Killian (Hope City #8) - Kris Michaels Page 0,28

not difficult to get along with.”

“Oh, you so are.” Bekki dipped into her egg drop soup and winced as she took a sip. “So good, but ouch.”

“Explain to me how you think I’m difficult to get along with.” He put down his chopsticks and leaned forward. This was something he really wanted to know.

Bekki immediately mimicked his actions. “I had to practically corral you, tie a rope around you, and beg you to help me with my story. I’m not sure if that’s because a, you don’t like me, b, you think you’re superior to me, c, you believe your time is too valuable to be spent with the likes of me… which is kinda like answer b, so… yeah.”

“Is that really how you see me?” He wasn’t sure, but he believed the woman may have insecurities that contributed to her perception of him. He’d never treated anyone like that. Had he?

Bekki shrugged and picked up another steamed dumpling. “I call it like I see it.”

Killian lifted his beer and took a drink, placing his thoughts into order before he spoke. “I would never think that I am superior to you. Or anyone, for that matter.”

The snort he got in response wasn’t expected. She flipped her free hand in the air as she spoke. “You were raised with money. I’ve found that people who come from money don’t necessarily understand those of us who are raised lower to middle class.”

His brows furrowed as he glared across the table. “Wow, talk about generalizations. Have I ever treated you as if you weren’t an equal? To your knowledge, have I ever treated anyone that way?”

“Oh, I don’t know… how about the time you were leaning over your desk shouting at me?” If she could have smirked with her fat lip, Killian would have sworn she would have.

“Would you be referencing the time you accused me of illegal business practices?” He stood up, pushing the kitchen chair across the tiles.

“Well, you have to admit I had reason to believe there was something fishy going on.” She stood and walked over to the fridge and yanked the door open. In a snappy, angry voice, she asked, “Do you want another beer, because I’m having another glass of wine.”

“Good God, yes.” Talking to Bekki King was an exercise in irritation. Alcohol was definitely needed.

She grabbed a bottle of microbrew and handed it to him before she upended the wine bottle and filled her glass to the rim. “Speaking of which, I have a stack of documents that I need to go through.”

Killian blinked and looked at his beer. He’d only drank one… He wasn’t impaired, and no, he didn’t know what the hell the woman was talking about. “You’re going to have to reel me in. Once again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The Chardonnay bottle hit the bottom of the recycling bin with a resounding clunk. She picked up her extremely full glass of wine and turned around to lean on the counter. “Follow the bouncing ball. We were talking about the fact that I had reason to suspect that you were doing something illegal. Once you pointed out where the duplicity might have occurred, I moved on. I am now researching who is behind the land grab. I have documents I haven’t looked at. Hence, I need to go through a stack of documents.”

“Land grab?” Killian popped the top off his beer and took a long swallow of the cold, slightly bitter brew

She nodded and crooked a finger at him. “I have something to show you.”

Killian followed her down the short hallway with Duke trailing behind them. She turned on the light and pointed at a folder busting at the seams with paper. “All the real estate purchases in the Harbor area for the last four years. I started looking at the beginning of the revitalization effort.”

“All the purchases? There have to be hundreds.”

“I think I’m going to build a spreadsheet by date and list the transactions. I can then sort by dates, seller, purchaser, and type of real estate.”

He nodded. “Residential or commercial. I’d also add a column for areas zoned as both and check the zoning variances requested.”

“Variances?”

“Those areas zoned strictly business where people want to put condos, they need to request a variance. It goes in front of the planning and zoning committee and is either approved or disapproved and then run through the city council for a hearing, and if it is passed it is signed and