Chip turned to her and cleared his throat. “Would now be a good time to go over the budget for improvements, or are you meeting with Ken?”

“Ah, no.  I don’t know where Ken is.”

He stared at her, for perhaps a moment too long. He needed to cool it.

Chip smiled, making sure not to stare this time. “Shall we?”

Claire nodded. “Sure.”

Chapter Eighteen

They took the stairs down to Chip’s office. Claire was glad to have a moment to gather her thoughts as Chip fired up his computer.

Though finding out that Marty was now on the FBI’s Most Wanted List was an unpleasant surprise, she’d made up her mind that it didn’t change things. The FBI had already been looking for him. What difference did a list make? Would a measly two-hundred-thousand-dollar reward really prompt people to turn him in?

She was lost in thought when she heard Chip say, “If we can budget four hundred thousand for the bathrooms – ”

“I’m sorry,” she said, interrupting him. “Did you say four hundred thousand?”

He looked down at the paper on his desk, then back up at her. “Yeah, I think that sounds about right. That’s if we fully renovate the bathrooms, of course. Each one will run about ten thousand, and we’ve got almost forty of them.”

Claire took a sip of water. A few months ago, she’d refused to try the new restaurant in her neighborhood because she thought charging twenty-one dollars for a burrito was a crime.

“That’s a lot of money,” she finally said.

“We don’t have to fully renovate them,” he continued. “I can get estimates for redoing the tile, and maybe replacing the tubs?”

Claire nodded. “Yes. I’d like to see how that compares.”

She wasn’t even sure how much money she still had in the bank. Could she get a loan for improvements?

Chip clicked away, typing on his keyboard. “All right, I’ve added that. I wanted to get some estimates to revamp the landscaping, too. I think Lucy might be right about our curb appeal.”

“Right,” Claire said with a nod. “Landscaping.”

Her phone dinged, and she pulled it out of her purse to see a message from Margie. “Is Chip single? Asking for a friend.”

She frowned and slipped her phone back into her purse. From now on, Margie wasn’t allowed to talk to Chip. Claire needed him to take her seriously, and it seemed like their working relationship was finally taking a turn for the better.

Claire didn’t want to ruin it by making him think she was hitting on him. She was the boss! That would be harassment. The poor man had the right to do his job in peace, even if he was rapidly becoming a silver fox.

Claire felt a flash of embarrassment for even thinking the phrase “silver fox.” It was Margie’s fault.