“Thank you, Aileen. With cream,” Evelyn said.
“Same here,” Gray said with a smile. At Aileen, of course.
At least she knew now that he wasn’t suffering from laryngitis.
They looked over their menus, and by the time Aileen came with their coffees, they ordered breakfast. Since Evelyn hadn’t had a chance to have a cup of coffee yet— usually her first task of the day, even before her shower—she took a couple quick sips, needing that caffeine surge. She added a couple more sips, sighed in contentment, then lifted her gaze to Gray, finding him staring at her.
“I can survive without it, but if you want to have an intelligent conversation with me, I’m better after coffee.”
“Good to know.” He lifted his cup, and she was struck again by his amazing eyes.
He was very direct in staring at her, too, which she found decidedly . . .
uncomfortable.
She laid her cup down. “Let’s clear the air. You’re obviously not happy with me.”
“You called my mother.”
She resisted the urge to smile at the accusatory tone in his voice. Evelyn loved Loretta Preston, one of the kindest, sweetest, most patient women she’d ever known.
They’d had many conversations together, about both her husband and her son. She’d hoped Loretta had some influence on Gray and she’d obviously been right. The woman was fierce about her causes and didn’t take no for an answer.
“Of course I did. You left me no choice.”
“Sure I did. I said no. That was your cue to walk away.”
Her lips lifted. “Clearly, you don’t know me at all. I don’t walk away when I’m given an assignment. Working with you is my assignment, and until I exhausted all avenues, I wasn’t about to give up. And since your mother expressly asked me to convince you, I figured she’d be an asset in persuading you.”
He didn’t answer.
“You don’t like your mother?”
His gaze shot to hers. “I love my mother.”
“Then I don’t see the problem.”
“You went behind my back to serve your own purpose.”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you have a fundamental disagreement with your mother’s agenda?”
He frowned. “No.”
“Then I don’t see what the problem is.”
“It’s obvious we’re not going to see eye to eye on this.”
“That’s okay with me. Did you have a chance to think about the plan?”
He gave her a blank stare. “I didn’t know there was a plan.”
“Oh. I thought maybe your mother talked to you about the campaign’s objectives.”
“My mother spoke to me about her objectives, and asked me to help. That was it.”
Her lips curved.
“Obviously you know her.”
“Very well. I’ve spent a lot of time with her over the past few years since I’ve been working with your father. She runs a tight ship and doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“Then you’ve come to know her well, and you know that while she has a soft voice, she has an iron will.”
“Yes. She’s a wonderful asset for your father, both personally and politically.”
Gray stared down at his coffee. “My father doesn’t deserve her.”
She had no idea what Gray’s relationship with his father was, nor was it her intention to pry. Her only job was to work with Gray on his father’s campaign, not to get involved in family dynamics, unless it interfered in the political process. Then she was required to smooth things over, not intervene, and above all, never let things get messy. “So what’s your conclusion?”
“I guess you and I will be working together.”
She couldn’t resist lifting her shoulders in excitement. “Wonderful. I’m thrilled about this, Gray, and I don’t think you’ll regret it.”
“Oh, I already regret it. But this is important to my mother, so I’m doing it for her.”
Evelyn didn’t care who he did it for. She only cared that she was a success at her assignment. “Great. We’ll hit the ground running. The first thing we’ll need to do is work within your schedule. I know how busy you are.”
They paused while the waitress brought their breakfast. Evelyn dug into her oatmeal and fruit while Gray pounded down some elaborate breakfast that consisted of eggs, bacon, pancakes, hash browns, and biscuits.
“Where do you put all those calories?” she asked.
“What?”
“That’s a huge meal.”
“Oh. I work out, and I also sweat it all out in the car. It’s usually over a hundred degrees in there.”
“My God. That can’t be healthy.”
He shrugged. “You get used to it.”
No wonder he had a body like that, so tall and lean. But today he wore jeans and a tight T-shirt showing off some serious muscle. “So it’s like a sauna.”
“Yup.”
“You have to stay in shape to drive a car.”
He scooped up the last of his eggs with his fork, then finished off his orange juice.
“You can’t control a three-thousand-pound raging beast at a hundred and ninety miles an hour without some muscle, honey.”
Her nerve endings tingled at the endearment. She pushed it aside. “I imagine that’s true, though I freely admit my knowledge of the auto racing industry is somewhat sketchy.”
“We’ll have to change that, won’t we?”
“I suppose we will. The more I know about what you do, the better equipped I’ll be to integrate you into your father’s campaign.”
“And won’t that be fun.”
She pushed her bowl to the side and studied him. “I sense some hesitation.”
“Not just some. A lot. You should know I’ll be dragging my heels the entire way.”
“I can work with that.”
“Okay. I just wanted to be up front about it.”
She liked him. “Thanks for that. So what’s on your agenda for today?”
“Team meetings, then practice runs. I suppose you need to get back to D.C.”
She gave him a blank look. “Uh, no. Perhaps I didn’t outline the parameters clearly enough.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand.”