Hudson (Anderson Billionaires #4) - Melody Anne Page 0,87

wanted to be irritated by him, wanted to find faults in him, but she couldn’t.

“I have confidence in myself and in my abilities. I don’t think there’s anything at all wrong with that,” he said.

They finished the salad as the oven timer went off and Daisy took a few seconds to take in some much needed breaths while she pulled her dish from the oven.

“It looks and smells delicious,” he told her. “I’ll set the table.”

He walked around the corner out of her view, and she leaned against the counter and tried telling herself she was okay. She was a grown adult and there was nothing wrong with how she was feeling. Just because they didn’t have a chance at an eternity together didn’t mean they couldn’t have a bit of fun in the meantime.

When she brought out the dish, she saw a candle burning and really nice dinnerware waiting. His kitchen was terrible. How did he have nice plates? He laughed again and she had a feeling her question was written all over her face.

“I told my sister-in-law you were making me dinner and she sent me home with a few things. She said it wouldn’t help much but at least we could eat off of something nice,” Hudson said with a shrug.

“Your sister-in-law’s a smart woman,” Daisy told him.

He went back to the kitchen and grabbed the salad and a new bottle of wine, then joined her at the table.

“I believe in your cause for saving the school, but I honestly can’t figure out why you’re so dead set against me building on property that hasn’t been used in many years,” he said after they were both dished up.

“Because it’s wrong,” she said.

“Explain why it’s wrong,” he insisted.

She opened her mouth to give an answer and found she didn’t have one. He was right, she’d been fully against him building another wealthy resort, but she’d also seen his plans, and they weren’t for something exclusively for the wealthy. An average family could easily afford to go there. But still . . .

“I’m waiting,” he said with that same smile that made her want to throttle him — at least a little.

“There are resorts, restaurants, and playgrounds all over the world for people who like to travel and have the money to do it. What’s so wrong with preserving a great piece of land in a large metropolitan area for those who don’t have money?”

“Do you have something against working? Or against capitalism?” he pushed back.

“Yes . . . and no,” she said after a short pause. “I believe in work ethic. I just don’t think that only those with the mental and physical ability to make more than minimum wage should always be the people rewarded.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“If you don’t go to college or trade school, or into a family business, then the chances of making good money are slim to none. Why does education or talent have to be the only way to get out of poverty?”

“I don’t think those are the only ways,” he told her. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand. “My brothers and I grew up very poor. Yes, each of us have special talents, but we don’t have those because we’re lucky. We have those because, from the time we were young, we were taught that the only way to succeed in life was by working hard. So we figured out what we liked to do and set goals. I’m no more talented than the next builder out there, I’m just hungrier than a lot of other people, and I worked and worked to become great at my craft.”

“I guess if you didn’t care about the work you’d just quit. You have more than enough money now to last a lifetime,” she said, confused. She’d been so set in her ways that she couldn’t understand how her viewpoint was changing.

“I think you’re correct that some people have more drive than others. But why should I have to sacrifice what I’m earning because someone else would rather play video games than work for a paycheck? I’m not talking about the elderly and disabled; I’m talking about capable people. There are a lot of resources out there to help. I believe there needs to be more, and that’s something I’m willing to have a discussion on, if you can admit that there are also those out there who want everything handed to them with minimal effort