The Boss's Proposal by Kristin Hardy

to—”
    â€œHold on a minute.”
    She blinked. “What?”
    â€œWhat’s in your hand?” He narrowed his eyes asthough looking more closely. “Is that butter you’re holding?”
    Max rolled her eyes. “I was not about to butter you up.”
    Dylan leaned back and folded his hands behind his head, propping his feet on the desk. “Really? Because it sure sounded an awful lot like you were starting in again.”
    The corner of her mouth tugged. “What I was going to say is that I think having the gardens outside the infusion center and the rooms is really important for these patients but if we can’t do it, we can’t do it.”
    He looked at her suspiciously. “Okay, what have you done with her?”
    â€œWho?”
    â€œMax McBain. I know you’ve done something with her because she sure as hell would never have been so direct, let alone accepted that she couldn’t get her way.”
    â€œYou know, with just the right push, I bet that chair would go right over backward,” Max told him pleasantly.
    â€œThat’s not very friendly.”
    She tilted her head. “You’re my boss. Just how friendly do you want me to get?”
    His eyes darkened. “Careful asking me a question like that in the office, darlin’,” he drawled.
    She made a move toward the chair and he sat upquickly. Max laughed. Just then, there was a rap on the door frame.
    It was Hal. “Stop by my office in about five minutes, you two,” he said briefly. “I want a quick status update on the project.”
    Max and Dylan looked at each other as Hal walked off. Dylan shrugged. “When the bossman calls…”
    A few minutes later, they sat in chairs before Hal’s desk. He glanced over from his computer. “The proposal deadline is a week from tomorrow. How are things going?”
    â€œMaking progress,” Dylan said. “We’ll be ready.”
    Hal smiled briefly. “I’ve been hearing less shouting, so I figured it was a good sign.”
    Max counted herself fortunate that he wasn’t aware of the other things that had been going on between them.
    â€œWe’re finalizing the exterior concepts,” Dylan told him.
    â€œWe’ve got basic renderings going of everything he’s working on, which we’ve been updating as we go,” Max said. “The sample floor plans are done, and Eli and Grant are working on the animations.”
    â€œAll the bells and whistles?” Hal asked. “You know the other two teams aren’t going to miss a trick. Make sure our guys include sound effects, and I want the motion to be so realistic it gives them vertigo.”
    â€œWe’ll do our best to make sure that everybody on the committee is swooning afterward,” Max assuredhim with a smile. “As far as the paperwork goes, Mindy’s on the case. She’ll get the packets bound and keep us on schedule the day of.”
    â€œMindy was probably General Sherman in a previous life,” Hal told Dylan. “She’ll send you out the door on time and with the right documents in your hands, and God forbid if you cross her. When’s the design review, again?”
    â€œMonday morning,” Max said.
    â€œKind of late in the process.”
    â€œIt would have been tomorrow but we’ve got the holiday and we’re not ready today.”
    â€œWe’ll still have four days to address any comments or ideas that come up in the review,” Dylan reassured him. “We’ll have enough time.”
    Hal smiled faintly. “You should know that you never have enough time.”
    â€œWe do still need to make a decision about the art for the meditation gardens,” Dylan said.
    â€œIs there a problem?” Hal asked. “I thought you were using that Glory Bishop.”
    â€œJeremy Simmons was. I’m not so sure.”
    Max frowned. “Why not? She met Fischer