“You’re removing yourself?” There’s a faint furrow between her brows.
“Yes. I’ll still be briefed, of course, and give my input. But all communication would pass through Andrew.”
”So you and I wouldn’t have any contact about work.”
“No,” I say. “Not through any official channels, anyway.”
She frowns. It’s the frown of someone deep in thought, and not someone displeased. “You know, when the project is in an operational phase it will likely be handled by other people at Exciteur. We’ll be a much bigger team, and I might not run point by then.”
“I figured.”
“I could always… excuse myself too.”
“I don’t want you to,” I say, “unless you want to for other reasons. I trustyouand your vision for the hotels.”
Her frown softens into a smile. “I would really like to see it through.”
“Then you should.”
“But we’d still be working together, technically, even if we don’t interact professionally.”
I sigh. It’s true, and I have no solution for that. I can’t resign my position.I amthe position. “Yes. I don’t know how to change that.”
She cocks her head. “It might still work.”
“It might,” I agree. “We could write up a contingency plan, in that case. I promise I’ll always be able to separate the two. You could kick me out of your apartment today and I’d still want to hire your team’s vision for the new hotels.”
“A contingency plan sounds good,” she says. “And then we just… agree to take it day by day?”
”Yes,” I say. “Day by day.”
A smile blossoms on her lips. “I think it might be worth the risk.”
“Good,” I say, “because I’m convinced it is.”
She kisses me. It’s a soft, warm brush of her lips against mine. “Good,” she murmurs, “because I like the hassle of re-arranging my schedule to fit more of youinto my life.”
“Mmm. I agree.”
“So you’re going modern, then?”
“Yes. You finally wore me down.”
She laughs. “I’ve been told more than once by my family that I’m pretty persistent, you know, when I’m sure I’m right.”
“That doesn’t sound like you,” I say. “Has to be someone else.”
She laughs again. “I’m sorry I was badgering you about it so much.”
“Well, I’m glad you did.”
She looks at me for a long moment. I look back, brushing the back of my hand over her skin. The ends of her hair tickle my palm. “So we’ll keep doing this,” she says.
“Yes,” I say, just as quietly. “Although we might need to schedule it out further in advance.”
“Yes please. What does your week look like?”
“I’m in Boston Wednesday through Friday on business,” I say, “and I have a wedding to attend on Sunday.”