Yours for the Taking by Robin Kaye Page B

grandfather’s office. “Have a great night, Gramps. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    Ben’s grandfather picked up the phone with a knowing smile. Shit. The old guy was up to something and Ben figured it wasn’t going to be something he would enjoy.
    ***
    Gina jumped into her first solo job as a turnover expert with both feet. It was a small restaurant chain that wasn’t quite making it. The food was very good. That was one of the first things she’d checked out. There was nothing you could do to save a restaurant if the food wasn’t top-notch, especially in the city.
    She spent the first week going over the books and came up with several immediate stopgap measures to keep them afloat. Gina was revamping their benefits package since it had been years since they’d shopped it around. She also called in a few favors with two food critics she knew. They said they’d visit the place once she gave them the go-ahead.
    Ben still called her every night, but even that wasn’t bothering her since he’d made it a point to call before she went to sleep. It didn’t take him long to figure out their conversations were much more pleasant if they spoke while she was awake. He’d called her from a few unusual places. A ski lift was probably the strangest. Who knew people actually skied at night? One night he’d called her from a bar where he’d been playing pool with some of the guys he’d grown up with. But mostly, he called her from his grandfather’s house. It was almost nice. They talked business, and they’d both given each other enough ideas that it more than made the conversations worthwhile. Not that she was paying the phone bill. Still, she was surprised by what a great business mind Ben hid behind those good looks of his. The man definitely wasn’t just another pretty face. He attacked problems from a different perspective than she did. Together, they’d come up with a few amazing solutions which meant happy clients and an even happier boss. Rosalie was bringing Gina coffee as a reward system now, which worked for Gina.
    The last few nights when Ben called, they debated about suggesting a change of the menu to attract a higher class of clientele, which would then increase the sale of wine and alcohol. Ben didn’t think the owner would go for it, but she proved him wrong.
    Gina snagged a seat on the subway and spent her commute making notes and smiling to herself. When the subway car hit the elevated tracks in Brooklyn, she dialed Ben’s cell to tell him how her meeting went. Her eyes scanned the list of ideas she’d planned to throw at him. She really enjoyed listening to him think things through and seeing where he took them. It also felt great when she saw a hole in his logic about something he was working on. She’d saved his ass a time or two. That made up for some of the guilt she felt when she saw another deposit hit her account.
    “Hi, Gina. I was just thinking about you.”
    “You were?”
    “Yeah, how did your meeting with the owner go? Who won the bet? I believe the loser has to take the winner out to dinner.”
    Gina crossed her win off her list. “I don’t remember that.”
    “It was late and you were tired. You were practically falling asleep on the phone.”
    “I’m just not much of a talker.” There was silence on the other end. Gina looked at the phone to make sure she hadn’t lost the signal. “Okay, I’ll admit I’m good at telling people what to do, but this thing between us, it’s different.”
    “Yeah, the whole marriage thing is definitely odd.”
    “So, okay. I won. It looks like you’re buying.”
    “Good. I’ll meet you at the house in an hour. Will that give you enough time to change? We have reservations in town.”
    “You’re here?”
    “Yeah, I flew in late last night.”
    “And you want to go out tonight?”
    “Why? Do you have a hot date?”
    “No, but Tina’s expecting me.”
    “So, call her and tell her something came up.”
    Gina wondered if this