There definitely had to be a story behind her pain but it wasn’t his place to delve, not when he had his own demons to deal with. One of them made his phone ping with a voicemail as it vibrated in his pocket.
‘I hope you’re not worried you’ll be out of a job, because like I said earlier you can stay on if that’s what you want. From what I’ve seen you’re a professional and I’ll need a local onboard to keep running the agency, with the improvements I mentioned in my pitch.’
Her chin tilted up as she stared him down, defiant. ‘What makes you think I want to work for you?’
From what he’d gathered, she’d been working in the family business since she left school, which could explain her fear he’d kick her out on her arse once he acquired the place. If it suited his plans, he would—and had done in the past—but Karlana had a good business head on her shoulders and he’d be a fool to let her go. Professionally speaking, of course.
‘Because I only hire the best and I can see that’s you.’ He rested his forearms on the table and leaned forwards. ‘Tell me, who updates the website with the latest listings? And highlights the appeal of the local region to prospective buyers?’
An expression he couldn’t fathom flashed across her face. ‘Pop’s not big on promotion so I take care of all that.’
‘I thought so. Just imagine how much more you could do with the proptech innovations I mentioned in my pitch? Sky’s the limit.’
He glimpsed a flicker of enthusiasm before she carefully blanked her face and stood. ‘If you’re angling for praise, fine, your pitch was first class and you’ll do great things with the agency. But there’s one salient point you’re missing. It’ll beyouragency, not Pop’s, not mine, and that pains me more than you’ll ever know.’
She shook her head, her glare speaking volumes. She hated his guts. ‘I’m due in Serenity shortly to sign up a new client, so I’ll see you later.’
But she didn’t mean it, because as he watched her stride out the door like she couldn’t get away from him fast enough, he knew when Karly said ‘later’, she meant ‘never’.
CHAPTER
24
Not even Xia signing the paperwork to sell her house alleviated Karly’s foul mood an hour later and after texting Pop she wouldn’t be back to the office for a while, she dropped in on Summer, who was working from home that afternoon. If anyone could get her out of this funk, her optimistic friend could. Summer personified her name—bright, sunny and warm—and Karly could do with a dose of warmth right about now, as she’d been chilled to the bone ever since she’d heard Hudson’s pitch earlier.
Pop would sell, she had little doubt.
So where did that leave her?
She’d always had ambition and it had been tied up in the agency, with her ultimately at the helm. With a Grenville Sanctuary buyout, that would never happen, and it made her want to explore other options.
Chatting with Hudson at the Vegan Vault hadn’t exactly inspired her with confidence either. So he’d still employ her when he took over? Big whoop. While she should be grateful he didn’t want to turf her out on her butt, she couldn’t see herself running the agency as part of a larger corporation forever. Besides, having to answer to Hudson wouldn’t sit well. She knew his type. Swoop in, take what he wanted, make his minions jump to his tune. He’d expect her to kowtow and that would irk. Not that she was overly opinionated and couldn’t see the benefits in implementing his proposed changes, but having him as her boss …
Okay, so maybe that was another major reason she didn’t want his acquisition to go ahead.
She had the hots for him.
Big time.
And if he was her boss, she couldn’t go there, no way. Too unprofessional.
In that moment, the fabled lightbulb went off in her head. He’d given Pop until the end of the week to make his decision, so that left her two days where he wasn’t her boss …
Hooking up with him because she lusted after his hot corporate arse wouldn’t be the smartest thing she’d ever done, but it promised to be a hell of a lot of fun.
Was she insane for contemplating it? Definitely.
Would that stop her? Doubtful.
Maybe Summer could talk some sense into her? Then again, considering how her friend had done something similar when Jy first came to town as a transient school principal determined to shut down the school, Summer would probably tell her to go for it.
Shaking her head, she got out of the car and headed up the path to her friend’s front door. How many times over the years had she done this? Countless, and she valued their twenty-five-year friendship. Summer and Nev were her sounding boards, her voices of reason, her number one cheerleaders. She loved them both but couldn’t help but wonder … what would they think if she let Pop’s suggestion take flight, when he’d pointed out selling the agency was giving her freedom to explore her options?
A trial at city life tempted her but with Pop making it clear he’d be returning after his travels, she couldn’t abandon him. Not when he’d sacrificed so much for her. But what if working for Hudson became untenable? What then? Was this an opportunity for her to expand her horizons professionally?
She didn’t have to move to Melbourne to do that. She could choose a larger country town, somewhere like Ballarat, Bendigo or Echuca. Towns with the same community feel of Acacia Haven but with larger populations and more job opportunities. She hadn’t wanted to consider it, but if she did lose her mind and sleep with Hudson, she doubted she could stick around and work for him, which meant leaving the only home she’d ever known could be the best option.
Before she could knock, the door swung open, and Summer grinned. ‘You spent so long in your car staring into space I thought you’d never come in.’