knew instantly what her father would say before he said it.
Kenneth shrugged. “Show me what you’ve got. That’s all I’m going to say. Well, that and may the best man—or woman—win.”
Her father held up a finger, his eyes flashing. “Wait. There is something. You know the Paisley? That new high-rise Dave Madison is building downtown? I want Fortunado to be the exclusive agents for that property. I want you two to work together to land that listing. The whole building. You need to work together to come up with a plan to seal the deal. That’s an important part of the challenge.”
“We’re on it.” Zach got to his feet, making all the right noises of agreement and understanding. As he shook Kenneth’s hand, Maddie stayed in her seat. Zach lingered on the threshold of her father’s office, obviously watching to see what she was going to say or do.
Maddie got a little bit of satisfaction from the look on his face when she said, “I need to talk to my father for a moment, Zach. Please excuse us.”
“No problem.” Zach gave a quick wave of his hand and closed Kenneth’s office door behind him.
“How could you do this to me?” She turned to her dad the second they were alone. “I’m your daughter.”
She couldn’t remember playing this card before. It had been a point of pride to never take advantage of the fact that she was the boss’s daughter. She knew she enjoyed a certain level of job security that those without the benefit of Fortunado blood didn’t have. But she’d never needed it. She’d worked damn hard to earn the presidency that her father had so unceremoniously announced was up for grabs.
If that’s the way he was going to be, then for a few moments she was going to play the family card. She was going to be the boss’s daughter because he owed her an explanation—if for nothing else, as to why he’d blindsided her.
She could tell by the look on his face that he could see the depth of her anger.
“I’m sorry, Maddie,” he said. “I can understand that this comes as a surprise, but I think you’ll appreciate the challenge and rise to the occasion once you have some time to think it through.”
She let his words reverberate in the air and took some satisfaction that at least he understood that she was upset.
“I love you,” he continued. “I love all my children, but I also don’t intend to let you or your siblings get complacent—especially when it comes to the business I’ve spent my life building. All promotions at Fortunado Real Estate must be earned. I have complete faith that you’ll earn yours.”
* * *
People might have argued that Zach McCarter was a lot of things. One thing they couldn’t call him was a quitter. Overly sentimental probably wouldn’t be on the list either.
So, why was it, he wondered, as he waited for Maddie at the Blue Moon Cafe, that he couldn’t stop thinking about the look on her face when Kenneth had presented the challenge?
This should’ve been a day to celebrate his shot at the opportunity of a lifetime. This was the payoff for his hard work. Instead, he felt vaguely unsettled thinking about that injured-doe look in Maddie’s blue eyes.
She’d probably kick him if she knew he was comparing her to an injured animal. She’d probably buck right up in his face.
But that’s what he’d seen and he couldn’t get her face out of his head.
This was business. Any other time—any other person—and Zach wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But he had a soft spot for Maddie.
Zach was probably more surprised than Maddie when Kenneth asked them to compete for the position. After all, everyone who worked for Fortunado Real Estate knew that Maddie coveted her father’s job. She was the heir apparent, and everyone thought it was a given that she would take over for Kenneth when he retired.
When Kenneth asked him to transfer from San Antonio to the Houston office, Zach knew change was in the air. At first, he thought it was a token gesture to pacify Zach’s restlessness. Kenneth seemed good at reading people. Even though Zach hadn’t said it, Kenneth had to know that after five years as a broker with Fortunado, it was time for a change, time to open his own real estate office. After all, he was making Fortunado a hell of a lot of money.
Zach had no ties to San Antonio, no family to consider, no reason to not pack up and move to Houston. The move was an opportunity to learn the Houston market, which would be a useful tool once he did strike out on his own. When Kenneth had asked him to come to Houston, he’d said he wanted his senior associates to focus on teamwork, that there was some new construction in the Houston area and he wanted to put together an “A-Team”—Kenneth’s words. He hadn’t said who else was on his A-Team, but he’d specifically spelled out that he wanted Zach’s help assuring that Fortunado would get exclusive listing contracts. Of course, Zach had been up for the challenge, but that teamwork bit threw him. Generally, he worked alone. He rarely partnered with other agents on listings. It wasn’t his MO. Of course, it would take teamwork to run a business like Fortunado.
But this—this chance to head Fortunado—it was an unexpected challenge and he liked it. It would take teamwork and maybe this was a good chance for him to prove to himself that he wanted to manage a team rather than flying solo.
It all made sense—the transfer, the invitation to the barbecue where Kenneth announced his intent to retire, and today’s meeting where he’d tapped the two of them as front-runners for his position.
The only thing getting in the way of intense satisfaction and immediate strategizing on how to annihilate the competition was that look on Maddie’s face.
That’s why he’d wanted the two of them to have lunch and sort this out. Kenneth had been smart when he’d tacked on the Paisley addendum. The last thing he needed was for his two top associates to be at war. Not only did they need to sit down and strategize about the Paisley, but they needed to make sure everything was good between them.
Easy for him to say since he was the interloper.
When Maddie walked into the restaurant, their gazes snared. She didn’t smile. Her face looked neutral. Again, she seemed to be daring him to look away first—to walk away from the opportunity first.
He stood and watched her walk toward him.
He had two choices: he could bow out or he could go for it. If he chose to go for it, there would be no option but to pull out all the stops, to step up his game. If he stepped up his game, he would win. He always won. It was a point of pride.
Even if this opportunity didn’t feel 100 percent right and it felt as if he was preparing to take something that didn’t belong to him, Zach McCarter had never been a quitter.
He needed to put his game face on now. That face didn’t have to be mean or savage. The mark of a good manager was to deal with conflict and produce as many win-wins as possible—especially in situations like this where there could only be one winner.
Him.
He would need Maddie on his team when that happened.
“Zach,” she said, as she reached the table.
“Maddie, thanks for agreeing to meet on
