“Wait? You’re serious?” Callahan is agreeing with me? Is hell freezing over?
“I am. Sutton thinks it’s a good idea too,” he says, referring to his wife.
“Well, that’s an unexpected turn of events.”
“See? I’m not always an asshole.”
“Just most of the time,” I say.
“Pretty much. So you really bought an inn?”
“You could say that.”
“Aren’t you full of surprises.”
“Always,” I say as my driver honks his horn when a cyclist cuts in front of him.
“So, the usual? Hillary on the transition team? Stanley on the off-sites?” he asks, referring to our project managers.
“No. I’m taking lead on this.”
Callahan’s laugh rumbles through the line. “Funny.”
“I’m dead serious.”
If disbelief had a sound, the silence stretching between us would be it. In our dynamic at S.I.N., I’m the big-picture guy. I look at our properties, old and new, and assess what they need, what’s trending that we need to follow, ensuring that our overall brand is consistently strong. Callahan is the hands-on one. When resorts are making the changes that I suggest, he’s the one who oversees the transition. And then there’s Ledger who oversees the entire company as well as being the point person for all acquisitions.
So for me to tell Callahan I’m going to be hands-on, doing what is typically his realm, is understandably comical to him.
“So you’re going to be staying there? On-site? Boots on the ground?”
“Yes. I’m going to live there for a bit. Work remotely. Fly into the office when I’m needed.”
His chuckle is disbelieving. “Who’s the woman?”
I startle. “What do you mean, who’s the woman?” How does he know about Ellery?
“I mean, this isn’t like you, and when a guy starts changing shit this drastically, there’s usually pussy involved somehow.”
“Jesus Christ, Callahan.”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Not buying it. Who is she? Does she live near the property? Nothing like being able to roll business and pleasure into one, right?”
“Yeah. Sure. That’s it. I just blew millions so I can be close to a woman. That’s a move out of your playbook. Not mine.” I chuckle. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I need a change of pace for a bit, and this presented itself so I took it?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Believe me. Don’t believe me. I don’t fucking care.”
“Testy. Jesus. You do need a change of scenery.”
“I’ll be at the office soon. I need to meet with you and Ledge on this. We want to get started ASAP on this project.”
“We?”
“Yeah. We.” I’m not sure why I grin at the thought. “It’s a long story, but I partnered with someone on the purchase, and we went in fifty-fifty on the project.”
“Partnered? I thought we were your partners?”
“You are. This just . . . just go with it. Everything will be fine.”
“Everything will be fine? Jesus. I’m already worried when you say shit like that. That begs me to ask, who’s the partner? What’s his name?”
“Her name is Ellery Sinclair.”
Callahan’s laughter echoes through the connection. “Told you a woman was involved,” he says. “Next thing you’re going to tell me is that she’s ugly.”
“Horribly. A snaggletooth. Disgusting breath. Warts all over her body,” I say in jest, while my mind is filled with the exact opposite. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. A great smile. And a killer body with curves I never noticed that first night because they were hidden by her baggy clothes.
“So there’s no need to worry about you sleeping with her and fucking up your partnership since she’s repulsive, right?”
“Never even crossed my mind,” I lie. “I’ve gotta take this call coming in.”
And just as I’m about to push the button to switch over to my incoming call, I hear him mutter, “Change of scenery, my ass.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ellery
“You what?” Joshua stares at me with eyes wide and expression horrified.
But my focus is on my stepfather, Garland Haywood. He sits before me with his shock of gray hair going every which way as per usual and his dark brown eyes locked on mine. There’s the slightest lift to one of his eyebrows as his lips purse.
“Starting when?” he asks in that gravelly baritone of his that used to strike fear in me as a teenager. Now it just sounds pathetic.
“A few weeks. We’re finalizing the details and schedules now. I’ll know more in the next week or so.”
He nods as a muscle pulses in his jaw. “And you’ve been using company time to do this? To meet with them and plan things?”
“No. Not at all,” I lie. It’s amazing. They don’t want me around “in their way” most days, but when I’m possibly doing something other than fetching coffee, taking calls, and filing, suddenly, where I am and what I’m doing matters. “It’s been in my free time at night.”
“And you didn’t use any company funds for the purchase of this whatever it is?”
“None.” Like he wouldn’t know if I took millions from the company. Give me a break.
“Ballsy,” he murmurs but doesn’t say anything else. His words have me standing a little taller. Garland Haywood’s words of praise are few and far between. Ballsy is the most I’ve gotten in years.
I’ll take it.
I remain standing, refusing to sit and be at eye level with them. I’ve rehearsed this entire scenario in my head over and over. What I’d say. How I’d say it. What might be said to me. And the trump card I know I’ll have to pull at some point to secure my position here at Haywood while I’m away doing my own thing at the White Sands Inn.
I’m just curious how long it will take before I have to show my hand.
“She can’t do this,” Joshua says. “She can’t leave for months on end for this project that has nothing to do with Haywood. It’s dereliction of duty, Dad. It’s grounds for her to forfeit her stake in—”
That didn’t take long.
“Beg, borrow, or steal to get on Sharpe’s preferred contractors’ list? How Haywood would be set with work for life? Those were your words, right, Joshua?” He blanches at my question, clearly still pissed about Ford’s snub. “Or is it only okay if you secure work with S.I.N.? Because from my perspective, my partnership with them could be a win-win for all of us.”
I play my card and hold my breath as Joshua sits there looking like a guppy, his eyes flitting back and forth between Garland and me.
Asking for a leave of absence was always going to be an issue. I knew Joshua or Gregory would attempt to use it as validation as to why I should no longer be a part of Haywood. With me gone and with Garland soon retiring, it would allow each of them to have a fifty-fifty stake in the company versus one of them holding a greater majority.
I wouldn’t put it past them to undercut each other either.