“That’s just the beginning.” She took a sip of her coffee—vanilla caramel in her mug that said GIRL BOSS—to slow her thoughts and her speech, which were both ramping up with her enthusiasm. “The remodel would be featured in detail on the network for a full season, and after that season, we’d get our own show for a year, where we basically go about our business as usual and they film our work, interview us, show what we’re doing and how we do it.”

“So a typical home network show.”

“Yes, with a focus on century-old-home renovations.”

“Our bread and butter,” he said.

“I know we could compete.”

Cole sat up taller, a cocky look on his handsome face. “We could do more than compete. We could win it. But are you sure you want all the bullshit that would come with it? The show, the attention, the bureaucracy, being accountable to someone besides yourself and the client?”

She nodded, loving that he felt comfortable enough to speak his mind. That’s what she wanted. Not some yes-man. “I thought about all of that, thought about it practically all night long, and it’s a lot. To me, the benefits outweigh the negatives, but it will affect everyone who works here to some extent.”

“Sure as hell will.” He said it with conviction, and Sierra’s mind spun with how to bring him around, how to get Cole’s support.

She didn’t want to hard-sell this. She wanted Cole to be in favor of it without her persuasion, because he’d become important to her business, almost like a partner in some aspects. He was highly intelligent, had above-average skills and knowledge, and worked as hard as she did. In the years he’d been in the industry, he’d gained immeasurable experience in solving whatever problems arose—and because they dealt with decades-old, sometimes centuries-old buildings, they’d had some real headaches.

“When’s the deadline for the application?” he asked, doodling designs along the margin of his otherwise-blank yellow legal pad.

“We’ve got a week and a half.”

“What would my role be?”

“I can do the app. I went through some of it last night, the short answers and financials. There’s a few essay-type questions, like why I want to win, what’s the most challenging historical renovation we’ve done, that kind of thing.”

“What about the other stages?” Cole asked, interrupting his doodling to look her in the eye, and it hit her that that was where his hesitation lay. While she loved the idea of being on camera, being the center of attention, being hailed as an expert, Cole wouldn’t. He would detest it.

“How about this? If we get past the application, you can stay behind the scenes. I’ll handle the interview and the proposal.”