He found himself attracted to her self-confidence. He was increasingly certain that there was more to her than being Patricia Sanders’ daughter.
When he heard Lauren’s car pull up in front of the door, he grinned to himself. She was giving herself a fast getaway if she needed it, and he liked that she could take care of herself. She was also ten minutes earlier than she’d been the day before.
He met Lauren at the door again, and once again she didn’t wait on him, but headed into his house. She was wearing the maid’s uniform again. She must have taken it home with her, but it looked freshly laundered and pressed. He shook his head as he followed her back inside; given that she had to have spent hours last night catching up on her work, he was surprised that she’d taken the time to think about the uniform.
He had to admit, as ugly as the thing was, she made it look good. The crisp white shirt was unbuttoned at the top, giving him a glimpse of smooth pale skin that disappeared in a curve under the fabric.
At a closer look, he wondered if she’d tailored the pants since they appeared to fit better than the day before. He was impressed that she had the skills and talent to change such trivial things for the better; if she cared that much, what else what she capable of?
When they got inside, Lauren gave him a challenging look.
“I’m happy to clean your house again, but that would be a waste of your money since I did such a good job yesterday,” she said, her tone daring him to disagree.
Hakim grinned at her. “I agree. I was pleasantly surprised by your efforts.”
“Oh, please. The dressing room of every theater I’ve ever worked in was worse than your whole house put together.”
That remark surprised him. “You’re an actress?” Hakim asked, not sure what to make of this revelation.
Lauren waved a hand at him. “Community theater. I minored in drama in college, too.”
Well, that was not what he’d expected. When Hakim had done his background research on Lauren, he’d seen that she had earned her degree in business. He had assumed that she was entirely focused on the corporate end of things, not on the creative. Apparently, he was going to have to rethink that assumption.
“You don’t make a big deal of being on stage?” he asked.
Lauren shook her head. “I don’t do it for work; in fact, I try to keep it as separate from work as possible. I don’t make a big deal out of being the CEO of a production company while I’m working on a show, either.”
Hakim thought that over. “That attitude makes you a bit unusual for this industry.”
Her brilliant grin almost knocked him over. “I know. I love subverting people’s expectations.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at her statement. “I’m beginning to learn that about you.”
Lauren looked pleased at having made him laugh, and that sparked something low in his gut. She was happy, in spite of the situation; that seemed to be the way she operated. It didn’t matter how bad things were, she would try and find the silver lining. Suddenly he felt bad for putting her in the middle of his feud with her mother.
“I was about to have breakfast,” he said.
Lauren straightened up and put on her unreadable business face. “Of course. Would you like me to bring it to you, or serve it in the kitchen?”
And that question, asked so rationally and dispassionately, made him feel even worse.
“No, actually. Why don’t you have breakfast with me? You can’t have had time to eat yet.”
There was the wry grin again. “I stuck a granola bar in my purse to eat later.”
Hakim shook his head like he was disappointed in her. “Then I insist. Food and coffee before work.”
“Well, if there’s coffee…” Lauren tilted her head in acquiescence.
Hakim led her into the kitchen. Lauren noticed that there was coffee brewed already, so she filled two mugs. She handed one to Hakim, and he pointed her to the table in the breakfast nook where fruit, yogurt, and pastries were set out. Sitting down, they both filled their plates, and ate for a quiet moment before Hakim spoke again.
“How often do you get to do theater? It must be tough to keep up with productions while running your company at the same time.”
Lauren nodded as she swallowed a bite of pastry. “Sometimes, yes. But it keeps me grounded, so I make time for it. And if I know I’m not going to be able to commit to the time for an on-stage role, I’ll volunteer for something behind the scenes. I’m pretty good at the whole production thing, you know.”
“So I’ve heard. What you’ve done with the company in just three years is impressive.”