Chapter 8
8
BEN
I would never have dreamed that I’d be turned on by a slightly shy woman who is forcing herself to be in charge.
Iris is so ridiculously smart. Every single detail has been designed to throw Wayne off and make him second-guess his mission. She must have even coached Dakota, who is wearing a sleek black dress with her hair in a shiny high ponytail today, looking more like a receptionist at a lawyer’s office.
And not allowing Wayne to come barreling in but making him wait for permission to enter? Pure genius. He looks completely discombobulated as he approaches my office door.
In the background, I can hear Dakota answering the phone. “Good morning, Abbot Kitchens and Carpentry, how may I direct your call? Hello, Mr. Wentworth. I’m afraid Mr. Abbot is unavailable at the moment, but I can put you on his call sheet for this morning. Yes, thank you.”
I don’t actually have any projects going on with the Wentworth Group right now, but I catch a glimpse of Iris out the window, slipping her phone back in her purse as she walks away. Brilliant.
Wayne hovers in my doorway, staring through the glass wall of the conference room, where the long table is visible for the first time now that all the cluttered paperwork is gone. The room is stunning, with a large fern-looking tree across from two green paintings.
Without looking away from my screen, I wave Wayne to my guest chair while typing three more lines. “Just a second.” I skim my nonsense note one last time, then snap the laptop closed and turn to face my uncle as he sits down. He’s staring oddly at the large plant in front of the window on my right, then squints at the row of awards.
“Why is there a damn tree in the office?”
“Oh, the fiddle-leaf fig? Very trendy in current interior office design. You just missed my plant expert, Iris.”
My deepest fear was that Wayne would come in here yelling, threatening to poach my workmen if I didn’t make him a partner in the company – which would certainly be a step toward him throwing me out. My second biggest worry was that with Dad so off kilter with this sudden life change, he would be easily pressed into doing whatever his younger brother wanted.
But the man sitting across from me is not the blustering red-faced Uncle I’m used to. It’s like all the wind has been taken out of his sails.
“Looks like a goddamn tax attorney’s office.” Wayne shifts in his seat. “You don’t even have the wood and stain samples out front.”
My head cocks to the side as I stare at him like he’s got two heads. “Of course not. They’re in the conference room. When we’re expecting clients, we put together a proper presentation and lay out only the samples they need to see.”
“What if they need to see all of ’em? What if they haven’t made up their minds yet?”
I chuckle. “We are well past the days of just jamming a few wood samples in our back pocket and describing the project while leaning on our trucks. We send someone to take laser measurements and drop everything into our 3-D modelling program. Then we have the mockups displayed in the conference room, along with the wood samples we’re recommending for their project.”
“Since when do you do that 3-D crap?”
“For the past several years, as a matter of fact. We find that many clients can’t visualize what they need. This enables them to make an informed decision and feel confident in their purchase.”
I pause, waiting patiently with a polite smile as Wayne looks around the room again. He’s spent so many hours here, chatting with my dad with his feet up on the desk. Now he’s awkwardly tugging down his shirt to cover his beer belly, looking around, at a loss for words. It’s glorious.
“Is there anything specific I can help you with?” I ask crisply. “I do have a busy day ahead.”
He jumps to his feet. “Your father is not going to be happy with all these changes.”
“Hey, it was his decision to leave me in charge. And we’re already on track to increase earnings twenty-five percent month over month for the next quarter.”
Wayne mutters a few curses, then stomps out of the building as Dakota calls after him, “Thank you for dropping by! Have a lovely day!”
His truck is tearing out of the parking lot as I go to the reception area. “Well done, Dakota.”
She grins. “You know your girlfriend is a genius, right? I was totally expecting him to come in and start ordering us around with that weird yell-y tone he always has. But as soon as he stepped in the door, it was like he was on tranquilizers.”
I chuckle. “Well, Iris did say that plants make people calm.”
“Seriously! He looked like he’d seen a ghost, from his first glance at the planters, to the way he was staring at those hella cool new paintings.” Dakota grins up at me. “Hey, darling cousin-boss. Since I’m ahead of the billing now, could I maybe get some real studying done today? Iris taught me a few memorization techniques I want to try.”
“Of course. Use the conference room to spread out, if you like.”
I return to my office and slump in my chair. Things have been frantic, but now it seems like my business will be running smoothly.
How can I possibly thank Iris enough? She doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who’s into traditional gifts. And I can’t exactly buy her flowers, since she works at the best plant store in town.
I’m certainly not an expert in women. The best I can do is shower her with my time and attention.
Suddenly I remember something I heard on Web News Kingsville this morning, when Iris was watching it on her phone over coffee.
I send her a text, still smiling.
You are a genius. Dakota said so too. Wayne was DEFLATED. Didn’t raise his voice once.
Iris: I’m so glad it went well!
How busy are you today? I’m sorry, I’ve been keeping you from your own work.
Iris: With coffee and headphones, I’ll be caught up in a few hours. All good.
May I pick you up at 3?
Iris: Sure. Where are we going?
It’s a surprise.
Iris: Awesome, I’m intrigued. See you then!
I quickly scroll through my contacts, hoping I can pull this off. Iris needs to know I’m thinking about her in the long-term. As a true partner.
We belong together.