‘I have to go out to do an appraisal.’ Jem picked up his mobile and keys. ‘Sweetie, can you show Hudson the flat, please?’
Karly inwardly seethed. She’d have a few stern words with her grandfather later, but she couldn’t make a scene now, not with Hudson Grenville staring at her with smug amusement. ‘Sure, Pop. I’ll flip the sign on the door.’
‘Great. See you two later.’ Jem paused to shake the monster’s hand on his way out. ‘Good to meet you, Hudson. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.’
That made one of them and she glared at her grandfather’s back as he left the agency, wishing she could run after him like she used to as a kid when Pop dropped her off at school.
Summer and Nev had been there for her back then. Wait until her friends heard about this doozy: not only had the man she didn’t want to meet with lobbed into town, he’d be living next door.
‘So,sweetie, when can I see the flat?’
‘When hell freezes over.’ She crossed her arms, and if looks could kill, Hudson would be a pile of smouldering ashes right now. ‘I don’t know what you said or did to coerce Pop into letting you stay in his granny flat, but I’m sure he’ll see sense once I talk to him.’
He smiled, and damned if her stomach didn’t do an unwelcome flip. Hudson Grenville was too good looking, too confident, too much. From the top of his casually mussed hair to the soles of his polished designer loafers, he exuded charisma, and he knew it. She’d always been a sucker for a guy in a suit and he wore his midnight-blue two-piece with aplomb.
‘Contrary to what you believe, I didn’t coerce Jem into anything. I need a place to stay for a few nights, he had nothing on the books, so he offered me the flat.’ His gaze pinned her like a butterfly to a cork board. ‘Unlike present company, he sees the value in having a civilised business meeting to discuss the future of this agency.’
Anger made her muscles clench and her fingers curled into her palms. ‘You’re full of it.’
‘If you mean I’m full of innovative ideas, business nous, and a keen eye for expanding my agency portfolio, then I agree with you.’
For a horrifying second she wanted to laugh. A quick wit did it for her along with a stylish suit. But he’d take her amusement as a sign she was thawing and that’s the last thing she wanted to do. This guy may have Pop wrapped around his finger already but she’d be a hard sell, something she had no intention of doing with this agency and especially to the likes of him.
It annoyed the crap out of her that Pop was right about not wanting her to go into excessive debt to buy him out. She’d love nothing better than to own this agency but she didn’t want to be in over her head with the bank. One mortgage was more than enough. But maybe being up to her eyeballs with overdrafts was worth it if it kept this place out of Hudson’s money-grubbing hands.
‘Nothing to say?’ His eyebrow arched in provocation and she itched to wipe the smirk off his face.
‘Why are you really here?’
That surprised him, his eyes widening slightly. ‘Already told you. I want to make your grandfather a fair offer to buy this agency, one he can’t refuse.’
He sounded genuine, but if there was one thing she’d learned in this business over the years, it was to never trust a smooth talker. She wanted to tell him to shove his offer, but Pop wouldn’t be pleased. If her grandfather wanted to give Hudson the courtesy of hearing him out, she’d have to do the same no matter how badly it irked.
‘In that case, I guess I better show you the flat.’
‘Thought you’d never offer.’ He smiled again and this time her heart joined her stomach in doing a backflip.
Just freaking great.
CHAPTER
9
‘I like it.’ Hudson took a final glance around the granny flat’s tiny lounge room before following Karlana out the door. ‘Reminds me of the first emergency housing place I stayed with Mum.’
Her perfectly shaped brows shot up, as he’d known they would. She’d pegged him for some rich prick used to getting everything he wanted. He didn’t like revealing private stuff to virtual strangers, but in this case, if it helped to gain her trust, he was all for it.
‘By your gobsmacked expression, you assumed someone like me wouldn’t need emergency housing?’
Sheepish, she shrugged. ‘I don’t know you so I’m not assuming anything.’
‘Yes you are, but it’s okay, because it’ll make it more fun for me to disabuse you of your assumptions.’
She wanted to ask more. He could see the curiosity in her eyes, her lips compressed as if to stop her blurting a question. He liked her feistiness. These days, most people deferred to him. Money and success bought respect and in the business world his bottom line spoke for itself. But he thrived on a challenge, and he loved when he went head-to-head with someone—and that hadn’t happened in a long time. He had a feeling Karlana could provide a challenge for the first time in forever.
‘I’ll make you a deal,’ he said. ‘You make me a coffee and I’ll tell you about the time I was homeless as a kid.’
Her eyes widened and this time he glimpsed pity. He preferred her curious than feeling sorry for him, but it did the trick because she gestured to a quaint mud-brick cottage next door. ‘Sure. That’s my place. If you’re lucky I’ll throw in a brownie.’