As he saw it, they’d had a mutual taking advantage, and the memories were never far from his mind.
“The thing is, Ms. Sanders—”
“Annabel, please.”
“Okay. Annabel. Before he died, my grandfather approached Leo about the partnership because he trusted him. I have faith in his judgment. And I didn’t see anything in the paperwork that changed my mind.”
“Okay, then. We’ll get this done.”
She went through each page, having them sign and initial where indicated. It was a lot of paperwork, but finally they reached the end.
“Congratulations,” the attorney said. “You two have a partnership.”
“In business,” Tess clarified.
“Yes.” Annabel looked from one to the other. “By definition partners need to work together.”
“Are you lecturing us?” Leo asked.
“No. Yes. Maybe.” She looked at him. “I heard you talking in the waiting room and got the feeling there’s an adversarial aspect to your relationship. If you’re going to make a success of this venture, it’s important to work together.”
“Of course,” he said.
“I mean it.” She looked at Tess. “I don’t know you, but I’ve worked with Leo for several years. He has an excellent head for business and a successful track record to prove it. Don’t let his cocky attitude fool you.”
“If you say so,” Tess said defensively. “I should point out that I’m no slouch. I have a degree in business and I’ve worked at the bar my whole life. There’s a loyal core of customers and we have to build on it.”
“That’s the plan,” Leo agreed.
“Okay. I didn’t mean to overstep, but I see the other side when things don’t work out. I dissolve partnerships, too.”
“Our joint venture will be fine,” Leo assured her. It was also necessary. “So, Tess, I’ll come by The Pub in the morning and we’ll discuss strategy?”
“Fine.”
“Is nine too early?”
“No.” But she looked as if she had swallowed a worm.
He’d never expected to go into business with Tess Morrow. But now that she was allegedly carrying his child, it was the best way to keep tabs on her. If she slipped up, he would be around to call her on the deception.
The last time he got screwed, he lost everything. He wasn’t so gullible now. He would do whatever he had to in order to protect himself.
Morning sickness really sucked!
It especially sucked when Tess had to see Leo bright and early. The early part she could do. Bright? Not so much. But he would be arriving at nine o’clock sharp and she needed to look her best. Well, at least the best she could what with feeling like something the cat yakked up.
She showered, put on makeup and blew her hair dry. Unlike her unruly tummy, it cooperated, falling past her shoulders in its shiny straightness.
She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and ignored the dark circles under her eyes. “You look fabulous. This will be the first of many productive and profitable meetings.”
She managed to choke down a piece of toast with peanut butter. The doctor had said to eat lots of protein but she’d never expected that to be such a challenge. Five minutes before nine o’clock, she walked downstairs from her apartment. The staircase ended in a hall where a left turn went to public restrooms and the bar. Going right would put her in the office and storeroom, with high-capacity refrigeration, an ice maker and shelves. She went left.
In the bar, chairs were turned upside down on tables, where they always spent the night. There were two more rooms off the main area—one for pool and darts, the other with tables for a quieter space for grabbing a bite to eat. Some people might still enjoy eating even though she wasn’t one of them right now.
A knock on the door pulled her from the brink of self-pity and she moved to let Leo in. “Good morning.”
“Hi.” He handed her a bag.
“What’s this?”
“Thought these might come in handy.”
She peeked inside and saw soda crackers. “Wow. Be still my heart.”
“What were you expecting?”
“Nothing actually. So, thanks.”
“Keep them by the bed and eat one before you get up. It helps with morning sickness.”
“And you know this how?”
He shrugged. “I picked up the information somewhere.”
“It’s unexpectedly thoughtful, so I won’t say anything snarky about your women clueing you in.”
“That’s very generous of you.” One corner of his mouth quirked up. Then he indicated the briefcase he was holding. “I’ve been consulting with a building contractor—”
“Wait.” She held up a hand to stop him. “We only just signed the papers yesterday.”
“Since our verbal agreement, I talked to someone I’ve worked with on other business ventures. The guy is creative and does great work. He came up with some changes and I happen to think they’ll be a better use of the space we have.”
We? Apparently just signing the papers didn’t make her a team player. But since she’d put her name on the bottom line, telling him to take a flying leap didn’t seem like something she could do.
“Okay. Show me.” She grabbed one of the chairs from a table to make room for a conversation with visual aids.
“You shouldn’t be lifting things.”
“Why not? I’m fine. Just pregnant—not an invalid.” She rested her hands on her hips. “If not me, who’s going to lift things?”
“Not while I’m around.” He set down his briefcase, then removed the other three chairs.
“Thanks.”
There he went being sweet again. That was twice in one morning. Tess didn’t trust sweet. It was easy to heft chairs and bring crackers, but a man like him couldn’t keep up sweet for long.
They sat and he pulled out his laptop, then set it on the table. He opened a file and then slid his chair closer to hers so they could view the screen together. He smelled good, disarmingly masculine. Some combination of soap and cologne that made her tummy flutter—with something besides nausea. It was attraction, damn him. That’s what had gotten her into this mess in the first place, and still fascination survived. There was something seriously wrong with her that she couldn’t shake this feeling.
“Okay. So, what am I looking at?”
“This is what the bar would look like with the two walls knocked out, making it one big room.”
Not ten minutes ago she’d been thinking how cozy and perfect the setup was with quiet dining and game rooms separated. “But what about the pool tables and dart boards? And some people like a peaceful corner for food and conversation.”
“A few customers might appreciate that. If they don’t like the change, there are quiet restaurants to take their business. That isn’t our core customer, not the clientele we want to attract.”
“We can’t afford to lose anyone.”
“We’ll more than make up for that