Maddie Fortune's Perfect Man

People might have argued that Zach McCarter was a lot of things. One thing they couldn’t call him was a quitter. Overly sentimental probably wouldn’t be on the list either.

So, why was it, he wondered, as he waited for Maddie at the Blue Moon Cafe, that he couldn’t stop thinking about the look on her face when Kenneth had presented the challenge?

This should’ve been a day to celebrate his shot at the opportunity of a lifetime. This was the payoff for his hard work. Instead, he felt vaguely unsettled thinking about that injured-doe look in Maddie’s blue eyes.

She’d probably kick him if she knew he was comparing her to an injured animal. She’d probably buck right up in his face.

But that’s what he’d seen and he couldn’t get her face out of his head.

This was business. Any other time—any other person—and Zach wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But he had a soft spot for Maddie.

Zach was probably more surprised than Maddie when Kenneth asked them to compete for the position. After all, everyone who worked for Fortunado Real Estate knew that Maddie coveted her father’s job. She was the heir apparent, and everyone thought it was a given that she would take over for Kenneth when he retired.

When Kenneth asked him to transfer from San Antonio to the Houston office, Zach knew change was in the air. At first, he thought it was a token gesture to pacify Zach’s restlessness. Kenneth seemed good at reading people. Even though Zach hadn’t said it, Kenneth had to know that after five years as a broker with Fortunado, it was time for a change, time to open his own real estate office. After all, he was making Fortunado a hell of a lot of money.

Zach had no ties to San Antonio, no family to consider, no reason to not pack up and move to Houston. The move was an opportunity to learn the Houston market, which would be a useful tool once he did strike out on his own. When Kenneth had asked him to come to Houston, he’d said he wanted his senior associates to focus on teamwork, that there was some new construction in the Houston area and he wanted to put together an “A-Team”—Kenneth’s words. He hadn’t said who else was on his A-Team, but he’d specifically spelled out that he wanted Zach’s help assuring that Fortunado would get exclusive listing contracts. Of course, Zach had been up for the challenge, but that teamwork bit threw him. Generally, he worked alone. He rarely partnered with other agents on listings. It wasn’t his MO. Of course, it would take teamwork to run a business like Fortunado.

But this—this chance to head Fortunado—it was an unexpected challenge and he liked it. It would take teamwork and maybe this was a good chance for him to prove to himself that he wanted to manage a team rather than flying solo.

It all made sense—the transfer, the invitation to the barbecue where Kenneth announced his intent to retire, and today’s meeting where he’d tapped the two of them as front-runners for his position.

The only thing getting in the way of intense satisfaction and immediate strategizing on how to annihilate the competition was that look on Maddie’s face.

That’s why he’d wanted the two of them to have lunch and sort this out. Kenneth had been smart when he’d tacked on the Paisley addendum. The last thing he needed was for his two top associates to be at war. Not only did they need to sit down and strategize about the Paisley, but they needed to make sure everything was good between them.

Easy for him to say since he was the interloper.

When Maddie walked into the restaurant, their gazes snared. She didn’t smile. Her face looked neutral. Again, she seemed to be daring him to look away first—to walk away from the opportunity first.

He stood and watched her walk toward him.

He had two choices: he could bow out or he could go for it. If he chose to go for it, there would be no option but to pull out all the stops, to step up his game. If he stepped up his game, he would win. He always won. It was a point of pride.

Even if this opportunity didn’t feel 100 percent right and it felt as if he was preparing to take something that didn’t belong to him, Zach McCarter had never been a quitter.

He needed to put his game face on now. That face didn’t have to be mean or savage. The mark of a good manager was to deal with conflict and produce as many win-wins as possible—especially in situations like this where there could only be one winner.

Him.

He would need Maddie on his team when that happened.

“Zach,” she said, as she reached the table.

“Maddie, thanks for agreeing to meet on such short notice.”

He reached for her chair, but she pulled it out herself. “Of course,” she said. “There’s a lot at stake here.”

He nodded.

“That’s why it’s even more important that we work together,” she said.

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but based on the way she’d received the news not even two hours earlier, her eagerness to work together came as a shock. The woman was full of surprises.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” he said. “We’re going to make a great team.”

Chapter Three (#u1cb716f0-fa19-5628-9fa0-4fc5f475fec6)

“Ping-Pong is not a date,” Maddie said to Schuyler as she drove her sister and Carlo to see a house in the Austin neighborhood of Westlake. She’d driven up to Austin to show them houses and commercial property for a nightclub Carlo wanted to open. Carlo had been looking for months and holding out for exactly the right spot to open his new business. He’d come close a couple of times with property Maddie had shown him. Now that he was getting married, Maddie had a feeling he’d settle down and make a decision on the commercial site.

This trip was a welcome opportunity to get away from the office—to put some space between Zach and herself. If only Schuyler would stop making Zach tag along in spirit. “Or at least it’s not the kind of first date I’m interested in.”

Liar. If circumstances were different, you’d be happy to pick up trash with Zach McCarter and call it a fun first date.

But the situation was what it was. And it wasn’t fun.

“Besides,” Maddie added, “I cannot believe you’d even mention Zach McCarter in that context now that Dad has pitted us against each other.”

After the disastrous meeting with her father and subsequent tension-charged lunch with Zach, she’d driven home, thrown the basics into an overnight tote and driven the two and a half hours to Austin. Presumably, it was to show Schuyler and Carlo property. But, if she was perfectly honest with herself, it had been for self-preservation.

She’d never been so happy to get out of the office—to get out of town. Because suddenly the entire city of Houston seemed too small to accommodate the dreams and ambitions of both Zach and her.

It was clear one of them had to go.

And it wouldn’t be her.

Just because she was working out of town, it didn’t mean she would be the one to bow out. They had their marching orders. They would work together to secure the Paisley deal and sell out the luxury high-rise. In fact, she’d taken the initiative to call Dave Madison’s assistant and set up a meeting. He was out of town and Monday was his first available. In the meantime, she would help her sister and future brother-in-law. Working outside of the office would give her time to clear her head. It would only make her stronger.

“It’s totally a date,” her sister said. “He is so gorgeous, Mads. Maybe Dad has a method to his madness. Maybe he’s doing this to throw you and Zach together? Remember how at the barbecue he said he thought of him as a son? Maybe he meant son-in-law.”

Maddie shook her head. “I don’t think so. And Sky, I really don’t want to talk about him. Okay?”

Now she was sorry she’d told Schuyler about her father’s plan. Even so, Schuyler was still going on about Ping-Pong as a first date.

Maddie white-knuckled the steering wheel. Even her siblings supported Maddie as their father’s heir apparent. Her three brothers had chosen careers outside of the real estate industry. Valene was just starting out at Fortunado Real Estate. Schuyler had never shown an interest in the family business. Even though she could’ve had a role at Fortunado, she’d chosen to follow her own path. She’d confessed that there was a time when she’d felt like the odd sibling out—since both of her sisters had been bitten by the real estate bug—but following her own path had brought Schuyler to the Mendoza Winery, and that’s where she’d met her husband-to-be. Now, Schuyler seemed to have made peace with her path in life.

And Maddie’s once sure life was upside down.

Beside her, Schuyler sighed. “But you guys would look so cute together.”

“We would not look cute together.” Maddie’s voice was monotone.

We would look gorgeous together.