sad.
Teagan had told Amelia that her dad had been very sick, but she hadn’t offered any specifics, and none of the articles Amelia had read as part of her research had alluded to any particular type of illness.
“Has he recovered?”
Deda was silent for a long time. “I don’t really know anything beyond what Quinn has told us at company-wide meetings. At our last meeting in July, he said Mr. O’Brien’s health had improved significantly and the cancer treatment was working. But he didn’t indicate when or if his dad was coming back. That’s made the environment here a little tense because no one likes uncertainty.”
As a rule, Amelia tried not to be nosy (Ava Grace was nosy enough for both of them), but she really wanted to know what kind of cancer, so she posed the question to Deda.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “They’ve kept that information private. But it was bad, and we could tell all the kids were torn up by it. Especially Quinn.”
Chapter 8
Quinn gave a sharp knock before opening the conference room door and stepping in. The room was dark, but he could see Deda’s outline against the glow of the projector screen.
“We just finished,” Deda said. “You can turn on the light.”
Flipping the switch, he got his first look at the woman he’d thought about way too much over the past two weeks. On his way to the conference room, he had wondered if he had exaggerated her sex appeal in his mind, but now that he was in the same room with her again, he knew he’d underestimated it.
“Hey there,” he said, encompassing both Deda and Amelia in his greeting.
Deda came around the table. “I was expecting Teagan, not your troublemaking self,” he said in his Tupelo honey drawl.
Quinn chuckled. “Troublemaking? I had no idea you thought so highly of me, Deda.”
Grinning, he slapped the older man on the back. Deda was one of his favorite employees. Hell, he was one of his favorite people outside of his family. That’s why he’d askedDeda to shadow Amelia while she was here. He wanted her to feel comfortable, and he knew Deda would take good care of her.
He focused his attention on Amelia, who had remained seated at the table. She smiled tentatively.
“Hi, Quinn.”
“Amelia, I know this is going to disappoint you, but Teagan can’t go to lunch with you today. She got held up with some type of contract negotiation with one of our vendors, and she asked me to take her place.” He spread his arms out to his sides, palms up. “So here I am.”
Her smile faltered. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can have lunch on my own. Or maybe Deda can keep me company?” She shot a beseeching look toward Deda, who looked toward Quinn for direction.
Quinn clenched his jaw. She obviously didn’t want to spend time with him, and that pissed him off. They were business partners, after all, and she could be a professional and damn well eat a simple meal with him.
He shot Deda a look that said, “She’s coming with me.” He didn’t want to think about why he was so determined to have lunch with her when she acted like it would be torture. Deda, smart man that he was, gave him a salute and started toward the door.
“Deda’s got some things to take care of here, so I guess you’re just going to have to suffer my company.”
Amelia’s cheeks pinked at his response, and he flashed a smile, perversely pleased by her unease.
“It’s very nice of you to take time out of your day to take me to lunch,” she said finally.
“I know. I’m a busy and important guy who has much better things to do.” When she stared at him with an appalled expression, he burst out laughing. “I’m kidding, Amelia. I really want to take you to lunch, so grab your bag and let’s go.”
As she rose from the table, his laughter died in his throat, and he barely suppressed a groan. Jesus, the woman had curves that just wouldn’t quit, and her brown dress accentuated every single one of them.
Maybe going
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