Chapter 6

Ollie could think of at least six reasons he shouldn"t have landed on the word "shafted" at the end of that sentence, not the least of which was his koala going hurr hurr hurr shafted well nobody else is gonna shaft her for sure only we get to do that "cause she"s our fated mate! in the back of his mind. Even if the bloody drop bear hadn"t been doing that, Ollie himself was entirely too aware of the word"s sexual connotations. He should have chosen any other word.

His mind helpfully supplied a long list of other words that were absolutely no better. In fact, given how clean Americans were in their language use, all his other choices were probably much, much worse. Ollie had never met an Australian who didn"t have to watch their language immensely when they dealt with non-Aussies, and he took a moment to be grateful that his job meant he worked with a lot of international clients. Otherwise, ill-advisedly using "shafted" in a sentence would be the least of his worries right now.

As he struggled to get his thoughts back on a relatively clean and pure track, West"s face went through a strange series of expressions that indicated he resented Ollie"s interference, but also wasn"t going to argue with another man. Ollie knew dozens of guys like him, and Tiffany had obviously encountered them in droves. He was positive she didn"t need him to rescue her.

But he was also sure that bastards like West never, ever learned to be better unless other men called them out on it. He folded his arms and smiled. His koala said, We can take "im, and Ollie told it to be quiet. He was not picking a fight in Virtue"s city hall.

Probably.

West transferred a sullen gaze back to Tiffany, who was waiting with the patience of a thousand saints. Ollie didn"t know how she managed. He was almost tempted to let his koala kick up a fuss, just because West was so annoying after only two minutes" acquaintance.

We can take "im! The koala said even more enthusiastically.

I know,Ollie assured it. This is a different kind of fight, though. This kind of fight is where we let Tiffany—and this arsehole—know she"s not alone, and then let her do her job.

Which was exactly what was happening. The sulkish West was muttering and prevaricating and trying not to commit to extra time or money, while Tiffany indicated politely and repeatedly that she wasn"t taking "no" for an answer. Once in a while West"s gaze would slide grumpily to first Ollie—who took precedence as "the money man"—and then Steve.

His cousin was quiet, but visibly concerned about the whole topic, and also huge. Ollie would not personally find any reason to have Steve mad at him, not if he could possibly avoid it, not even being tall, broad, and possessed of a koala self willing to fight Godzilla at the drop of a hat.

Lemme at him! I"ll fight him!The koala paused, curious. What"s Godzilla?

A hundred-meter-tall atomic lizard.

Whoa. The koala had to take a minute to think about whether it was prepared to fight that, and went blissfully silent while it considered the whole thing.

West was saying, "—understand it"s not my fault," while Tiffany, using the same kind of calm Ollie himself often employed, was saying, "I"m not interested in who"s at fault. I"m only interested in a solution."

"I can call Pam Smith," Steve said suddenly, in a deep rumble. "Maybe she can help get this figured out."

For some reason, West"s nostrils flared and patches of color appeared on his cheekbones. "That won"t be necessary. I"ll draw up the paperwork and the accounts to give Wright Construction the time they need."

"And I"ll look it over," Ollie volunteered placidly.

West"s upper lip twitched. "Yes. Of course."

Ollie was willing to bet that, left to his own devices, the clerk would have fudged the numbers as much as possible and claimed it was either an honest mistake or that Tiffany had known what she was signing. Stuffing up the man"s plans gave him a kick, and would even if he didn"t also get to defend Tiffany by doing so.

Steve brightened. "So we can go ahead with the wedding and there won"t be construction equipment in the square?"

"Then where am I going to put it?" Tiffany demanded suddenly. "I was going to set it up so we can get started Sunday morning!"

"That," West said coolly, "isn"t my problem."

"The high school parking lot," Steve said after a visible moment of thinking furiously. "School"s out, and there are camps and summer sports stuff happening, but the parking lot is mostly empty. Would that work? Do we need a permit?" He took a step toward West, and despite the fact that there was an entire desk between him and the clerk, Ollie saw the smaller man tense nervously.

"Yes, you would need a permit, and safety material to cordon the heavy equipment off with, and it"s not going to be free, you understand?—"

Tiffany, exasperated, said, "I have the fences and the safety netting. What did you think I was going to put around the giant pit I"ll be digging in your lawn?"

Steve, at the same time, with equal exasperation, said, "I"ll pay for the permit, for God"s sake," and Ollie, clearing his throat, also took a step forward and smiled.

"Given that this situation was caused by a lack of communication in the transfer between employees, I"m fairly certain that the town of Virtue will want to pick up that permit fee themselves."

Oooh ho ho ho.His koala actually cackled with anticipation. Ooh, he doesn"t like that, let"s him and me fight about it! If it could crack its knuckles, it totally would. Ollie had to suppress the urge to crack his own. Instead he just waited, smiling.

Steve, who was really nothing like as aggressive as Ollie, also waited. Only a few seconds, though. Then he said, "Maybe I should call Pam, after all."

A furious twitch curled West"s mouth. "Very well. Because of the lack of communication."

"Great!" Tiffany suddenly sounded like a prime example of a bubbly blonde, as if she was completely unaware of any tension or bargaining or indeed, anything at all. "That"s terrific, I really appreciate it, you draw up those papers so Mr. Campbell here can have a look over them, and I"ll get my team to bring the equipment around to the high school parking lot, which is…where?"

If she was any brighter and perkier, Ollie thought she might actually pop like a soap bubble. Steve, chuckling, said, "On School Street. It"s the street right behind this one." He gestured toward the front of the building, as if they could see exactly what he meant from the clerk"s office. "I"ll walk you over and you can call your guys and tell them where to come park?"

"That"ll be swell," Tiffany said, almost viciously perky. "Gosh, thanks so much, Mr. West!" She turned on her heel so fast Ollie only barely had time to open the door for her, and swept out like an empress leaving her court.

An empress in a safety vest and steel-toed boots. Ollie had never imagined a woman in such practical clothing being so incredibly sexy. She looked like she would kick the door down. She looked like she would kick the building down.

She threw us on the ground, his koala said dreamily. She"s the best.

"Thank you," Tiffany said over her shoulder, unexpectedly. "For having my back in there. For calling him out on being condescending to me."

A rush of relief left Ollie"s chest. "You"re welcome. I knew you could handle it, so I wasn"t sure if I should barge in, but men like that usually only listen to other men."

She touched the end of her nose. "Which is why I don"t mind you stepping in. Besides, not gonna lie, a lot of people deal better with businesses that have departments. If it"s just one person? Eh, they"ll roll over you and not care. If you have an accounting department? That"s a whole different ball game. You"re important, if you"ve got departments."

They"d swept their way out into the main lobby, Steve a step or two behind them, and Ollie hurried forward to open the outer door for Tiffany as she paused to say, "Hey, thanks," to Sandra behind the reception desk. "I meant to ask, what are you reading?"

"Oh!" Sandra lifted her e-reader like it would show off a cover. "Cozy murder mystery called Dead in Dublin. Super fun. Like a travelogue and a murder mystery all rolled up in one. Do you read? We"ve got a book club!"

Tiffany laughed. "I"m only here for three weeks."

"We meet every week," Sandra said. "The book of the week is listed on the library website. See you there Monday evening?"

"I"ll think about it," Tiffany promised, obviously amused, and dropped her voice as she passed Steve to say, "This is the friendliest town I"ve ever visited."

"Oh, you have no idea. Wait until you meet Noah."

That was at least the second time Ollie had heard that name, and Tiffany looked mystified. "Who is Noah? Is he like the mayor or something? People keep mentioning him!" They walked out through the door Ollie held open, but whatever Steve was going to say, it was lost beneath Tiffany"s suddenly horrified, "Oh my God!"