“Well, wouldn’t you like to know?” Rhett teased, and she laughed in answer, taking his leering remark in stride.
Hunter’s gut burned. He was the charming, flirtatious one, at least with Gracie. It irritated him that his baby brother just usurped his usual role.
“This building is phenomenal,” she said once her laughter died. “There are so many things I can imagine us doing with it for the launch.”
“I agree. We have a lot of great space to work with,” Hunter chimed in.
She flashed him a smile, and he felt it pulse through him. “I want to hire an event planner. I gathered up some names of some of the top planners in the area, did a little research, and I wanted to share it with you. We’ll want someone who knows the city, has contacts and can handle all the party-type details while we focus on brand marketing and integrating it into the new Worthwhile line. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Damn, she was good. He couldn’t help but admire her business acumen, how on top of everything she was. She’d shared with him a few tentative ideas for the launch on the plane ride over, and he’d been blown away. “And I trust your opinion; you know what you’re doing. Just let me know who you want to hire and I’ll approve it.”
Now that she’d seen the location, she could run with it even further. She fairly vibrated with excitement as she glanced about the room yet again. “This is such a great opportunity for Worthwhile to make a big splash on the West Coast. I know the line has Europe covered, and it’s doing well on the East Coast,” she said.
“Yeah, but not so much over here, I know.” Rhett shook his head. “I sometimes wonder if it’s a bit too edgy.”
“It’s new. And European trends tend to take a while longer to travel to the West Coast.” She smiled, a mischievous light dancing in her eyes. “We can’t help it if you’re a little ass backwards out here.”
“Ah, she’s a feisty one. Just the way you like ‘em, Hunter.” Rhett shot him a grin.
Dread filled him. Great. Now his brother made him sound like a complete player. Yeah, he’d certainly dated his fair share of women but not a one of them were anything like Gracie.
Not even close.
After more small talk and plans to meet with Rhett later for dinner, Hunter and Gracie left the store, taking a car back to the hotel they were staying in for the next two nights.
“So you like them feisty, hmmm?” She plucked at an imaginary thread in her dress as they sat in the backseat, the hired driver making the trek over to the hotel. She kept her gaze cast downward. “According to your brother, that is.”
“My brother doesn’t know anything.” He wished he could reach over and grab her hand, give it a reassuring squeeze. But that would be overstepping her boundaries, and he wasn’t about to push. “He says that sort of crap to rile me up.”
“Did it work?” She looked his way.
“Of course,” he practically growled, feeling like an ass. Did she really believe that shit Rhett spouted? “Rhett and I, we really don’t get along.”
“Why not?” She turned toward him, sounding genuinely interested—and concerned. “I know you and Alex get along great.”
“Yeah, we do. Rhett and I, we’ve always clashed.”
“That’s awful.” She frowned. “Your brothers are the only family you have left, right?”
“Well, we have some distant cousins and the like, but yeah. My parents are gone. Alex took over the role of patriarch, so to speak, especially for Rhett.”
“He doesn’t seem to take life very seriously.”
“Who, Rhett? You could say that.” Hunter chuckled and slowly shook his head. “He’s a troublemaker.”
“How so?”
Hunter looked at her, really looked at her. Her face was
full of concern, her gaze serious. It seemed like she really cared, not that she was looking to dig up information. He rarely spoke of his problem with Rhett to anyone, not even Alex. Alex knew how he felt, but they never really dealt with it.
“He’s the baby, and everyone treats him like one. Alex works his ass off for Worth and he’s grown the company to what it is today. It would’ve crashed and burned without Alex taking over the reins so competently after my dad died.”
“You were a big part of that too,” Gracie reminded him, her voice soft.
He smiled fondly. “Yeah, I guess I was. But I couldn’t have done it without Alex. He’s the glue that keeps us, and Worth Luxury, together. Now, Rhett? He could give a shit about the business. He’d rather get drunk and get laid.” The bitterness was apparent in his voice even to Hunter’s ears.
“He seems to be running his store well.”