Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 158829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Keenan staring.
I meet his gaze.
He’s enjoying this too much.
He gives a slight shake of his head and rolls his shoulders. I know I’m bound to get an earful when we walk out this door.
He’s already the biggest skeptic, fully ready to strap a tinfoil hat on my head.
Still, I don’t give a damn how crazy it sounds. Conspiracy or not, the rotten reviews don’t add up.
“I stay in our hotels all the time as a matter of habit. I’ve been watching the internal surveys like a hawk for months. There’s nothing wrong with them,” I insist, my eyes snapping to Miss Renee.
Her green eyes sparkle like gems as she looks right at me and smirks.
“You’re sure, Mr. Winthrope? Because when I reviewed Winthrope Lanai, there was a pretty shocking mistake my first night there. I would have totally two-starred it if it wasn’t for the resort manager’s intense damage control.” I think she enjoys hearing my teeth grind. “Of course, if I’d known from the get-go that he was just after damage control, I may have still two-starred, but the past is the past. Maybe you should work on your customer service in crisis situations? Make sure your managers are always upfront and honest.”
She wipes that damnable smirk away and goes back to looking as innocent as a woman with curves like that can.
I look down and find I’m drumming my fingers on the table loudly.
Damn.
She’s completely unraveled me in the middle of a meeting.
“I prefer tactical honesty. I could say you look like a green-eyed devil, but I think you’ll prefer the term 'confident.'” Not my best retort, but it does the job.
Her face goes deep red.
I reach for the carafe across the table to refill my coffee cup, taking my sweet time while everyone else watches in baffled silence.
“Are you well, Miss Renee? You look like you had more to say and now you seem rather flushed.” I lock eyes with her as I take a long sip of my peaberry brew.
The ambrosia in my cup makes this shit show bearable.
Her eyes narrow into slits so small I can barely see the green.
“I was going to bring that up with HR. It’s freezing in here,” she whispers, folding her arms dramatically. “There’s nothing hot about anything in this room at all.”
Mouthy brat.
A few people shift awkwardly in their seats as our verbal sparring match becomes impossible to hide. I hate that I can’t carry her out of this room right now and remind that mouth just how easily I can leave it in flames.
Keenan’s phone vibrates next to him and he looks at me.
“That’s our cue for the conference call with the furniture supplier. So I’m afraid we’ll have to pick up on the world review domination later.” Keenan stands and folds his laptop shut before I even nod a dismissal.
After I grab my computer, I follow him out of the room.
“We’ve got ten minutes before that call. Your office now,” Keenan says.
I rake him with a glance. “You realize I’m your boss, right?”
“Like you’d ever let me forget. Do you realize I just saved your ass?”
My lip curls. “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“Uh, okay. If someone didn’t shut down that little staring contest, I think you would’ve dragged your dick right into a harassment case. So, you’re welcome.”
I step into my office and slam the door after Keenan trails in behind me.
“Also, for the record, it’s one thing to start spouting off conspiracy theories in private. But airing them in a meeting with senior staff and top marketers—”
“Bah!” I wave off his concerns with a flick of my hand, standing against the wall. “The meeting was productive until that little hellcat pulled out her claws—”
“Boss, I don’t know how to say this nicely. Everyone else was thinking what she said—especially with the reviews being some kind of sabotage. She just had the guts to tell you to your face. And what happened in Lanai anyway? Because that shit you just pulled was right out of a Julia Roberts movie.”
I’m not telling him how well I really got to know Piper Renee.
I’ll carry that shit to the grave.
He doesn’t need to know about my 'shocking mistake' either.
Hell, is “shocking” good or bad?
Interesting choice of words. That wasn’t an idle slip of her tongue, knowing she’s a seasoned marketer.
“Nothing happened. I don’t know her that well,” I lie.
“Right.” Keenan rolls his eyes with his usual annoying ability to read me like an open book. “I can’t believe I'm saying this, but... Bossman, you can’t openly flirt with her—or anyone—in a meeting.”
“Flirt? I have no intention,” I snap.
He coughs into his hand. “You just did. Everyone saw it.”
My forehead feels like it could cook an egg.
“...she started it,” I grind out.