(Sign of Seven #2) The Hollow by Nora Roberts

Author:Nora Roberts [Roberts, Nora]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

He walked back to the door, opened it, and waited for her.

“Fox—”

“I don’t want to hear you don’t know. I’ve already got that. Let me know when you do. You’re upset and a little ticked off, I get that, too,” he said as he locked up. “Take the rest of the day off.”

She started to object, he saw it on her face. Then she changed her mind. “All right. There are some things I need to do.”

“I’ll see you later then.” He stepped back, stopped. “The building’s not the only thing with potential,” he told her. And he turned, walked away down the bricked sidewalk in the April sunshine.

Sixteen

HE THOUGHT ABOUT GETTING DRUNK. HE COULD call Gage, who’d sit and drink coffee or club soda, bitching only for form, and spend the evening in some bar getting steadily shit-faced. Cal would go, too; he had only to ask. That’s what friends were for, being the company misery loved.

Or he could just pick up the beer—maybe a bottle of Jack for a change of pace—take it to Cal’s and get his drunk on there.

But he knew he wouldn’t do either of those things. Planning to get drunk took all the fun out of it. He preferred it to be a happy accident. Work, Fox decided, was a better option than getting deliberately trashed.

He had enough to keep him occupied for the rest of the day, particularly at the easy pace he liked to work. Handling the office on his own for an afternoon added the perk of giving him time and space to brood. Fox considered brooding an inalienable human right, unless it dragged out more than three hours, at which point it became childish indulgence.

Did she really think he’d crossed some line and gone behind her back? That he tried to manipulate, bully, or pressure? Manipulation wasn’t beyond him, he admitted, but that just hadn’t been the case with this. Knowing her, he’d believed she’d appreciate having some facts, projected figures, the steps, stages compiled in an orderly fashion. He’d equated handing them to her on the same level as handing her a bouquet of daffodils.

Just a little something he’d picked up because he was thinking about her.

He stood in the center of his office, juggling the three balls as he walked back over it all in his mind. He’d wanted to show her the building, the space, the possibilities. And yeah, he’d wanted to see her eyes light up as she saw them, as she opened herself to them. That had been strategy, not manipulation. Jesus, it wasn’t like he’d signed a lease for her, or applied for a loan, a business license. He’d just taken the time to find out what it would take for her to do those things.

But there was one thing he hadn’t factored into that strategy. He’d never considered that she wasn’t considering staying in the Hollow. Staying with him.

He dropped one of the balls, managed to snag it on the bounce. Setting himself, he started the circle again.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.