Free Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 09 - Romance & Revenge by Laina Turner Page A

that. This is a marketing firm. Who could possibly have it in for creative people? It’s not like they’re cut-throat financial people or like James,” I smiled. “They’re just a small company that makes pretty things.”
    “You would be surprised. When it comes to business people can lose all rational thought.”
    “ Speaking of losing all rational thought, I talked to James and I’m pretty convinced he has lost his,” I said and told him about the conversation I had with James.
    He sat there silent, probably trying to figure out James’s angle.  Which was what I had been trying to figure out since this morning and had yet to come up with any kind of idea. Surely he knew other people who were better suited to run a business than me. I didn’t even think he really liked me but rather tolerated me, much like I tolerated him, because he had known I did a good job.
    “I know,” I said in response to his silence. “Doesn’t make any sense. Unless he’s trying to hide something in Silk and thinks giving it to me will help that cause or will pass the buck. He’s got to have an ulterior motive.”
    “I don’t know. Silk isn’t a very large or important part of his holdings. I actually had a meeting today with the forensic accountants looking at his books.  They had a list of his companies whose assets are in question and I just don’t remember Silk being on that list, although I guess I could have missed it. So if it’s not one of his businesses he raised investor money for, then you’re safe. He has several small businesses such as Silk that aren’t part of his major holdings.”
    “ It wasn’t his business, it was his wife’s. So it’s probably not part of his big conglomerate. You think he might be being genuine?” Of all the thoughts I had about this that had not been one of them. It seemed too unrealistic. Who actually got this kind of opportunity from someone they weren’t related to? Or who didn’t want something in return?
    “I think if this is something you are interested in, then it’s worth exploring. It could be genuine on his part and if you think you want to do it, then it would be silly to not at least do your due diligence. You won’t be out anything but time if you do find he’s not being honest about his reasons.”
    I sat back and thought about what he had just said. If James was sincere and this deal was actually on the up -and-up, was this something I would want to do? I think I did. I just didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment.
    Willie smiled. “You like the idea , don’t you?”
    “I think I might. But I just can’t fathom James as being the giving type. There has to be an ulterior motive here.”
    “People can be surprising. Maybe he really wants to do something nice?”
    “Maybe,” I said, but was still skeptical.
    In spite of my initial reluctance to go out, I found myself having a good time and had to admit Willie could be very helpful in figuring out the mess at Sleeping Bear. Plus, he was charming and easy to talk to. We moved on from Jared’s problems to just chatting and I learned a lot about him and found myself sharing a lot about myself—as well as not thinking about Cooper for a while. It was good to have a distraction. If things were different, meaning if I had closure with Cooper, I could see myself liking Willie. He really was a decent guy.

Chapter 10
     
    The next morning I walked into the offices of Sleeping Bear Design and couldn’t believe how quiet it was. I didn’t think I had ever seen it so quiet in this place. Usually it was all hustle and bustle, or at least it was every time I had come to visit Jared. People on the phone or their laptops. Clients in the three conference rooms, of which only one actually had a door, so you could hear everything. This whole creative vibe was much different than the HR environment I had worked in, where we liked doors that closed and our privacy and you felt you should always be whispering.
    I