LAUREN

 

 

Tyler had only mentioned Sadie a few times in passing and, because of the way he spoke about her, her mothering tendencies, her bossiness, her strict attention to the job, I had wrongly pictured an older woman. Someone motherly. Grandmotherly perhaps. Sadie was anything but.

She stuck her hand out again. “Sadie Anderson. I’ve heard so much about you.” 

My gaze flicked down to her extended hand but I didn’t take it. Sadie laughed. “I guess we’ve already done the handshake thing, huh. My bad. It probably doesn’t help that I’m all sweaty and I’ve hardly got any clothes on.” Her eyes fell to my naked legs and I tugged my shirt down further. “Mind you, you’re not doing much better.”

“I wasn’t expecting visitors.”

“Didn’t Tyler tell you I was coming over?” Her eyes travelled from my legs back to my face as I shook my head. “Arsehole. He asked me to pick up his dry cleaning. I don’t know why it was so urgent. I mean, he has, like, hundreds of suits. I don’t know why he needed this one so urgently.” She sighed, leaning against the kitchen bench, watching as the bacon crisped in the pan. “But I guess that’s my job, isn’t it? Fetch. Do as I’m told. Yes, sir. No, sir. Three bags full, sir.” She plucked a piece of bacon from the pan and popped it straight into her mouth, not even blinking at the scalding heat. “Where is he, anyway? He’s usually done by now.”

Done with what? I wanted to ask, but that would have been admitting I had no idea where he was. Sadie walked back to where her bag was dumped on the floor, picking up the clothes she had discarded to greet me. “Tell him I’m here.” And then she sauntered into the bathroom as though she owned the place. Or, at least as though she had done it many times before.

When Tyler finally walked in the door, the bacon, eggs, and tomatoes were ready and sitting on a plate and I had pants on. Dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, he was covered in sweat, a towel slung around his neck.

“Morning,” he greeted as he walked across the floor. He took my cheeks between his hands and pressed a firm kiss to my lips, a smacking sound filling the air. “I’ll just have a shower and then we’ll eat, okay? Feel free to have yours though. No need to wait for me.”

I looked down at the plates, no longer caring whether the food was hot or not, as Tyler walked towards the bedroom. Catching the dry cleaning out of the corner of his eye, he changed direction to collect it.

“Sadie came, I take it?”

“You could say that,” I replied, dragging a stool out from the bench and plonking myself onto it. “She’s in the shower.”

“Huh.” Tyler hung his suit on the back of the bedroom door. “I guess I will be eating first, after all.” He sat beside me and plucked some bacon from his plate, tearing a piece off with his teeth. “I was going to cook. I didn’t expect you to.”

“Good,” I replied. “Because I’m not that good at it.”

Tyler shrugged. “Tastes great to me.”

He clearly thought nothing odd about another woman using his shower. He sat beside me, chewing each mouthful, oblivious to the thoughts that were stampeding through my mind.

“Where were you?” I asked.

Tyler glanced at me sideways. “Sorry, I should have left a note or something. I’ve got a gym of sorts on one of the lower levels. I work out most mornings, though I was running a little late this morning.” He grinned. “Might have had something to do with the late night workout I had.” Reaching out, he took my hand, tugging me so I slid off the stool and stood between his legs. “You okay?” he asked. “You’re awfully quiet.”

I shook my head and plastered on a smile. “I’m fine.”

Tyler frowned. “Fine? That bad, huh?” The way he said ‘huh’ sounded just like the way Sadie had said it and my stomach twisted. “I’m no expert, but as far as I’m aware, when someone says fine they never mean fine.”

The bathroom door opened and Sadie walked out, looking impeccably groomed for someone who had spent so little time in front of the mirror. Her hair was deadly straight, flowing down either side of her face, high-heeled shoes were now covering her feet, and she was wearing a black one-piece pantsuit with a short, crisp white jacket over the top. Any makeup she had on was flawless, giving off an appearance of unaffected and natural beauty.

“Hey Sades,” Tyler greeted her, his gaze barely flicking over her.

She rolled her eyes, bunching her workout gear into a ball and shoving it into her bag. “You could have let Lauren know I was coming.”

He looked between us. “Sorry,” he said again. “I guess I’m not used to having someone else around.”

And yet, Sadie was clearly used to being there.

Tyler pushed the remains of his breakfast towards Sadie. “Want some?”

She shook her head, leaning over to peck a kiss on his cheek. “I’m going to get a head start. See you at the office.”

She was just about at the door when Tyler turned. “Have you—”

“Yes,” she yelled over her shoulder.

“But what about—”

“Goodbye, Tyler,” she called out and threw a wink in my direction. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Lauren. I hope I’ll see a lot more of you.”

As soon as the door slid shut and I heard the grinding of the elevator, I twisted to face Tyler. “That is your assistant?”

Tyler looked up, startled. He could hear the accusation in my tone. Before answering, he cleared his throat. “I told you about Sadie.”

“You didn’t tell me she looked like that.”

“Like what? Like a woman?”

“Like an extremely attractive woman.” I moved away from the space between his legs and sat back on the stool to finish my breakfast.

Tyler lifted a single brow, leaning over to place his elbow on the bench, his head in his hand. “You find her attractive?”

“Of course I find her attractive,” I said a little more forcefully than I intended. “Anyone would find her attractive.”

“I guess she is.”

“You guess?”

Tyler frowned. “I feel like I’m being led into some sort of trap here. Am I supposed to find her attractive?”

I pushed my plate away, no longer wanting to finish the last strips of bacon.

“Are you jealous?” he asked, the slightest hint of mirth playing in the corners of his mouth.

I deliberated in my head. Truthfully, I was feeling jealous. This woman just sauntered into his apartment as though she had done it a million times before, thought nothing of using his shower, and then proceeded to kiss him before leaving. Even if it was just a peck on the cheek, it still made my heart beat erratically and uncertainty settle in my gut.

Tyler got up from the stool, walking behind me to wrap his arms around my waist. The scent of him was intensified from his work out and I inhaled unintentionally, cursing myself as a tingling sensation prickled between my legs.

“You have nothing to be jealous of,” he said into my ear, his lips brushing over my skin until he sucked the drop of my earlobe into his mouth, teeth grazing the tender flesh. I squirmed on the stool, clenching my thighs together, determined not to succumb. It both annoyed and excited me how easily I was turned on by him.

When I didn’t turn, didn’t melt to his kiss, he dragged my stool with me on it, backwards, creating room for him to stand in front of me.

“Sadie and I have been friends for years. She’s been my assistant for years, though I doubt she will be for much longer. We have never been, and never will be together. You have nothing to worry about. I’m all yours.”

He looked straight into my eyes as he said it and, as each word fell from his mouth, my annoyance dissipated to be replaced with a touch of guilt. There was nothing either Tyler or Sadie did that I should be annoyed about. And yet, it was still there niggling at the back of my mind, her familiarity with him, her knowledge of his life, his whereabouts. I was new in his life and she had been there for years. I had everything and nothing to be jealous of.

I sighed. “I’m not jealous.”

“You’re not?”

“No.”

“Well, I guess I have nothing to worry about then.”

“Nope, guess not.” I shook my head.

Tyler leaned over and hooked his finger on the neckline of my t-shirt, his eyes darting downwards. “Care to join me for a shower?”

* * *

Emerging from the shower clean and satisfied, if not a little tender, I gathered my gear and collected what I would need for the day into my pack. Tyler stood at the mirror, twisting the loops of his tie.

“I’ve organised Jimmy to come and collect you.” He adjusted the knot until it sat evenly at the base of his throat. “I’ve given him strict instructions to keep his hands to himself.”

“Tyler!” I exclaimed.

Tyler grinned. “Kidding,” he said. “Though I did inform him of the change in our relationship, just in case he had any ideas.”

I laughed and was about to say that Jimmy was too young for my tastes, before remembering that Gabe was probably younger. My laughter died away and I cleared my throat, watching as Tyler took the suit jacket from its hanger and shrugged it over his broad shoulders. He was so gorgeous it made my heart ache.

“Did Jimmy really need to know?” I asked cautiously. “Don’t you think that maybe we should wait a little before announcing to everyone that we are together?”

“Why?”

“Because of…” I didn’t say his name. It still hurt. The guilt.

He walked over and placed a kiss on my nose. “No,” he said simply.

“No?”

He shook his head, hands resting on each of my shoulders, and peered down to look into my eyes. “No.” Releasing me, he turned to collect his keys. “We’ll go to Maria’s for dinner tonight. I’ll pick you up from the site around six. Will you have enough to do to keep yourself busy until then?”

Having gathered my gear, I followed him into the elevator. “Billie’s picking me up for lunch. No doubt that will take a while.”

Jimmy was waiting beside the car, hands stuffed into the pockets of worn jeans and squishing a discarded cigarette butt under the toe of his boot. He smiled nervously when I approached and held the door open.

“Why thank you,” I said, smiling at him mischievously. “Such a gentleman.”

“Ma’am,” he replied seriously. He looked over to Tyler and nodded, a look passing between them I didn’t understand.

Jimmy was quiet in the car, fiddling with the radio, adjusting the angle of his seat, the distance between his feet and the pedals, anything but acknowledging my presence.

“Is everything okay?” I asked when I couldn’t stand it any longer.

He looked up sharply. “Everything is fine, thank you.”

“You’re very serious, and not one swear word has been said.”

A small smile crept over his face, but he wiped it away quickly. “You’re with the boss now.”

“And that changes me?”

Jimmy shook his head, eyes set firmly on the road. “Not you. Me.”

“Why?”

“Why?” he repeated. “Because you’re with the boss now and Mr Thornton is not someone I want to mess with.”

“And being relaxed, talking to me and being friendly, that is messing with Tyler?”

Jimmy looked across and narrowed his eyes, unsure how to answer.

“I believe that what I say should be the gauge of how you treat me, not Tyler.”

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “Mr Thornton said some strong words.”

“Like what?”

The smile that was threatening before slowly crept across his face. “I’m not telling you.”

I crossed my arms, feigning annoyance and looking at Jimmy sideways.

His usual cheek-splitting grin overcame his face. “Fuck it.”

He didn’t shut up after that, telling me of all the recent developments at the site. How the interior of the lower level was being done, and the interior designers strutted around in high heels and refused to wear the correct footwear on the site. How the construction on the upper levels had hit a snag due to the roofing contractors not doing what they were contracted to do, so all work had been halted on the top floor. And how he was ever so slowly getting over his fear of heights by making himself crawl out on the scaffolding each lunch break.

* * *

When Billie arrived to collect me at lunchtime, I had completed all the shots to showcase the development of the exterior and I only had the interior of the lower level to go. She had sent a text to let me know she’d arrived, and when I walked outside she was waiting in the car, phone stuck to the side of her face. She pointed to it and rolled her eyes when I sat in the passenger’s seat.

“It will have to be another time,” she said to the person on the phone. She rolled her eyes again and put the car into gear, flicking a glance over her shoulder before pulling out. A vehicle braked behind us as she cut it off, horn blasting to show its frustration. Billie adjusted her chin, wedging the phone between it and her shoulder and held her hand out the window, pulling the finger at the driver behind us before joining the flow of traffic.

“No. It doesn’t suit. I need a different appointment time.” She looked over at me, motioning a flapping mouth movement with the hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel. “Fine. That will have to do.”

She threw the phone into the holder between the seats before plastering a smile on her face and performing another award-winning eye roll. “Doctors,” she said. “They think that everyone should change their schedule to suit them. Does it not occur to them that other people have lives too and can’t just drop everything because they have an ‘opening’?” She put air quotes around the word, causing the car to swerve slightly. My fingers curled around the seat belt, and I sent up a prayer that it would do the job it was intended for if needed.

The café that Billie chose was modern, minimalistic and trendy. The dishes that came out of the servery were pretty but the size of them looked more suitable for a sparrow than a human. Billie couldn’t decide what to have and none of the options sounded appealing to me. The vegetables were all fermented, and everything was organic, but the menu spoke more about the process to create each dish than what it actually consisted of. Even the coffee tasted weird.

I heard about every doctor’s appointment and every bout of morning sickness, which, she informed me, did not stick exclusively to mornings. I even heard about Hamish’s hesitation to have sex in case he hurt the baby. I did my best to forget that little piece of information.

After we were done eating, Billie reached over the table and took my hand in hers, tears glistening. “I don’t care what Hamish says.” She blinked and the tears lessened. “I want you at the birth.”

To say I was shocked was an understatement. I choked a little on the carrot, beetroot and wheatgrass juice that Billie had ordered for me—because it would change my life—and had to thump my chest, coughing to recover.

“You want me at the birth?”

“Of course I do,” Billie said, taking my choking for emotion rather than shock. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I am surrounded by testosterone. There are zero females in this family and I need another female around. You’re the first girl any of the boys have brought home. Like, seriously. Maybe they brought the odd girl home when they were back in high school or something, to like, ‘hang’.” Again, the air quotes. “Well, I imagine anyway. I wasn’t there. Obviously. I’ve decided I like having you around. I told him that too.”

“Told who?”

“Hamish.” She winked mischievously. “Whether you’re dating Gabe or Tyler, I like you.” She threw the remainder of her juice down her throat. “And if you get tired of Tyler you can always move onto Jake.”

“Billie!”

“What?” she said. “You might like that caveman thing.” She screwed up her face, making it clear she did not. “Just stay away from Hamish.”

I didn’t know whether to protest or laugh. I went with laughter.

Billie cleared the smile from her face. “I mean it.”