I wasn’t ready to end this.
“Tess, I have a proposition for you. Let’s grab breakfast together. No talking shop, just getting to know each other.”
“Why?”
“I want you to trust me, and we’re not going to get there just by negotiating.”
“Well, that’s true. This is going even worse than I imagined.”
“How did you imagine it?”
“Never mind.”
“Tess, every time you do that, you make me even more curious. You know that, right?”
She gave me a small smile, and I took that as a good sign that we were moving from enemy territory to a more neutral place.
“You were saying about breakfast?”
“I know a few great places nearby.”
She nodded, placing the stack of papers in her bag.
I led her out of the office right away, not wanting to give her time to reconsider. Putting a hand at the small of her back, I guided her down the corridor.
“Wait, didn’t you say you only have forty minutes?” she asked.
I leaned in, bringing my mouth to her ear, clamoring to be closer. “I’ll clear my schedule for you, Tess.”
“Ah, you’ll clear it for breakfast but not for discussing the contract?”
“As I said, it’s best if Skye is here too when we go through it. For breakfast, however, I want only you.”
She turned her head, looking straight at me. “But—”
“No but.”
“If you have work—”
“I’m taking the morning off, and we’re going to eat breakfast. No discussion.”
She chuckled. “And you think this is the way to convince me you’d make a good business partner?”
“What is the way, Tess? Tell me.”
“I don’t know,” she whispered, pressing her lips in a thin line.
The urge to kiss her just slammed into me. I barely kept from leaning in even closer. That was not the way to win her trust.
On the way out, I stopped by Dexter’s desk.
“Dexter, cancel my next meeting.”
His jaw dropped, but he had the good sense not to contradict me.
Once we stepped outside the brownstone, I mentally reviewed the nearest eateries.
“I know a place with great cheese. Your favorite food, right?”