Oh, for Pete’s sake! How many times did ‘no’ not mean ‘no’? Chrissy may not have tossed her lobster salad on his über expensive Italian suit, but she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested. It wasn’t her fault that Pearson thought her lack of enthusiasm was a bargaining ploy. “Charles, what did he say to you?”
“Well, he hesitated to okay the private jet, but he authorized a New York apartment as a base of operations. Chrissy, you could live in New York rent-free!”
Charles’ excitement threatened to melt her phone. She didn’t know what to say, and the silence from her end grew uncomfortably tense.
“Chrissy?”
“I don’t like him,” she said finally. “He’s insufferable and he’ll drive me insane inside a year.”
“You don’t have to marry him, darling. Just take his job offer. Hell, work it three months, and if it doesn’t work out I’ll help you get out of the contract.”
That commission must be heftier than she thought. And it appeared that neither Charles nor Pearson wouldn’t give up. Better to throw them something that Pearson would never agree to. “I tell you what. Get him to agree, in writing, to a three-month probationary period. If I don’t like the position, I can leave free and clear at the end of ninety days.”
“Chrissy,” her headhunter said in a warning tone. “He might not go for that.”
“In three months you can find someone else to replace me.”
“I don’t know. There’s no money in that.”
“One commission will have you set for six months.”
“Three,” admitted Charles, “but you’ll cut that to one if you insist on a three-month probationary period.”
“Don’t be so greedy. If you want me to take the deal, you’ll make it happen.”
“You’re impossible!” He hesitated a moment. “But I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Charles. You’re awesome.”
With that call done she settled into the ride toward Saks’ apartment. But when the phone rang again, it jolted Chrissy out of her thoughts. “Charles! He got back to you that quickly?”
“Who the hell is Charles? Chrissy,” rumbled her grandfather, “I didn’t see you at dinner last night.”
Oh, shit. She needed to check her caller ID before picking up. “That’s right, Grandpa.” She ignored the first question. “I spent the night with Saks in the hospital.”
“Saks? Who is this Saks?”
Chrissy held in her exasperation. “Anthony Parks, the Rocco man you wanted me to meet.”
“Parks,” hissed her grandfather. “They didn’t tell me it was a Parks.”
“So, you’re familiar with that part of the family?”
“Ach,” he spit. “That bastard wa
s an associate of Vits. This is unacceptable.”
“What the hell? You pulled me into this mess. Now it’s unacceptable?”
“What your mouth, young lady.”
“Sorry, Grandpa, but I don’t understand. First you... encouraged me to get to know him. Now it’s unacceptable?” Hadn’t the two men met?! Was she blind? How could he not know Saks’ last name was Parks.
“It was a mistake. I should’ve been more careful. I understood the Parks side of the family wasn’t that involved with the business. But you never know. Don’t you worry about it anymore. The deal is off.”
Off? Off? Chrissy’s head was spinning. First, she didn’t understand how her grandfather could get things so wrong. She didn’t want to meet the Rocco man in the first place and now that she had, she didn’t want to stay away from him. Saks may not be the kind of man she dreamed off, but the way he loved her was the stuff of dreams. “Grandpa, I’ve met Saks. He’s nice. I’d... I’d actually like to get to know him.”
Her grandfather snorted. “I’m telling you, Christina Maria Serafini, if that man goes near you again it will end badly for him.”