Scott stared at his father, mentally adding another line under the tally ‘going insane.’ “She threwa catat you?”
“Yes,” his father snapped, as though this question was incredibly stupid. “I want you to go to Brunswick and talk sense into those females. You said the oldest one was interested in selling and I’ve been reading the reviews—the business is still tanking. I need you to give her my new offer. Make her see sense.”
“You…want me to talk to Samantha again?”
“Right away.”
Two powerful desires rose inside Scott—to see Samantha without resorting to borderline stalking behaviour and to discourage his father from pursuing whatever madcap vendetta he had against their old neighbors. He closed his eyes and saw Samantha smiling at him over her pint. Maybe if he just saw her one last time, he could figure out what he was supposed to do next?
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll meet with her one more time. But if she says they’re not interested in selling—”
“Excellent, thanks, boy.” His father produced a manila folder from nowhere and placed it on the desk. “I’ve upped our proposed settlement to four million. It’s all here. Show her the paperwork and call me when you’re done.”
He stood, pushing his chair back.
“You’re going?” Scott immediately felt stupid for asking. Of course, his father was going. He’d asked for his favour, what else was he going to do? Stay for a coffee and a chat?
“Yeah, I’ve got a busy morning.” His dad glancing at the door. “How’s…work?”
“It’s fine.” Scott stood up and walked him to the exit, putting them both out of their misery. As he watched his old man stride toward the elevator, he felt the familiar mingling of relief and regret.
“So that’s your dad?” Toby asked, when he returned a full thirty minutes later with their coffees.
“Yup, that’s him.” Scott took a long swallow of caffeine and minty sugar before relaxing back into his office chair. “What did you think of him?”
Sheer panic overtook Toby’s features. “He’s…uh…he seems…”
“I know he’s an arsehole.”
“Oh, thank God. He seems very tense.”
Scott smiled. He liked Toby. At times he seemed more Labrador than person, but his heart was in the right place. “Tense is as polite a way to say ‘rude’ as I’ve ever heard. Congratulations.”
Toby blushed and swigged his latte. Someone had drawn a love heart next to his name on the cup, but the kid clearly hadn’t noticed. Scott fought back a grin. Despite being six-two and handsome enough to draw the eye of every woman in the office, Toby was charmingly oblivious to the way girls looked at him.
“So what did your dad come here for?”
“He wanted me to do something ridiculous.” Scott glanced at the manila folder his father had given him. “Have you ever had feelings for someone you shouldn’t?”
A blush crept up the sides of Toby’s neck. “I…not exactly.”
“Sorry, that’s hardly an appropriate question for a personal assistant, is it?”
“It’s not that, Mr Sanderson—”
“Scott.”
“It’s not that, Scott. It’s just I…don’t have a lot of girl experience.”
The blush on Toby’s neck spread to his cheeks. Was he gay? Scott considered asking and realised that was incredibly inappropriate. “What have I got left on this afternoon?”
Toby looked slightly disappointed but obligingly opened up his phone. “Not much, just a conference call with Mr Feldman.”
“Reschedule. I’m heading out early.”
“Are you going to see the woman you have feelings for, but shouldn’t?”
“No. It’s for…something else.”