Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (bts books to read TXT) 📕

secured a contract on a property in a new market that’s going to be super hot within ten years. Even Myra said I’d done a great job in closing the deal.

Ugh. This couldn’t have come at a worse time.

I was so confident after the last deal that I signed a new lease for an upgraded apartment. There’s no way I can afford to lose this job. I don’t care if I have rich friends. I’m not asking for a handout.

“So what’s going to happen?” I ask, feeling slightly nauseous.

Myra shrugs. “If we don’t get a few things falling our way . . . it’s not looking good.”

I bite my lower lip as I watch Cassie grab herself by the arms. She looks like she’s about to cry.

“But,” Myra says, giving me the eye of the tiger, “there's an opportunity.”

“What’s that?” I feel both motivated and frustrated at the same time.

Myra tosses the folder on my desk. “Hawaii. We’ve tried to secure this in the past, but the man never seemed ready to sell.”

I flip through the papers, skimming the details. “Wow,” I say as I look at the photos that are included. They’re not professional, but still, the property is so impressive it doesn’t need pro photography. “This could be big.”

Myra nods. “And it could be the thing that saves us. I just need someone competent to go seal the deal. I’ve worked hard and told the suits that this division can handle it. They were impressed by how you secured the Hastings deal. They want you on the task.”

“Me?” I say incredulously. “I’m not sure I’m the one for the job with so much at stake.”

Myra clucks her tongue reprovingly. “They won't be happy to hear that. But if you insist, I’ll tell them.”

“I’ll do it,” I say immediately. It’s my ass on the line too, and if it goes south, at least I can’t blame anyone but myself. I try to regain my confidence, squaring my shoulders. “I’ll take care of it. I know the island market . . .”

I go silent as Myra gives me a bemused and worried look. “It’s not what you think. You see, the owner is an eccentric man by the name of Wesley Mobber.” Myra picks up the folder off my desk and flips through it, turning pages until she pulls out a glossy photo with a page paperclipped to it. She hands me the photo of a middle-aged white man smiling through a week-old beard with a twisted knot of dreadlocks on top of his head. “He’s not going to let just anyone have the property.”

I stare. The guy looks like something out of a parodied Internet meme or something. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Myra sighs. “Wesley is not a motivated seller. From what I gather, he’ll sell, but first, he has to like you. Like I said, people have been trying to secure this property for a while. He’s not doing anything with the land, so he’s basically losing money. But he doesn’t give a shit. He’s got enough to sit on the damn thing until your grandchildren are geezers. And so far, his eccentric ways have proven quite . . . difficult. He’s granted us a meeting though, so you have to work your magic and seal the deal.”

“I can handle eccentric,” Cassie boasts immediately, as if she knows exactly what that means. I damn sure don’t. “I’ll do my Cassie Charmer and have his head spinning so fast that his dreads are going to—”

“I don’t think so. You can stay here,” I try to say. If it’s this important, I can’t risk Cassie screwing this up. Besides, the first surfer hottie she sees, she’s going to be distracted for the rest of the stay.

“But this will be good for me!” Cassie pleads, turning to Myra. “You say Hannah is great at her job, you’ve mentored her yourself. Let me learn from her, maybe she can mentor me?”

Myra bites her lips, thinking thoughtfully. “Maybe…”

I shake my head gently, “Myra, if this contract is do-or-die for the company, I need to focus 100%, not spend time teaching Cassie.”

Cassie ping-pongs her head between the Myra and me, finally settling on Myra. “That’s the best time to learn.”

Myra scowls, and coalesces, “I’ll give it some thought, Cassie.” Myra turns her gaze back to me. “I need you to go through the report, do your research, and then get back to me asap on your plan of attack so we can book your trip.”

“Right away—” I begin to say.

Cassie cuts in quickly. “How am I supposed to get the experience if you don’t give me the chance? Please, Myra, I won’t let you down. I’ll just watch, learn, and follow Hannah’s instructions.”

Myra pauses, staring at Cassie thoughtfully.

Seeing a hole in Myra’s armor, Cassie presses her advantage. “I can play fetch, help her with research . . .”

Myra holds up her hand. “Okay, you know what, Cassie? You’re going, but you’re going to be Hannah’s assistant. Whatever she needs, you do, and nothing more.”

“Thank you!” Cassie lets out a squeal of delight, coming forward to give Myra a hug, but stops dead in her tracks when Myra fixes her with a frosty scowl.

“Don’t thank me. Just do your job well,” Myra growls. She turns and nods at me. “Report to me when you’re done. I’m counting on you.” She walks out of the room and enters her office, closing the door behind her.

I let out a groan and mutter under my breath, “Just great . . . she’s saddling me with the motor mouth from hell.”

“Oh, come on, Hannah,” Cassie says, flashing her dimples at me. “You’ve got the wrong impression about me. You’ll see.”

I point a stern finger at her. “I’m serious, Cass. I don’t want you to even breathe without my approval. We can’t screw this up.”

Cassie’s smile only widens. “You got it, boss.”

“And no fetching coffee!” I have to add, remembering the narrowly avoided lawsuit. “I don’t want any more fried