Chapter Eleven
Cash
Her scent lingered on my skin even through the warmth of my shower. She’d fallen asleep quickly after we’d said goodnight. I’d wanted so badly to kiss her, to touch her. It took all my power to turn away from her and will myself to sleep.
But I didn’t sleep. I listened to her heavy breathing and her mumbles beneath her breath. She said Ryder. It ate at me to know who he was to her. Joey didn’t mention a Ryder when he researched her past relationships for me. I questioned getting up and Googling this Ryder. Waking Joey up and demanding he do another background check. But I didn’t.
I didn’t want to leave her alone. I’d never admit how scared I was to find her on the floor. What had she been thinking? She wasn’t obviously. It didn’t take long after getting her close to me to imagine the thoughts fluttering through her mind. But, I had no idea what she was thinking and it drove me crazy.
I lathered my hair and focused on my schedule for the week. The things I needed to do grew hourly. I’d slacked the last few days because of her, and I needed to go in and make it up. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t slack at work because of this. It hadn’t turned out well so far.
I had to get my shit together.
I finished my shower, grabbed a towel and drug it over my body. Mid-swipe I noticed her standing in my doorway. Her eyes were glued to my chest and then my abs and then my dick. A ton of emotions swarmed her face.
Her bubblegum colored mouth opened and a soft sigh left her lips. The tangles in her hair from sleep only added to my desire to truly take her to my bed.
“Good mornin’,” I said, breaking the silence that had clogged her throat.
She blinked three times slowly before meeting my gaze. “I—I’m, I’ve got to go get ready.”
I opened my mouth to speak but she’d already run out of the room. I took a step forward to go after her but thought better of it. Putting on some clothes would probably be a better idea.
Gloria stood in the kitchen when I descended thirty minutes later. She looked over her glasses at me. “Good morning, Ms. Gloria.”
She grunted, sliding the plate of blueberry muffins my way. “Morning, Cash. Sleep well?”
I leaned against the counter and snagged a muffin. “I did. Is there something that you wanted to talk about?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Not at all… well, maybe about the Henry girl who came running through here thirty minutes ago.”
I checked my messages. Briefly reading that our newest deer stand would be ready by tonight. “I didn’t sleep with her.”
Gloria dumped the muffins onto a plate in the center of the counter. “No one said you did.”
I lifted a brow. “And what if I did?”
Gloria turned to look at me. “Since when do you offer the guest house to your employees? You’re up to something. You don’t ever bring women home. And now you have a young one living with you.”
“So it’s because she’s young?”
Gloria shook her head. “I have to get lunch ready. I’ll send it through Joey.”
I took Gloria’s worry with a grain of salt. She had the overly protective grandmotherly thing down perfect. “Thank you, Gloria.”
She waved me off.
I knocked on the door when I got to the guest house. I had made a promise that I’d give her privacy.
The door swung open a couple minutes after. Sydney’s eyes were turned down, her bottom lip tucked into her mouth. I waited until she looked up to speak. “How are you feeling? How’s your …,” I smirked, “bottom today?”
Pink flushed her cheeks. “It’s fine. A little bruised but fine. Are you ready to go?”
Nodding, I gestured for her to go ahead. She took four easy steps to get around me, purposely avoiding touching me. She watched the ground as we walked through the house toward our ride.
Joey opened the door for her and she ducked in quickly. “She’s quiet this mornin’.”
I eyed him.
Joey grinned “What’d you do to her?”
I give him a long shrug as I roll up my shirtsleeves. “Nothing yet. She had an accident last night and I took care of her.”
Joey lifted a brow but didn’t pry. “You want me to drive slow, boss?”
“Of course.”
I slipped into backseat and found her staring at her phone. The cutoffs she wore bunched around her upper thigh. The girl had legs that any man would die to have wrapped around him. She continued to look at her phone as I reached for the medicine in my jacket pocket. I tapped her knee with my finger. “You need to take these.”
She grabbed the pills, took a sip of her water and tossed them into her throat. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome,” I said, resting my hand behind her head.
She didn’t move at my closeness, her motions stalled.
“You plan to finish today, right?”
Sydney leaned backward against the seat. “Yes.”
“Perfect. I want you to come with me tomorrow morning.”
Her tongue darted out dampened her lower lip. “And where might we be going?”
“Hunting.”
The look on her face was hilarious. “Don’t be too surprised, Sydney. You didn’t think we started a deer stand business just because did you? My brother and I do a lot of hunting.”
She narrowed her gaze. “I’ll bet.”
Leaning backward, I let my fingers find the base of her neck. “Funny girl.”
Joey slowed down and the car stopped. “Joey will be back to pick you up at three when your classes end. He’ll have lunch brought to you too.”
She huffed. “Does he need to wipe my ass too?”
Her smartass mouth would be the death of me. I gripped her neck and turned her head until she stared me in the eye. “That smart mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day.”
“So you’ve said,” she whispered.
“Why are you so defensive all of the sudden?”
She blinked once but looked down and focused on the pen in my shirt pocket. “I’m not.”
“You are.” I tilted my head. “Do you remember what we talked about last night?”
Her eyes told me yes but she shook her head. “No.”
“Let me take care of you.”
I released her neck, watching as she swallowed hard. “I’m—I’ll see you later. I’ll be waiting for Joey.” She scurried out and into the small art gallery.
Joey’s laugh echoed from the front as he rolled the window between us down. “She was in a rush, boss. What you doin’ to that girl back there?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Hell yeah, that’s why I asked.” He shook his head and scoffed. “What do you have going on with her, Cash? I’ve never seen you pursue one for so long especially if you aren’t getting anything out of it.”
Joey’d been my friend since elementary school. I wasn’t worried about him telling but him judging. He’d always been the voice of reason between the two of us.
I looked out the window and tried to busy myself with my phone. “I have a new deer stand coming in tonight, and I think I’m going to try it out tomorrow.”
“Stop bullshittin’,” he spat. “Is it that bad?”
Should have known. Sitting my phone down, I placed my elbows on my knees and finally looked up at him. “Her mother paid me to date her and give her some good publicity.”
Joey’s jaw dropped. “Paid you? It must be some serious cash for you to do it, bro. How much?”
“A million. Enough for us to successfully open in Dallas and go public.”
Joey let out a long whistle. “Damn. That’s a serious deal. You up for the challenge? It looks like you’re a little soft on her.”
I scoffed. “She’s beautiful, but I’m not soft for her. I’m having a good time.”
“You’re playing her.” I didn’t want to fucking hear it. Joey eyed me hard in the review mirror. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Cash. Someone is gonna get hurt.”
I sat backward quickly, bracing one arm around the leather headrest. I needed to relax before I got angry. I tried to save my anger for the boardroom. “I don’t need a lecture.”
Joey scoffed. “Well, you’re gonna get one. Nobody else has the balls to tell you the truth. What do you think will happen if one of you catch feelings, man? Or she finds out about the deal?”
“Well, we’ll have to make sure that doesn’t happen, now won’t we?”
Joey shook his head. “Whatever, Cash. It’s you on the line not me.”
I ignored him, scanning through more emails for anything to distract me. By the time we arrived at my building, my anger had burned out. I couldn’t stay mad at Joey, and especially not for speaking his mind.
When we stopped, I met him around the side of the car where he ushered me into the building. Once on the elevator, he leaned against the railing with a huff… “Listen—,”
I stopped him with my hand. “Don’t worry about it, Joey. I understand your concern, but,” the elevator dinged, “I’ve got it under control. No one is going to get hurt.”
There was no way he believed me. I saw it plain as day on his face. “Okay, Cash.” He directed his attention to Katy who sat at her desk. Her blue eyes turned down when Joey looked at her. “Good mornin’,” he said to her.
She smiled shyly. “Good mornin’, sir.” Her eyes quickly found mine. “You have two messages,” she said, handing me a memo. “And Mr. Derrick will be here within the hour with the new product.”
Slipping my notes into my pocket, I watched as Joey eyed Katy. This should be fun. “You’re new to town, aren’t you, Katy?”
Katy glanced up at me and nodded. “Yes sir, I’m from Louisiana.”
Joey gave me a long sideways glance. “Well it’s settled then. Joey can take you out this weekend so you can enjoy the beautiful city of Savannah. You up for it Joey?”
Joey’s fist clenched against the top of her Mahogany desk, and he chuckled. “I’m going to kill you,” he whispered below his breath. He hated when I did that but this way he’d be busy for a while.
Katy blushed hard. “Um … sure. If you’re up for it—,”
“I am.” Joey pulled a Post-It note across the desk and scribbled his number down. “Text me. We’ll set something up.” He straightened and gave me a small smirk. “See you later, brother.”
I grinned. “Always.”
“Mr. Josh Boley is here to see you.”
The name brought back memories. He was right alongside my brother, Joey and me in college. The e-mail I received the week before had asked if I would be willing to take his nephew in for an internship while he finished up his last semester of college.
Of course, I agreed. The kid had good credentials, and his major in business could possibly be an asset in the near future. More minds to expand our brand were always a step in the right direction.
I shut my laptop and noticed Katy smiling ear-to-ear. “What’s got you so happy?”
“N—nothing. Can I send Mr. Boleyn in now?”
Studying her face, I stood and gestured them inside. Boleyn didn’t look any different than he had six years before. The only difference was he wasn’t wearing a baseball cap and didn’t have a beer in his hand. But he had the same shit-eating grin on his face.
“Jenkins,” he said, leaning backward on his heels. “You look the same as ever.”
I shook his hand. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
He winked. “The only difference is that there isn’t a pretty blond hanging on your side.”
Loosening my tie, I looked over at the kid standing next to him. He looked a lot like Boleyn’s older brother. And judging by Katy eyeing him up and down, I’d say he was easy on the eyes. “Well, I asked her to step into my coat closet,” Cash said.
Boleyn slapped my shoulder and turned to the kid smiling at me. “This is Brayden. He’s Kurt’s kid. There isn’t any denying ‘em. They look just a like.”
I stepped forward and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Cash Jenkins. You can call me Cash.”
Nervously, he ran his free hand over his light hair and chuckled. “It’s an honor to meet you. My professor at SSU—,”
“Brannon?” I asked.
His smiled widened. “Yes, sir. He always talks about your success. I’ve looked up to you for a while. This is the biggest opportunity for me, sir.”
Boleyn gave me a Cheshire smile. “Don’t go fueling his ego kid, you’ve already got the internship.”
“My head’s big enough, I get enough ego strokes from the blond in my closet. Have a seat. Katy bring these gentlemen some tea.”
Katy scurried off, the sound of her heels clicked against the hallway floor. I chuckled under my breath, looking across the table at Brayden. “So tell me about you.”
An hour later, I was one hundred percent sure that taking Brayden on as an intern was a good decision. He was smart, work-driven, and hire-worthy. “This has been great,” Boleyn said.
I nodded, pushing back against my chair to stand up. The door swung opened a moment later and Ash strolled in with two bags of Chinese food hanging from both hands, but it wasn’t the Chinese that caught my attention, it was Sydney walking in after him.
“I thought we installed that new security system in to keep out the riffraff, brother.”
Boleyn let out a holler. “Well I’ll be damned if it isn’t the richest, dirtiest son of a bitch in Savannah.”
Ash dropped our food onto a table and widened his arms. “In the flesh.”
Despite the noise, it wasn’t the rowdy reunion between my brother and Boleyn that had my blood pumping. It was the smile on Brayden’s face and the way he hadn’t looked he had looked at Sydney from the moment she walked into the room.
I jammed my hands in my pockets. The urge to force everyone to leave, drag her over my desk and sink into what I knew would be a delicious-as-sin fuck had started to overwhelm me.
I needed to think fast and focus.
Grinding my teeth together, I stepped forward and curled my arm around Sydney’s waist. “How did work go?”
Her brows shot to her hairline. “Fine.”
Boleyn tugged my brother over by his shoulder. “Who is this pretty lady, Asher? You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend?”
Girlfriend? My fingers tightened around her waist at the same time Asher howled in laughter. I hated myself for wanting to strangle the air from Boleyn’s lungs, but dammit I hated the sound of her being referred to as anyone else’s girlfriend.
“I’m not his—,”
“She’s not his girlfriend,” I said, trying hard to keep my voice neutral. “She’s an artist, and I’ve hired her to paint for me. Her name is Sydney.”
Asher elbowed Boleyn. “I wouldn’t mind taking Ms. Henry out for dinner some time.”
Brayden rocked back on his heels. “Neither would I.”
Goddammit. I could feel the heat rising to my face, and I prayed that acting class had done me some good. Sydney’s head shook back and forth. “I’m not a cheap date,” she smiled, looking at her paint streaked clothes. “Even though I look it today.”
Brayden shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned. I hated that stupid grin already. “I wouldn’t dream of takin’ you on a cheap date.”
His mouth moved, but I didn’t hear all of what he said. Ash’s eyes bored a hole into the side of my face. He knew I was about to go ape shit. Asher stepped forward and slapped Brayden on the back. “You ready to be tossed into the lion’s den Monday morning?”
Brayden drug his eyes from Sydney, but my uneasiness didn’t subside. “I’m ready, I can’t wait to start.”
Boleyn stretched his arms above his head. “Speaking of lion’s dens, if I don’t get you back in time for that swim meet your dad is gonna kill me.”
He swims? I tried not to look at him but I could tell he worked out. It shouldn’t matter, it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t get close enough to show Sydney any of those swimming muscles. I’d break his arm.
“True.” He turned to me and offered his hand. I gripped his hand and gave it a hard shake. “I look forward to seeing you Monday, Mr. Jenkins.”
“You, too. We’ll see you at eight a.m.”
Boleyn exchanged goodbyes with everyone before shutting the door behind himself. Relief flooded me when the door clicked behind him, but then Sydney stepped out of my embrace. “What’s up with you?” she asked.
Asher lifted a brow as he took out our lunch.
“Nothing,” I said, straightening my tie.
She watched me through narrowed eyes and carefully sat down next to Asher. “Whatever,” she mumbled.
I saw Asher try to hide his smile. “You going to eat?” he asked over the lid of his drink.
That smartass look was back on his face. He knew him picking up Sydney today would piss me off. Plus, Gloria would be pissed if she knew we hadn’t eaten the lunch she cooked. I rounded my desk and took a seat.
Ash squeezed soy sauce onto his plate. “You want to go try out the new deer stand in the morning? I’ve been itchin’ for some deer meat.”
Sydney ate silently, only looking up when it took me too long to answer. “Actually, I want to take Sydney hunting in the morning. I’ve sent an e-mail out to Carter for him to go ahead and set up the stand beside my other one.”
Ash’s smile widened when Sydney choked on her food. “About that. You don’t want me to actually hunt, do you? I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ve never been hunting before. I wouldn’t know what to do.”
I knew that. I knew she’d never had her prissy ass in a deer stand, and that’s why I wanted to take her. I wanted to show her something she’d never seen before. “That’s okay. I want you to go.”
Sydney pushed back a lock of blond hair from her forehead. “What does this have to do with painting?”
Ash’s brows lifted to his hairline.
I leaned over, placing my elbows against my desk, dropping my gaze to her mouth before meeting her eyes. “Absolutely nothing.”