Taming The Boss (Billionaires In The City Book 7) (8 page)

“Bringing coffee to Luke was the best job you’d ever had?”

Ahh, he had to bring up the damn assistant title that had haunted her for the past few years. “It started off like that. But over the years, the job expanded. I would do whatever I could. Running accounting spreadsheets, meeting with clients. Being a liaison between the clients and the engineers making the software programs.”

“So you actually do use your master’s degree?”

She wasn’t surprised that he knew so much about her. “In all honesty, the master’s is just a piece of paper. I learned much more with DevX Tech than in school. But those pieces of paper can be pretty valuable.”

“So I hear.”

Cali wondered whether Rourke ever got a degree. He probably earned enough from interest and dividends on his trust fund that he’d never need a job, let alone a degree, but she didn’t want to bring up his trust fund. Instead, she asked, “So what do you for a living?”

“What makes you think I don’t just live off my inheritance?” It was as if he’d read her mind.

“The last few times I saw you, your jeans were always well worn. You don’t look like a trust fund baby.”

He nodded as though he approved of her powers of observation. “When I first left the family, I had a lot of anger. I bought this old rundown place as far away from Georgia as I could and worked on restoring it. All the hard work helped take my mind off everything. If I was installing hardwood, I’d zone out for hours and by the time I was done for the day, I’d be too tired to be angry any more. After that first job, I became addicted.”

“So you flip houses?”

“All except the first one. I could never give her up after all the work and baggage I’d put into that girl.”

Cali laughed. “Your house is a girl?”

He shrugged. “I always figured I’d sell it to someone like Mary. The Victorians tend to have all those girly finishing touches and I went with the style. Then, when I decided to keep her, I couldn’t undo any of it. You saw the house. Did that read butch to you?”

“I actually thought you’d have a wife opening the door when I walked up.”

“I had to turn in my man card when I decided to keep her.”

Cali eyed the way his broad shoulders filled out the black shirt. “I think your man card is safe,” she murmured. “So you were never tempted to bring in a girl to legitimize your decorating choices?”

“That’s the most diplomatic way of asking why I’m not married I’ve ever heard.”

“Well, I am good at what I do.” And she’d had to pry much more sensitive information from people before.

“I don’t have a wife because I don’t date. I’m never with the same woman for longer than a month.”

“A genuine manwhore. Love it.”

He shot her a grin over his arm. “I’m clean, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I, wh—um, I wasn’t wondering,” she stuttered out. Though considering how close she’d been to sleeping with him on Friday, maybe she should’ve wondered.

“I was tested two weeks ago at my yearly physical. I can show you the paperwork later if you want.”

Cali paled as she thought of the paperwork she had at her apartment. She’d run to the emergency clinic the day after she found out the truth about Easson. The one thing the son of a bitch hadn’t lied about was the fact that he was clear of disease. But for a few moments, she’d been filled with the fear that somehow, even when he was gone from her life for good, he’d managed to taint the rest of her life.

And she’d always been so careful. She’d dated a few different guys in college, but the second she started to work for Luke and Michael, she’d had a laser focus on her success.

She’d thought Easson was different, though. They’d had so much in common, how could it be anything other than fate that brought them together? So her guard had come crumbling down, to disastrous effect.

“I won’t need to be looking at any paperwork,” she said quietly as she looked out the window, glimpses of water visible through the tree line speeding past. But then the trees were gone, replaced by a spattering of historical homes before they reached Main Street.

Rourke had said he was taking her for Italian, so she already knew where they were going. The town of West Bath had about three restaurants that weren’t fast-food joints: a mom-and-pop family style place, a Coney Island, and the Italian restaurant at the edge of town.

After parking, Rourke walked around the truck to open her door for her. He reached out a hand to her, and she tentatively took his as she eyed the distance between the truck and the ground and tried to think of a way to do this without flashing him everything.

“Really?” asked Rourke with a smirk.

“This is a delicate process,” she defended as she started to stand.

“Hold on,” muttered Rourke as he stepped closer and wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her tight against his body before he lowered her slowly until her feet touched the ground.

Cali held her breath and closed her eyes as the sensations overtook her. Rourke was warm and solid against her, and it took all her self-control to keep from reaching out to stroke those hard muscles. Good grief, she was in over her head here. “You have to stop doing that,” she said breathlessly.

“Stop doing what?” he whispered. He bent his head down and the soft scrape of his beard touched her cheek.

“Stop touching me.” Was that her hand moving up his arm and resting on his shoulder? Damn it.

“I know you want me. Why would I stop touching you?” His lips drew closer to hers and she knew she was in trouble.

She forced her eyes to open and looked into his. If she moved forward even a millimeter, their lips would touch. She felt as though every nerve ending was on high alert, just begging her to activate them with the pleasure she knew Rourke could give her. “Because I don’t want you to think that because I’m attracted to you that I’ll leave you alone.”

“Is that right?”

She nodded. Her nose brushed his, they were so close. There wasn’t any reason to pretend she wasn’t completely tempted by him. Her body was obviously a shitty actress. But no matter how fast her heart pounded in her chest, she had a goal, and she wasn’t some hormonal teen who’d drop everything when a pretty boy looked her way.

“I think I can break you.” He punctuated the threat while he rested a hand at the small of her back and pulled her tighter against him.

“That’s my trick. I’m not strong because I don’t break. I’m strong because every time I break, I put myself back together.”

Rourke pressed his lips against hers finally and gave her a soft, gentle kiss that belied the desire evident by the bulge in his jeans. “Game on.” With that, he pulled away and pushed her door shut. “Now, we should probably actually eat instead of getting sidetracked.”

Yeah, because it was totally her fault for the sidetracking. She held a hand out toward the restaurant. “Lead the way.”

Cali proved to be a harder nut to crack than Rourke had anticipated. Ever since she’d faltered in the parking lot, she’d managed to pull up whatever facade she was so used to wearing around him. The real woman was gone, and she was right back to the corporate drone who’d showed up at his doorstep. She hadn’t mentioned Luke at all though, and he’d expected her to come at him hard and fast to go to New York with her.

But instead she’d been polite and perfectly pleasant and damned annoying. He’d rather have her fighting him all the way than this whitewashed version of her. She’d asked lots of questions about his home and the renovating process before moving on to the town.

She obviously didn’t want to talk about herself because every time he tried to turn the conversation around, she’d maneuver it back to him. The only silver lining to this was that anyone looking on would only see two people having a perfectly charming date. He’d already seen at least three of the town’s matrons smile over at the table approvingly.

He liked to imagine other people’s judgments didn’t matter to him, but when there was only a population of three thousand, one person’s opinion held a lot more weight. So at least his idea of taking her out in public was working to reverse the damage she’d done to his reputation. But the whole night just felt...off.

And everything he really wanted to ask her he didn’t want to ask in public like this. So he played Cali’s game. Smiling. Acting the attentive date. Laughing at all her little jokes, just like she laughed at his. And then the check was there and he felt the anticipation shoot through him.

Once they were out of the restaurant, he’d have to break the news that he wasn’t taking her back to Mary’s. He really shouldn’t look forward to upsetting her as much as he was, but he’d prefer her anger over whatever the hell she was doing.

He had to smile to himself when she didn’t even pretend to reach for the check. It was nice to not have to deal with pretenses for at least one second during this dinner. And he’d be lying if he didn’t admit that it was nice to be around someone who knew who he was.

Until finally he stood and held his hand out to Cali. She smiled up at him in that adoring way he knew was fake as she wrapped her fingers in his and pushed out of her chair. He was filled with the urge to make her smile genuinely. She was so damn beautiful when her joy reached her blue eyes. He went hard at the very idea of having that directed at him. Under him.

He could feel the eyes on them as they made their way out of the restaurant. Everyone loved a happy ending. In their minds, the townspeople were already seeing Cali and him getting married and popping out babies.

Rourke’s mind was firmly focused on the bed part of this story.

When they reached the truck, he leaned in to open the door for her, but she set a hand on his arm to stop him. “No. We’ve already done this dance. I’m getting into this car
without
your help and you’re going to walk on around to your side so if I do flash a bit too much leg, you’re not there to ogle it.”

Now there was the Cali he’d come to know. “You sound paranoid.”

“Paranoid and right.” She tapped him on the arm. “Now scoot.”

He nodded in concession before he moved away and headed to the driver’s side. By the time he was there, Cali was in her seat and clicking in the seat belt.

“Did you want to go back to Mary’s now or did you have anything else in mind?” he asked.

Her lips tightened and he could see her raking over the options: go back to Mary’s where she was safe and secure, or use their time alone to talk to him about going back to New York. “We can drive around for a bit. I’m sure the water looks pretty at night.”

Good. That would buy him a bit longer before he broke the news about her sleeping arrangements for the night. He pulled out of the restaurant and onto Main Street. “So I heard your car is going to be ready tomorrow.”

“Finally. You’d think two flats would be a quick fix, but when insurance is involved, nothing is quick, you know? If I’d known it would’ve been this much of a hassle, I probably would’ve paid for everything without telling the rental company. Think they would’ve noticed two new tires?”

“If it were my car, I would’ve. But I’m not sure how much attention those employees pay. You have enough extra cash lying around to cover something like that? New York isn’t cheap and I’m not betting on you getting two million any time soon.”

Even though it was dark, he could still tell she rolled her eyes. “Your brothers paid me a very generous salary. I have a bit in savings.”

“Paid? Past tense?”

He could feel the tension increase and knew he struck a nerve. “After I bring you back, I won’t really need a full-time job for a bit. I’m going to take a break and reassess what I want.”

“You don’t want to be an assistant for the rest of your life?”

“I went into business because that was my only option. I grew up with nothing and I saw that as a steady, secure major that could take care of me. It was never a passion. I didn’t have the option to work on houses for the rest of my life.”

He was taken aback by the undertones of bitterness. And this was why no one in West Bath knew who he really was. Because once people found out he had money, that was suddenly his defining characteristic. “So is that what you’d do if you got the two million? Work on fixing up houses?”

Cali shrugged. “I’ve been so laser focused on doing well at DevX that I never stopped to think about what I’d do if I didn’t go down that track.”

Of course she wouldn’t. She was the kind who would put her mind to something and get it done, no matter the consequences. It was one of the things he liked about her.

And he did like her. He didn’t want to. It would be a hell of a lot more convenient if she was some brainless corporate drone. Not Cali. Not only did she have a solid head on her shoulders, but she had a body that wouldn’t get out of his fantasies and a work ethic that he could respect.

It was a shame that this was one job she wasn’t getting done.

“Do you want to see my current project?” he asked.

“Like, the current place you’re fixing up?”

“Yeah. It’s about twenty minutes outside of town. It’s in rough shape still, but you seemed interested at dinner.”

“That sounds nice.”

He smiled to himself, a bit too proud to be showing off his work, but he couldn’t help it. It was damn sexy that she was so interested in it.

“Luke is really a nice guy,” said Cali, finally bringing up the issue that stood between them. “I don’t know exactly what happened with this girl, but considering that neither of you are with her now, was it really that big of a deal?”

“She told me she was pregnant.” Silence hung in the air and he tried to read Cali’s reaction, but she stayed quiet, waiting for him to go on. “She told me she was pregnant and tried to get me to marry her. I promised I’d do anything for the baby and I’d be there as a father, but I wasn’t going to marry her out of obligation. So she went to Luke and told him he was the father. He proposed to her on the spot.”

“But they never got married.”

“Because it was a lie. I don’t know what her plan was to keep the charade going. Maybe she was trying to get pregnant or lying about birth control and hoping it would happen. Once Luke saw through her, the engagement was off and I haven’t heard from her since.”

Cali nodded as she absorbed the information. “Don’t get me wrong, I can see how that’s bad. But to not talk to him for over a decade?”

“He brought her to the funeral.”

“Oh,” said Cali simply.

There was nothing she could really say. The scene was burned into his mind. The worst day of his life, compounded by seeing Luke step out of the car with Lisa at his side. It was like being kicked when he was already down. Not only had he lost his parents, but the rest of his family had chosen sides.

“What about Emma?” asked Cali. “She didn’t have anything to do with that.”

“You know how it is with my family. You’re either all in or not in at all. Michael and Emma have always been loyal to Luke.”

Cali sputtered. “Please! This isn’t a war where sides need to be drawn. They can be loyal to him and to you.”

“I’m a different man than I was then. They don’t even know me.”

“That’s the great thing about having a good family! They don’t care who you were or who you become. They’ll be there for you no matter what. That’s more than my family ever did for me.”

“And what makes you so different from her? You’re just using me and my family to get our money.”

“I’m being honest with you! Do you think I don’t know what it’s like to be used? My last boyfriend lied about
everything
. Every interaction we had was carefully orchestrated so he could find out more about your brother. And I bought it hook, line, and sinker. I gave him information. I gave him my body. I was completely fooled. So I understand, Rourke. But get over yourself and grow up.”

Rourke slammed his foot on the brake and the truck came to a screeching halt on the deserted highway. “Who’s the guy?”

“What?”

“The guy who used you. What’s his name?”

“That hardly matters now.”

“It matters to me. Who is he?”

Cali snorted as she turned to stare out the window. Rourke couldn’t tell whether she was crying and the idea of this guy upsetting her that much made his fingers dig into the steering wheel.

“What does it matter to you?” she asked.

“You matter to me.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I know enough.”

“Then come to New York with me.”

“No.”

“Then there’s nothing more to say, is there?” She turned back to look him in the eye.

“Fine,” he bit out as he pushed his foot down on the gas harder than intended. It shouldn’t bother him. She was right. Cali was nothing to him. He’d only met her a few days ago. What would he do if he found out who this son of a bitch trying to get the inside scoop on DevX Tech was? If he got involved in any way, that would just get him more invested in Luke’s life, and that was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

He was silent as they finished the drive to his renovation property, not sure whether he was more pissed at Cali for not telling him who this guy was that made her life hell or at himself for caring so much.

Rourke forced himself to calm down by the time they got to the house. There was nothing he could do about it now. “Here we are,” he said, wincing at how gruff the words sounded.

He hopped out of the truck, but Cali was already opening her door and on the driveway by the time he was at her side.

She looked up at the house and he tried to read her face to get her impression. Somehow her opinion was suddenly the most important thing.

“This place is huge.”

That didn’t really tell him one way or another what she thought. “It is big. The planning was horrible, though. The bushes put in by the landscaper got too overgrown, but the owners never trimmed them back. Over the winters, snow would collect between the bushes and the wood siding. As the heat from the house would melt it and it would refreeze, it caused extensive damage on the entire outside of the house. The old owners bought it at the top of the market and were in the middle of massive renovations on the inside of the place when they found out about all the rot happening on the outside and walked away instead of finishing any of the renovations or fixing anything.”

“They must’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” breathed Cali.

“They weren’t smart about it. They bought the place for too much to begin with and after all the damages, they would’ve been out a bunch of money anyway. They probably had enough in investments and trusts that even if they foreclosed, the hit to their credit wouldn’t even make a dent. This wasn’t a personal loss. Just a business decision.”

Cali wasn’t wrong about the place being huge. It was over ten thousand square feet and had over ten bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Even at the foreclosure price, it had cost him a big chunk. The outside didn’t look all that bad, but the moisture that had gotten into the walls was devastating and the mold damage was extensive. A lot of the work wasn’t anything he could do himself, but he had good relationships with the local contractors, so he knew he wouldn’t get ripped off and would get good deals.

A cold breeze whipped through the trees that surrounded the property. There were so many, it was almost as if he and Cali stood in the middle of the forest. It would be a great sales feature when the house was put on the market. “Let’s get inside before you freeze to death.” He set a hand on the small of her back and had to hold back a satisfied grin when she didn’t swat him away.

Unfortunately, he had to let her go when they reached the door and he fished the key out of his back pocket. He held the door open for her as she entered the dark entryway. “Hold up,” he said as soon as she was inside. “Let me get the lights.” He flipped the switch and the few bulbs still wired in lit up.

“Oh wow. You weren’t kidding about the renovations.”

Cali’s eyes traveled around the work in progress. The wall that separated the entryway from the first sitting area was torn down, just studs in its place. They could see straight through to the back of the house where there was a mixture of high-end finishes and barebones structures.