’s exactly what I’d been about to do. Right after I made her cry.
I was an asshole.
I wanted to protect her and I wanted to punish her.
I wanted to make her pay for what she’d done and I never wanted to see her cry again.
That was the biggest difference between the younger version of Hope and this one—young Hope had never tied me up in knots like this. Not even close.
“Are you hungry? We missed breakfast and it’s getting on to lunch.”
Hope shook her head, keeping her eyes on the road. “Not really.”
She needed to eat. I could go without meals, was used to it when the job took precedence over my stomach, but Hope was thin enough as it was. We wouldn’t be in Atlanta for another two hours. I didn’t want to wait that long.
“Do you mind if we stop in the next town? I’m starving.”
Just a shake of her head to say she didn’t mind. Hope’s silence wasn’t manipulative. I knew that in my gut. She wouldn’t play those games with me, and that made her reluctance to speak that much worse. If I thought she was giving me the silent treatment as payback for being an ass, I could play along.
Her retreat into herself, I hated. Hated it to the core of my being. I wanted to hear her laugh, not feel the sadness coming off her in waves.
Fuck it. There was nothing I could do about Hope. Not right then.
If I couldn’t fix things with Hope, I could handle another problem. Better to do this before we got to Atlanta. I picked up my phone and hit the contact without looking at the screen. I didn’t need to. I’d called Cooper so many times, my finger found his name on its own.