Chapter 2

Dayton

I stood in the lobby and watched the elevator indicator rise all the way to the penthouse floor. It took that long for me to get a handle on myself. My mind plotted reasons I needed to visit Mr. Lauren's office while my pulse pounded.

Jessa Lauren was a very attractive woman.

No one had to meet her to know that was true. Her face was always on the society pages, her fashion sense shown off in a flurry of social media every day. I'd seen enough of her to know she was exactly the sort of beautiful, spoiled rich girl that I'd sworn off for life.

Too bad that practical vow didn't stop my mind from replaying our meeting, and my body heated at the memory of catching Jessa Lauren close in my arms. She'd smelled of flowers, some soft and subtle attack on my senses. It didn't matter her pink lips were pinched in irritation.

She was the first woman I'd wanted to kiss in a long time.

I scowled when the elevator finally reached the penthouse floor. Soon there'd be another parade of shopping bags and snobby comments. And it was insane that I was looking forward to it.

"Boss? Everything all right?" One of my workers peered in from the front door and frowned.

He'd probably never seen me stand still for so long and I relieved him by finally striding away from the elevator. If I was smart, I'd find one of the thousand things I needed to do far away from the lobby. Instead, I stopped to inspect where the plaster had fallen and forced me to save that snobby woman.

"We need to put up netting all along here. People are going in and out all day, and we can't take a chance of letting anything else fall," I told the worker.

He nodded and rushed off to get it done.

It wasn't that I was insulted Jessa Lauren thought I was a construction worker. It was good, honest work and I was proud to be part of a team that accomplished real, solid tasks. The building would shine when we were done, brought back to its original glory, and that beat out sitting around shuffling paper or money all day long.

So what if that meant I was wearing hard-worn clothes that always got a little dusty? I'd rather roll my sleeves up and get dirty living instead of sitting in a pristine tower untouched.

I was stalled out, just standing on the front steps again, and my workers were starting to stare.

Even my foreman knocked back his hat to look at me. He scrubbed his forehead and didn't hide his smile as he started up the steps to join me.

"So, I hear you met the boss man's daughter," he smirked. "Don't worry. She turned more heads than just yours."

Mike Jackson never missed a detail. That's why he was my most trusted employee and also my best friend. I'd never met a man with his feet more firmly planted on the ground than Mike.

"I'm just trying to save us from a lawsuit." I pointed to the pile of broken plaster. "Bet her lawyers would have a field day with that."

"Since when are you afraid of a couple of suits?" Mike snorted. He studied my face with a curious smile.

"What?" I snapped.

Mike grinned. "So, you saved the princess, and she treated you like a pauper. That'd make any man a little grumpy."

I strode down the steps towards our office. "Give me a break, Mike. I don't give two shits about spoiled women like Jessa Lauren."

"Is that why you didn't tell her you own the building?" Mike asked.

I spun around and poked a finger hard in his chest. "You better keep your voice down before I shut your fucking mouth for you."

Mike held up his hands but didn't stop smiling. "Bet she would have been nicer to the heir of the Miller real estate fortune."

I palmed the back of my neck and looked at Mike in frustration. "I'm not that guy. Not anymore."

"Your name is still on the building." Mike nodded up to the stone-carved plaque amongst the scaffolding.

"Lucky for me there are many other Miller families in the world. Let's just pretend I belong to one of those." I climbed up the metal stairs to our trailer office.

"Then who should I call about one of your other buildings? The plans are complete for Jack London Square," Mike said.

I looked at my watch. I had just enough time to make it to the East Bay if traffic wasn't bad. It was a simple expansion plan, much easier than this historic renovation. I grabbed my keys and marched back down the metal steps.

Just in time to see Jessa Lauren emerge from the building again.

She flagged me down, her wrist flashing with a dozen gold bangles. "Excuse me? Excuse me!"

Mike chuckled. "She's not talking to anyone else. It looks like you're the one."

"I should make you go over there," I grumbled.

"I don't speak high society." Mike whacked me on the shoulder and walked down to check on the cement mixer.

"We got off on the wrong foot," Jessa said. "Let me introduce myself."

I waved her delicate hand away. "What do you need?"

"How about some manners?" Jessa snapped. Her brown eyes narrowed before she took a deep breath and tried again. "My father would like the lobby cleared. Just for a short time."

"When? Now?" I asked.

Jessa nodded. One hand smoothed down her silky blonde hair as her eyes took in the busy scene outside the building. Men were scattered all over the scaffolding, netting was being hung up over the front door, and a flatbed truck roared up to the sidewalk loaded with materials.

"He said it was a surprise for me," Jessa said.

I saw her bite her lip in embarrassment and felt myself soften. At least Jessa was aware of her exalted status, and she had the decency to feel awkward.

She also had every right to ask. Her father was the best tenant I had, and his long-term lease had all but paid for the historic renovation.

"Hey, it's not your fault you're spoiled," I said. I nudged her in the side with my elbow.

Jessa's eyes widened in surprise and then relief. "If it's too much trouble, I'll tell him I want to do it upstairs," she said.

"And make my men miss out on all the fun?" I put a hand gently on her lower back and steered her up the front steps. "Besides, I need to keep them on their toes."

She flinched and laid a startled hand on my arm when I barked orders up to the nearest workers. The message was relayed in seconds, and Jessa kept her hand on me as she watched the men scramble.

It only seemed natural to take her arm and loop it through mine as we stepped back to let the men work. They clamored into the lobby and started to clear out the pallets and stacks of material.

"I hope this isn't too much trouble?" she asked.

"I hope it's a good surprise. Should we guess what it's going to be?"

Jessa laughed. "All right. You go first."

I looked her up and down. "Well, you seem a little old for a pony."

She swatted my arm with her other hand. "Do I look like a pony kind of girl?"

"Well, it's got to be something big if he wants the whole lobby. How about a sports car? I could see you being a Porsche kind of girl," I smirked.

Jessa's cheeks warmed. "I, I don't drive that much," she said, glaring.

"Ah, yes. The limo driver. Probably safer for everyone." I squeezed her arm and gave her a teasing smile. "You'd drive too fast."

Jessa noticed our arms linked tightly together. My pulse sped up, and I know she noticed the rising temperature between our bodies. Why did she have to be so easy to flirt with? It would have been better if she had pulled away again and tried to wipe off my touch.

Instead, Jessa leaned a little more weight on my arm and sighed. "I know you won't believe me, but I wish I wasn't getting a surprise at all. I wish I could go out and get what I want for myself."

"You didn't this morning?" I asked. "Remember, I saw all those shopping bags."

She frowned and tugged away from me. "That's different. Expected. I wish I could get something for myself. By myself. Does that make sense?"

Mike appeared on the far side of the lobby and waved his radio at me. I held mine up and heard, "boss man wants the chandelier lit. Gonna need an expert eye on this. I don't do antique wiring."

I reluctantly let go of Jessa's arm. She seemed embarrassed at what she had just confessed. The problem was, it only made me like her more. Not only was Jessa Lauren aware of her outrageous privilege, but she longed for the same thing I did: a chance to prove we could make it on our own.

"I'm putting twenty bucks on your surprise being a professional sports team." I joked as I left her under the marble arch of the lobby.

"Thought you'd sworn off girls like her," Mike said when I joined him.

I wedged myself in the small utility closet and looked at the box for the chandelier. It was easier to concentrate on the snarl of wires there than the reasons why I was flirting with Jessa.

"Not all filthy rich people are the same."

Mike snorted. "You're the only exception to the rule I've ever found."

I untangled a few wires and rechecked the fuses. "I don't know. She said something about wanting to make her own way. Didn't sound so spoiled rich girl to me."

"So you're asking her out." Mike held up a flashlight as I worked.

"What? Why? I've got a thousand jobs to get done at multiple buildings. It's not like I have time for a date. Besides, where would I take her?"

Mike laughed. "Don't ask me. But, if you're worrying about that then you'd better go and ask her out. I hear that's the first step. Then you decide where to take her."

I scowled at my friend and twisted the last old wires together again. Mike's walkie-talkie buzzed to life and confirmed that the chandelier was now lit.

"Say I did ask her out," I said to Mike. "Would I have to tell her about my family right away?"

Mike gave me a shove towards the lobby. "Stop getting ahead of yourself. Step one."

I snatched the bandana out of Mike's pocket and wiped my hands on it the best I could. Jessa still thought I was just some blue collar worker and my appearance certainly supported her assumption. Still, I had felt her breath catch when I leaned closer to joke with her. Our attraction was mutual despite what I was wearing.

"If she even mentions the word 'makeover' to me, then it's over," I told Mike.

He rolled his eyes and waved me into the lobby. I tossed him his dirty bandana and strolled back to where I'd left Jessa.

She'd moved from the marble arch to the center of the lobby, right in the center of the sunburst marble design. Reflections from the chandelier twinkled all around her expensive shoes and made it look like she was walking on stars.

Then I saw the man kneeling down on one knee. Mr. Lauren and his wife looked on with proud and pleased expressions. The man on the floor popped open a ring box and flashed a diamond the size of an acorn.

I recognized him; some smarmy socialite that was splashed all over social media more than Jessa herself. Robert Duncan. With his all-American good looks despite his thinning blond hair. And a bank account balance that would make Midas jealous.

I watched as Jessa bit her lip and paused. Then she nodded, and her new fiancé scooped her up in a bear hug. It looked like the surprise had worked out.

I headed out the front door and couldn't get over the Bay Bridge fast enough. I didn't need to work because of my family fortune, but I had to work. Good, honest work was the only thing I really wanted.