THREE
“WELL, THAT WAS incredibly interesting, Ms. Krayton,” Carson said as they returned to the office.
She placed her hands over her face. “I can’t believe I did that, said that.”
He couldn’t help chuckling even though he had been as horrified as she when she had gotten up to speak at the meeting. That certainly hadn’t been on the agenda. “You did that,” he agreed. “You said that. It most definitely broke the ice.”
A look of horror came over her face. “I’m sure that one isn’t supposed to tell a commissioner that our pool would be so fun and romantic that he and his wife would feel as if they were giggling newlyweds on their honeymoon. I mean, I didn’t even know if he was married.”
Carson shrugged. “He is, but I don’t think it was the comment about his marriage that intrigued everyone. I believe it might have been your enthusiasm that won them over.”
“Well what’s not to like about a series of round stepping stone pools connected by ladders and slides? I especially liked the idea of the slide-away ceiling and the changeable lighting and movable landscaping to take the atmosphere from family swim parties to romantic adult evenings. But, when I stood up I wasn’t thinking. I only meant to say that I hadn’t seen anything like that in Chicago.”
And she had said that…just before launching into a rapt speech about how the commission members themselves might benefit from a stay at the hotel.
The look in her fine brown eyes now couldn’t be construed as anything other than guilt. Remorse. A truckload of both. Carson knew those feelings. He lived them every day, and one guilty person in their office was more than enough, especially since she had struck a chord with the commissioners.
“Beth, you were fine.”
“I wasn’t supposed to talk at all. I just…they were asking so many questions.”
Carson couldn’t help smiling. “They’re supposed to do that. It’s their job.”
She nodded. “Yes, I know. I mean, now that I’ve stopped to think, I know that. But the problem was that at the time I didn’t stop to think. I just jumped up and butted in where I didn’t belong.”
She had flung one hand out and Carson caught it, holding her still. Her skin was warm and soft beneath his fingertips, but he tried not to notice that. In that boardroom she had been passionate, electric, her face suffused with a glowing enthusiasm that had spilled over into her speech about the selling points of the hotel and the pool. “Beth, they gave us permission to go on with the plans.”
“Because of you. I’ll bet mere assistants don’t usually hop up during presentations and launch into wild speeches. They were probably too shocked to shut me up.”
“Maybe,” he said with a grin, “but they knew you were a member of the Banick team. Your speech might have been a bit out of the ordinary, but it was effective and impressive. It’s good to see that kind of enthusiasm. It means that you’re part of a team that will work toward excellence.”
She fidgeted. “I’ve never been called impressive.”
Carson looked down at Beth, remembering the moment when she had put down her pen and gotten to her feet, beginning her speech. Politely at first, but then with more depth of feeling. She had made eye contact with the others sitting at the table. She had spoken to them as if she valued their opinions and expected something from them beyond business as usual.
Beth might not be a lot of things…she clearly couldn’t dress herself, he thought, noting that her jacket was riding up, exposing a sliver of creamy skin she didn’t even seem to be aware of. Untamed strands of her hair framed her face, the result of her impassioned soliloquy. From what she had said he gathered that she had never met a person with a pedigree outside the working world.
His mother would faint if he brought her home, even for a single dinner. Deirdre Banick wouldn’t have liked the speech about honeymoons, either. Her entire life was lived according to a strict set of rules, and she never spoke of anything remotely related to the more sensual aspects of life. Elegance and class were paramount.
She had long been the driving force behind Banick Enterprises, and elegance had always been part of the company’s reputation. His foray outside the usual Banick standards in hiring someone as unpredictable, outspoken and untutored as Beth had probably been ill-advised. Nevertheless, that didn’t change what had just happened in that meeting. Beth Krayton was one hell of an amazing woman when she got excited about something.
He wondered what else excited her, other than hotels and swimming pools.
Immediately he wanted to slap his own face. She’d been trying to help him and here he was on the road to imagining what the rest of her skin would look like if he lifted her jacket.
“All right, now that we have approval, let’s get back to the more boring stuff,” he forced himself to say.
She nodded. “Like what?”
Like not imagining you half-naked, he thought. “Contractors,” he said. “Details. I want things underway as quickly as possible.”
The doctors had said that Patrick should be making better progress given the nature of his injuries. Carson hoped that presenting his brother with something well on the way to completion might help bring back the old Patrick. At the very least, Carson hoped to make up for what had happened, at least in some small way. When Patrick finally felt up to living again—
Carson fought to keep breathing. He hoped that the little brother he knew was still in there somewhere.
“Mr. Banick?” Beth said.
He looked down at her. “Yes?”
“Are you all right?”
He gave a tight nod. “I’m perfectly fine.”
What a total lie. He had traveled through life breaking hearts and bringing distress. Because of him, his brother was paralyzed and divorced from all the things in life that had brought him joy. So, it was only fitting that Carson should finally be forced into a business he had long hated. It was retribution. But not enough. Nothing could ever be enough.
He led Beth back to the office in silence. Then, together, they planned a course of action. He schmoozed contractors. She kept records of all that transpired and drew up the paperwork.
The clock’s hands twirled around, the hours passed. When Carson heard a slight, quickly stifled yawn, he looked up to see that it was nearly seven o’clock. Beth was still working, but it was clear that she was starting to droop. Her eyes looked tired. She even looked thinner, if that were possible.
“Enough for today.”
She glanced up at him and blinked, staring at his outstretched hand as if she didn’t quite comprehend what he meant.
“I’ll buy you dinner,” he offered.
Instantly she looked alert, wary. “No, that’s all right,” she said.
A flash of anger ripped through Carson. At himself. Was he looking at her as if he expected something more of her than an after-business dinner between colleagues? It was possible.
