“Oh, I don’t know. One hundred and five?” Mom shot back.
Robin couldn’t help herself; she laughed. “Oh man, I’ve got such a long way to go! Mom, it’s really not that big of a deal. He’s the guy I contracted to renovate my house. But he’s a really nice guy! And we have a lot in common, so it’s been kind of fun, that’s all.” Only a small lie. Really more of an understatement.
“What’s wrong with him—is he an ax murderer?” Mom asked.
Robin snorted. “No!”
“Two heads?”
“Mom!” Robin cried, laughing.
“I’m just wondering why you sound so apologetic.”
She did sound apologetic. Robin’s smile faded; she sank into a chair next to the table and stared at the wall she had busted up. “I . . . I don’t know,” she answered truthfully.
“Well . . . I just wanted to check how you were doing, honey. I’ll call you and let you know when we’ll be at the ranch so you can come out and see your dad.”
The mention of Dad rattled Robin. She unconsciously shook her head, tried to shake Jake from the forefront. “Does . . . does Dad want to see me?” she asked hesitantly.
“Of course he does, silly! He wants his girls around him, and I think after this round of treatment, he’ll need to see you. It’s been rough on him.”
“Yes, of course. Just give me a couple of days notice, would you? Evan and I are in the middle of a couple of projects.”
“Okay, sweetie. Give my best to Evan.”
Yes, Evan. Safe, familiar Evan. Speaking of which, she needed to call him, and after hanging up with her mother, she dialed Dallas.
Chapter Twenty-four
The thing about Evan was, when he wasn’t trying to get in her pants, he was actually a decent guy, and really very smart. They talked for a while that night about the account Girt had managed to snare, and ended the conversation with Evan promising to look into a couple of questions she had about Girt’s new account. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said.
The next day, he called mid-morning and walked Robin through the numbers she needed to complete her analysis. “Remember the calculation we used to look at Peerless? This should be pretty much the same thing, but you’ll want to factor in the potential increase in revenue since she has that new account in hand.”
“Right,” Robin said.
“You’re doing great, Robbie,” Evan offered. “You’re really starting to get the hang of this.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Next time I’m down, we’ll have to celebrate your success in acquisitions.”
“Not just yet,” she warned him. “I haven’t actually acquired anything yet.”
“But you will, I have no doubt. So it’s a date—next time I’m down, we’re going to celebrate the near close of this deal. All right? I’ll be talking to you.”
He hung up before she could really answer or at least ask him to call before he came down. With an unconscious shrug, she hung up the phone, then noticed a movement from the corner of her eye. It was Jake. “Evan,” she said, waving absently at the phone. “You know, he is really very smart. I can see why Dad likes him so much—I’ve learned a lot from him.”
“I’ll just bet you have,” Jake said and picked up a can of primer.
His tone surprised Robin; she paused in the gathering of her papers. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means he’s more interested in landing you than some new plant.”
“Jesus, how do you jump to such conclusions? You don’t even know him!”
“I don’t have to know him. I’m a man, he’s a man, and I know exactly what he’s after.”
Robin frowned darkly. “That is so ridiculous. You don’t know—”
“Apparently, neither do you,” Jake said sharply. “Or maybe you do. Maybe you know more than I give you credit for,” he said and continued up the stairs before Robin could tell him to keep his stupid opinions to himself.
A few days later, Lucy arrived with a thick file stashed under her arm.
“Dude,” Zaney said as she sauntered inside. “Looking gooood!”
Lucy shot him a frown. “I’m not a dude, Zaney.”
“I’ll say!”
Lucy actually smiled a little at that before plopping the file down in front of Robin. “Evan said to bring you this.”
“What is it?”
“Some stuff about Wirt. He said you should look into the age of the equipment.”
“I already did that,” she said and pulled the file closer, flipped it open. On the top was a chart showing the list of equipment in each shop, the approximate age, and the approximate cost of replacement.