Chapter Four

Cameron

About a week had passed. I still hadn’t found any other work, and the job at Mrs. Sanborn’s house was complete.

“Thank you, Cameron. You did such a wonderful job. I’m very pleased.”

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Sanborn. If you know anyone who needs some remodeling done, I would be more than happy to give them a quote.”

“I don’t know anyone at the moment, but when I do, I’ll give them your number.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Sanborn. Have a good day.”

“You too, dear.”

As Paolo and I walked to the truck, he spoke, “Now what, bro?”

“I put in a bid today on two jobs. One’s for another restaurant remodel and the other is for a new nightclub that is in development over on Wilshire Blvd.”

“How long until you find out?”

“About a week. Keep your fingers crossed that we get at least one of them.”

I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed James.

“Hey, Cameron.”

“Hi, James. You won’t have to pick up Sierra from work. I’m going to pick her up myself.”

“Oh. Okay. That’ll work out great. I have to take Kirsty downtown to pick up some things and I was a little worried I wouldn’t be back in time with all the traffic.”

“Now you don’t have to worry about it, my friend. Have a good night. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye, Cameron.”

I arrived at Sierra’s office around five o’clock. Stepping off the elevator, I stopped at Sasha’s desk.

“Hi, Sasha. Is she in there?”

“Hi, Cameron. Yes, she’s just meeting with a couple of the teams. I’m sure she won’t mind if you go in.”

“Thanks.” I gave her a smile.

Softly opening her office door, I slipped in and took a seat on the couch. Sierra looked at me and smiled.

“We need to set ourselves apart from the competition,” she spoke loudly to her team. “I will not accept half-assed work here. What the hell is the matter with you? Do you want to be the ones to show these to Lifestyle Foods? Because I sure as hell aren’t going to show them these. Start over. Go drink a bottle of tequila if you have to. I want new and improved on my desk before Monday morning. Understand?”

“Yes, Sierra.” They all sighed at the same time as they got up from the table and walked out of her office.

“You look tired,” I spoke as I held out my arms to her.

Walking over to where I was sitting, she sat on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“I am. How was your day?” Her lips brushed against mine.

“It was good. We finished the Sanborn job and I put in a bid today on two other jobs.”

“Oh? Which ones?” she asked.

“Patina is remolding and there’s a new nightclub being developed over on Wilshire Blvd.”

“I’m sure you’ll get them both. Who can resist your charm?” She smiled.

“I don’t know. Both said they had a lot of contractors bidding and they’d let me know in a week,” I spoke with an irritated tone.

“Don’t worry, baby. Something will pop up. By the way, what are you doing here?”

The corners of my mouth curved up into a smile. “I came to pick you up and take you to dinner. I already called James and told him. I wanted to surprise you.”

“What a wonderful surprise. Do we have to drive in that truck of yours?” She smirked.

“Yes. It’s the only vehicle I have.”

She let out a long sigh. “I think we need to do something about that.”

“And I think we don’t. I love my truck. Now come on. I’m starving.”

****

Sierra

Taking our seats on the patio at Café Pinot, I pulled out my phone and sent a text message to Kirsty.

“I need you to do me a favor.”

“What’s up?”

“Find out who the owner is for that new nightclub on Wilshire Blvd.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain later.”

“Gotcha. I’m on it.”

I knew Cameron had been worried all week about what was next in line for work when he finished the Sanborn job. I tried my best to distract him with hot sex every day, but I could tell it was weighing heavily on his mind.

“Oh. I almost forgot. We need to stop at Tiffany after dinner and pick up Ava’s birthday gift.”

“What did you buy her?” he asked as he took a swig of his beer.

“We bought her a sterling silver olive leaf vine bracelet. She saw it one day when we were shopping and she fell in love with it.”

“How much do I owe you for it?” he asked.

I stared blankly at him for a moment. Why would he ask me that?

“Nothing.” I picked up my drink.

“Sierra, if the bracelet is from me too, then I need to pay my half for it.”

I sat there with a twisted face as I took a sip of my wine.

“I took care of it, Cam. You don’t need to split the cost with me.”

“Actually, I do. I’m not going to let you give her a birthday present from both of us and let you solely pay for it. How much?”

The irritation in his voice was as clear as could be.

“Fine. Fifty dollars.”

“Okay. I’ll pay you when we get home.”

“Like I said, you don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do.” His brow arched at me.

I didn’t know where this was coming from with him and I particularly didn’t like it. I was going to pay for our dinner, but now I decided that I shouldn’t even bring it up. As we were eating, my phone beeped with a text message from Kirsty.

“You’re going to love this. The owner of Luxe is—are you ready?”

“Oh my God! Spit it out, Kirsty!”

“Ashton McCarroll.”

“Haha! Shut up!”

“I know, right?”

“Thanks, Kirsty. I’ll talk to you later.”

Cameron and I finished dinner and headed to Tiffany to pick up Ava’s bracelet. When we arrived home, I kicked off my shoes, unzipped my dress, and let it fall to the kitchen floor.

“What are you doing?” Cameron asked with a wide grin.

“Going skinny dipping. Would you care to join me?” I winked.

Cameron stripped out of his clothes faster than I’d ever seen him before. I dove into the warm, refreshing water and he followed behind. Coming up for air, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his lips. I wanted him to be relaxed and forget about work for the weekend.

“Thank you for dinner.” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry if I had an attitude earlier about Ava’s gift. It’s just I want to pay my way for things, Sierra, and I need you to understand that.”

“I do and there’s no need for you to apologize. I love you.”

“I love you too. I’m not going to let you buy things alone when it involves both of us. It’s not who I am. You’re my girlfriend and I want to take care of you.”

A soft smile crossed my lips. “I love being your girlfriend and you do take care of me. You take care of me more than you’ll ever know.” I winked.

Cameron chuckled. “I know that, but I mean monetarily as well. I want to be able to give you everything you want.”

“The only thing I want is you, Cam. Nothing else.”

“Is that so? What about when Prada puts out a new handbag, or when Jimmy Choo launches a new collection of shoes, or when Valentino creates a new gown?”

“Aw, you remember all my favorite designers. I think I’m going to keep you.” I kissed his lips.

“Can I fuck you now?” he whispered as his tongue caressed my neck.

“Do you even have to ask?” I grinned.