Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Let me handle this,” Alina whispers as she steps forward. “We’ll stay out of your hair, Tucker. We won’t bother you at all! You’ll hardly even know we’re here.”
“You’re already bothering me,” he grunts in a deep rumbling voice. “Throwing metal around and making a racket.”
“We didn’t throw anything around,” I say, stepping forward. I know I should be following Alina’s lead, but I can’t seem to stop myself. I don’t like bullies. “We accidentally dropped a metal pole, but we’ll try to be more careful from now on.”
His eyes narrow on me. Mine narrow on him.
“Maybe this is a bad time,” Alina says as she looks from me to him and back again. “We can come back tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is a bad time too.”
I huff out a breath. This guy is unbelievably rude. “Did you hire Alina to renovate three of your closets?” I ask in a firm tone.
He exhales long and hard as he stares me down. “I didn’t want them. She rammed them down my throat.”
“She rammed them down your throat? I don’t think there’s a person on the planet who can ram anything down your throat. Did you give her the code to your gate? Your front door?”
“Yes,” he reluctantly grunts.
“Then let us do the job you hired us to do,” I say with my chin in the air.
“You won’t regret it,” Alina says, jumping in. “They’ll be beautiful. Stylish, functional, and luxurious. And do you know who will really appreciate it?” She raises her eyebrows up and down in a salacious manner. “A future girlfriend or wife!”
“I don’t want either,” he grunts.
Alina laughs nervously. “Okay. A boyfriend?”
“Nobody.”
“How about a cat?”
He just glares at her.
“Okay, so you’ll still like them for yourself. You can hang all of your nice flannel shirts down here.”
“Leave. Now.”
“Okay,” Alina says as she swoops down to grab her tools.
“Hold on,” I say as I put a hand on her shoulder. “We’re not going anywhere.”
I turn and face the brute with a stern stare.
“You’re being incredibly rude right now.”
He scoffs. “Isn’t the customer always right?”
“Not when he’s acting like a jerkhead,” I say. “You hired us for a job. We came here to do a job and we’re going to do it.”
Alina is looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. I don’t care. I’m not about to let this bully be rude to us and get his way. We’ve done nothing wrong.
“I’m sorry we woke you up, but it’s no reason to be so mean. You owe us both an apology.”
He stares me down, trying to make me crack, but I hold his sour gaze and glare right back at him in a challenging way.
“I don’t think an apology is necessary,” Alina throws out.
“Yes, it is,” I say in a curt tone. I cross my arms as we glare at each other.
“My head is pounding,” he grunts as he turns away. “I don’t need this. Get it done fast and keep it quiet.”
He storms out of the room and stomps up the stairs.
Alina looks at me with her mouth hanging open in delight as he slams the door closed at the top of the stairs.
“Jane!” she says, playfully slapping my arm. “Look at you! He ran right out of here!” She bursts out laughing. “I knew I brought the right person! I rule as a manager.”
I’m still flustered as I shake my arms loose and take a deep breath. I’m still upset that he didn’t apologize, but I’ll just have to let that go. I’m here to get a job done, not to make a new friend.
“Let’s just get back to work,” I say with my chest all tight.
We start to pull out the samples and go over some designs. I try to stay focused on the work, but the memory of those dark brown eyes on me keeps making my breath catch.
I keep thinking of those hands clenched into fists and that big powerful chest. It awakens something deep in me.
Something I’d rather keep locked away.
Something that won’t be anything but trouble.
Chapter Three
Jane
“What’s all this?” Alina says when we walk past the kitchen on the way out to lunch.
The long table is set up for two and there’s a plate full of ham sandwiches and a bowl of chips in the middle.
Alina picks up the little scrap of paper and chuckles as she shows it to me.
Sorry.
It’s scribbled in pencil.
“Is this for us?” Alina asks as she looks at the food. The house seems empty.
“I think so.”
“Do you think he poisoned it?”
“No,” I say as I walk over to the window and pull the blinds open. I knew he had some good in him. Everybody does. I open the rest of the blinds and curtains until the sun is shining in like a nice normal kitchen and not the type of scary kitchen found in a horror movie.