Every bit of his request was said through his clenched teeth and she felt her eyebrows lift. He’d spoken like a man who asked for help…never. It was music to her ears. Handling tasks people dreaded had always given her a feeling of supreme satisfaction.
“It involves you contacting Zach.” He cleared his throat and finished on a thick growl. “Who I trust you won’t date since I’ve asked.”
Scratch that. His tone was more petulant than growly.
“I don’t recall you asking.” She leaned a hip on the counter, enjoying Eli’s fidgeting.
“He’s an important piece of what I’m crafting and he doesn’t need the distraction.”
“Ha!” She folded her arms. It wasn’t as if she were Poison Ivy. She couldn’t do anything to Zach against his will. Men did possess self-control.
But then she thought of her buttons plinking off Eli’s concrete floor. She hadn’t exercised much control with him, but it was because she hadn’t wanted to. Couldn’t he see that?
“Fine.” She held up her hand like she was taking an oath. “I swear not to seduce Zach with my potent, exotic wiles, so help me God.”
Eli’s mouth started to smile until she added a caveat.
“If you agree to one small favor.”
It was impressive how many lines he could call forth from his forehead.
“Be my stand-in date next Saturday, so I’m not forced to ask Zach.” She was desperate. Chloe had overturned every stone and besides her twenty-three-year-old brother from Maryland, Isa was out of options.
“Stand-in date for what?”
“Fancy function.” Snobby bankers and carefully measured insults from her parents. But more importantly, a place where Eli would be recognized. Showing up with a Crane was as good as getting a Crane seal of approval in that group. She’d impress clients simply by being there with Eli.
“Forget it.”
Which was exactly what she’d expected him to say.
“Okay.” She shrugged and walked to the dining room, calling over her shoulder, “I’m sure Zach looks great in a tux.”
“Sable.” There, now, that was a growl. She ignored it, sitting down at her laptop and pecking in her password. He hovered while she opened and read the e-mail he’d sent.
“You need a website.”
“And a FAQ page,” he said, pointing at the bulleted list. “And a contact that is not me. Also, a way to accept donations online.”
She let his requests soak in as she reviewed the list and the paragraphs of carefully prepared descriptions for something called Refurbs for Vets.
“You’re working on a charity.” She announced her epiphany to the screen.
“Yeah.”
“That’s what you were doing instead of COO for Crane Hotels.” She looked up at him, seeing him differently than she had a moment ago. This man who had lost so much wanted to give back. It was like a light-blocking curtain had been lifted.
“Can you help me or not?”
Okay, the curtain had parted. Definitely not lifted.
“I am being paid by your brother to do Crane Hotels work, so you may have to pick up the slack on COO duties while I work on this.” She gestured to the screen, knowing she’d hand most of the items off to third parties rather than sweat over the details herself, but he didn’t know that. “This is going to take time.”
The sooner Eli was acclimated at Crane Hotels, the sooner she could resume her position at her own company. If she ever hoped to replace herself with another assistant, Eli taking the reins on Crane business was paramount.
“Fine,” he gritted out, and she resisted punching the air in celebration.
“Perfect.” She offered a folder. “Next week’s meeting notes and numbers. Your brother wants your take on it and since I haven’t read through them yet, I won’t be able to summarize in five or ten questions like I normally do.”