Chapter Eight
You don’t think she fainted again, do you?” Willow whispered to Noah as she glanced in the back seat of the Mercedes. Riley had on headphones, listening to an audiobook, while Willow’s aunt listed to the side, her head lolling on her shoulder.
It would be an understatement to say Noah had been unhappy with Willow’s suggestion that Cami stay at the beach house with Riley until Willow had broken the news to her family that her estranged aunt was in town.
Even the doctor, who’d stopped to speak to Willow after leaving her aunt’s hospital room, had taken one look at Noah and told Willow he’d leave the paperwork, instructions for her aunt’s care, and his number should she have any concerns at the nurse’s station. Willow had just shared her aunt-staying-at-the-beach-house idea with Noah.
Her aunt’s bloodcurdling scream had interrupted Noah telling Willow just how unhappy he was.
He raised his aviator-covered eyes to the rearview mirror. “No. The doctor told you what to expect. She’s sleeping. Feel free to do the same.”
After her aunt’s fainting episode, the doctor had ordered a precautionary CT scan and some other tests, which hadn’t raised any further concerns, and that was when he’d shared with Willow the instructions for her aunt’s care, verbally and on paper. Noah hadn’t been in the room when the doctor spoke to her. He’d taken a call and had been in the hall, but he’d read the paperwork while they waited for her aunt to be released.
“I’m not taking a nap while you’re driving, Noah. That would be rude. Besides, you didn’t get much sleep last night.”
As soon as Riley and Willow had stopped sobbing in his arms and then celebrating Riley coming to Sunshine Bay for the summer, Noah had ordered them to eat and retired to his study. He’d been on the phone when Willow peeked in to say good night after midnight. He’d nodded and continued with his conversation.
“You don’t have to worry I’ll fall asleep at the wheel, Willow. I can function on very little sleep.”
“I don’t like to argue with you but we covered a story—”
“We’ve clearly established that you do. You’ve argued with me more than anyone in my entire life, and I’ve been in your company for less than forty-eight hours.”
“Are you talking about friends or employees or friends who are employees? Because if you’re talking about employees or friends who are employees, they don’t count. They wouldn’t argue with you because you’re their boss.”
He turned his head and raised an eyebrow.
She grinned. “Your scary-angry face doesn’t work on me. I was around when you were perfecting it at fifteen.” She didn’t share that rather than finding the look that came over his face intimidating, she found it devastatingly attractive.
“Scary-angry face?”
Before she could respond, his phone rang. She sighed. Of course it did. His phone never stopped ringing. It had been the same when they’d driven to New York the day before.
“Robyn, I’m in the car. You’re on speaker.”
“It’s just me, Robyn,” Willow said, waving her fingers even though Noah’s assistant obviously couldn’t see her. She’d gotten to know Robyn on the drive to New York and liked her a lot.
Noah angled his head, looking at her through his sunglasses. If she could see his eyes, she imagined they’d be giving her a seriously? look.
“Hi, Willow. How did it go with your aunt?”
Willow smiled. Robyn was so nice. “It—”
“Robyn, I imagine you were calling me for a reason. A reason that has nothing to do with Willow and her aunt.”
“Noah!” Willow gasped, then, noting the firm set of his jaw, decided not to push her luck. She didn’t want him taking out his frustration with her on Robyn. It had become obvious over the course of the past twenty-four hours that Willow frustrated him a lot. “I’ll get your number from Noah, and we can chat later, Robyn.”
“I’d love that!”
“Do you mind if I talk to Robyn now?”
“Be my guest,” she said, pressing her lips together to keep from laughing. Noah had no idea how easy he was to tease or how much she enjoyed getting a reaction from him.
Robyn’s voice came through the speaker, sounding professional and competent, which Willow knew, from listening to what had felt like hours of their conversations, she was. Then again, Noah wouldn’t put up with anyone who wasn’t excellent at their job.
“I got in touch with the real estate agent first thing this morning as you requested, Noah, and asked her to pause the beach house listing. She had an interested party and wasn’t pleased. I have a feeling you’ll be hearing from her.”
“I don’t know why I would, but I trust your read on the situation, Robyn. Thanks for the heads-up.”
In the past twenty-four hours, Willow had discovered several things she liked about CEO Noah. As much as he was driven and demanding and didn’t suffer incompetence lightly, his employees clearly liked and respected him. In all the conversations she’d been privy to, and there had been many, he had been polite, respectful, and appreciative.
She’d suspected he was a micromanager and had been surprised to discover he wasn’t. He was confident in his staff’s ability to deal with difficult negotiations and routinely delegated assignments, even if his staff believed they required his expertise. And it had to be said that Noah was extremely good at his job. But if his employees weren’t as confident in their abilities as Noah was, he patiently coached them until they were, and when those same negotiations went smoothly, he refused to take credit.
“No problem,” Robyn said. “I’ve heard back from the IT specialist that I had check on your home office at the beach house. There are issues that may take him some time to resolve so I’m afraid working remotely will be difficult. The network is patchy.”
“That’s fine. I’ll come back to New York and work in the office until—”
“You don’t have to, Noah.” Willow jumped into the conversation, unwilling to let the opportunity pass. “I’m sorry for interrupting but there are no network issues at the station, and I’m sure Don would be happy to give up his office for you.”
“Willow’s right, Noah. It’s a good option.”
She wanted to kiss Robyn. It wasn’t a good option. It was perfect. Willow would have Noah right where she wanted him. He’d get to know her coworkers and realize what Channel 5 meant to them, and what it meant to the people of Sunshine Bay.
“I suppose that would work. At least until I get Riley settled. If you could let Don know—”
“It’s okay. I can take care of it, Robyn,” Willow said, holding up her phone.
“No worries, Willow. I’ve got it. Thanks, though.”
“She’s waving her phone and bouncing in her seat, Robyn, so it’s safe to say Willow would like to handle it.”
Robyn chuckled. “Works for me.”
“Yay! I’ll get on it right now.”
She couldn’t help herself and did another little dance in her seat. She felt Noah’s eyes on her, so she smiled at him and shrugged. He shook his head and returned to his conversation with Robyn, setting up what sounded like a hundred meetings to take place over the next few days.
Seconds after she’d shared the awesome news with Don, Naomi, and Veronica and gotten things sorted on their end, she bit the bullet and called her sister. Her call went to voicemail, and she left a message for Sage to call her back. As soon as she disconnected, her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen. It wasn’t Sage, it was Megan.
Willow took a deep breath and brought the phone to her ear. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Where are you? And don’t try and tell me you’re at work. I called the station and the restaurant.”
Willow swore under her breath, murmuring, “Sorry” when Noah glanced her way. Flipping Megan was going to ruin everything. Willow hadn’t been scheduled to work at the restaurant the night before, so she hadn’t needed to come up with an excuse as to why she needed the night off. Her mom and grandmother didn’t have time to watch Willow’s dinner-hour weather reports, and it wasn’t as if anyone who did would say anything. Lucy the Lobster was delivering the weather, and that was all anyone cared about.
“Who did you say sorry to? Are you with someone?”
“I am, so if you don’t mind, I’ll talk to you when I get home.” Willow heard Megan breathing over the line.
Noah interrupted Robyn, who was relaying an issue with one of the lawyers of a company in negotiations to buy a block of Bennett Broadcasting’s holdings, with a “He what?” that was one decimal shy of a bellow.
Willow stared at him, stunned, and then realized she hadn’t disconnected from Megan. “Okay. Gotta go. Bye.”
She wasn’t fast enough, and she knew this because Megan screeched in her ear. “I knew it! You’re with Noah.”
“So what if I am?”
“Really? You ruin my sale, and that’s all you have to say?” Megan blew a gusty breath over the line. “Honestly, I don’t know why I’m friends with you. You can’t take it that I’m successful, can you?”
“Please tell me you’re not actually accusing me of sabotaging the sale of the beach house because I’m jealous of you?” Willow whispered, partly because she was stunned by the accusation and partly because she didn’t want Noah to hear her.
“Robyn, I need to take care of something. I’ll call you back.”
Willow closed her eyes, praying he wasn’t disconnecting from Robyn because he’d heard her. She knew her prayers had gone unanswered when Noah said, “Willow, put Megan on speaker.”
Willow waved her hand, mouthing, It’s fine only for Megan to continue ranting in her ear. “That’s exactly what I’m accusing you of. I’ve made top real estate agent of the year for two years running, and you’re a part-time weather girl who runs around in a lobster costume. Of course you’re jealous of me.”
“You do it or I will,” Noah said.
Willow’s shoulders rose and fell on a sigh, and then she reluctantly did what he asked. “Megan, you’re on—”
“Don’t try and deny it, Willow. I should’ve dumped your sorry ass after the fiasco with the house flip. Everyone warned me not to go into business with you, but did I listen? No. I did not.”
Noah raised an eyebrow as if asking Willow if she wanted to respond but she was so shocked she didn’t know what to say.
Obviously taking her stunned silence as permission to intervene, he said, “Megan, this is Noah Elliot. I heard one side of your conversation with Willow, and you seem to be under the mistaken impression that she was the reason I paused the sale of the beach house.”
“Ah, hi, Noah. No. I…” Megan blew out another of her put-upon breaths before saying, “I’m sorry, Willow, but I can’t cover for you any longer. Noah deserves to know the truth.”
Willow frowned. “The truth?”
“Yes. He deserves to know that there’s nothing you wouldn’t do to keep him from closing the station. She wanted me to stall the sale of the beach house and of the building on Main Street to give her time to change your mind about closing Channel 5, Noah.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know, Megan. And to be honest with you, I find Willow’s loyalty to her coworkers and to Channel 5 admirable.”
“You do?” Willow blurted.
He smiled. “I do.”
“Another man falls to the Rosetti charms,” Megan muttered before adding, “Well, good luck with that, Noah. Willow is known as one of the Heartbreakers of Sunshine Bay for a reason. None of her relationships, and let me tell you, she’s had many, last more than a few weeks. But hey, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it while it lasts. I hear she’s good in bed.”
Without looking at Noah—she didn’t want to see his reaction—Willow took the phone off speaker and brought it to her ear. “What the hell was that?”
“The truth.”
“No. It wasn’t the truth, Megan. It was you behaving true to form when something doesn’t go your way. You owe me an apology, a big one, a humongous one, and until I get it, I don’t want to talk to you.” She disconnected, barely restraining herself from throwing the phone at the windshield.
She glanced at Noah. “I’m sorry you—”
He held up a finger, and she realized he was waiting for a call to connect. His jaw was tight, his expression blank, and when a woman answered, “Cape Cod Realty,” his voice was as cold as ice. “This is Noah Elliot. Put me through to your boss.”
“Yes, sir. Right away, Mr. Elliot.”
“Thank you.”
Willow groaned. There was only one reason Noah would put in a call to Megan’s boss. He was going to demand his listings be given to someone else. She might be furious with Megan but she’d been her best friend forever, and Willow didn’t want her to suffer the consequences of what Noah was about to do. “Can we talk about this, please? I know Megan was—”
“Don’t defend her.”
Willow didn’t get a chance. Megan’s boss came on the line. And from the simper in her voice, if Noah asked her to fire Megan and strip her of her real estate license, Willow had little doubt the woman would make it happen. She made it clear she’d do anything to make Noah happy and not lose him as a client. Willow wondered what it must be like to have everyone groveling at your feet, willing to do whatever you asked.
Unable to stand any more of Megan’s boss kissing up to Noah, Willow glanced in the back seat, thinking she’d chat with Riley. But Riley, like Willow’s aunt, was asleep. At least Riley was asleep. Willow was a little worried Cami was comatose and reached between the seats to gently shake her leg, relieved when her aunt muttered, “Leave me alone.”
She would’ve been more relieved if her aunt hadn’t muttered her demand in the voice of a surly teenager. When Cami had come to after fainting, she’d refused to hear anything about her life as a forty-seven-year-old, and she had done this by acting like a four-year-old and covering her ears.
The doctor had advised Willow not to challenge Cami or put any undue pressure on her to remember. Instead, he’d recommended that she slowly reintroduce her aunt to people and places that would trigger her memory. Willow knew three people who’d be triggered by seeing Cami in Sunshine Bay—her mother and grandmother, and her other aunt, when she returned from England.
With Cami staying at the beach house, Willow had bought herself some time. She’d told Cami that the family had taken a much-deserved vacation and would be away for a week. But unless her aunt’s memory returned within a few days, she doubted she could keep her under wraps for that long. Sunshine Bay wasn’t exactly New York City. She had no choice. She needed backup.
She faced forward, about to try calling her sister again, when she heard Noah say, “Correct. I want the sale of the building and equipment paused as well. I’ll be running the company from the station in the interim.”
“So you want both sales paused until the end of August?” Megan’s boss asked.
“No, slate the building and equipment in for the first week of August, possibly sooner. It all depends on the contractor. I’ll be in touch if anything changes.”
Yay! She had more than two weeks to change his mind. Willow celebrated in her head, refraining from doing another happy dance in her seat.
Noah said goodbye and disconnected. “Willow, nothing’s changed,” he said, his voice firm.
“Why would you say that? I know you won’t change your mind.”
“Really? So why do you look like you were caught mid-dance?”
She looked down at herself. He was right. “I was just exercising my fingers.” She glanced at him. “Megan was telling you the truth, you know. I did ask her to stall the sales to give me more time to change your mind.”
“She doesn’t deserve your loyalty, Willow. But I appreciate your honesty, even if it’s unnecessary. As I told her, you’re not telling me anything I didn’t already know.”
“So you won’t be surprised when I tell you I’m not giving up?”
He sighed. “No. I’d be more surprised if you did. But Willow, the outcome will be the same. No matter what you do.”
She briefly closed her eyes. Megan owed her way more than an apology. “Okay, it was obvious what Megan was implying, but I hope you know me better than that, Noah. I wouldn’t try and manipulate you or seduce you to get you to change your mind.”
“You could try,” he said with a wolfish grin. “But even with your considerable charms, I should warn you that I’m immune to seduction and manipulation when it comes to business.”
She stared at him. “Did you just say you wanted me to try and seduce you?”
Before he could answer, a petulant voice from the back seat asked, “Are we there yet?”