Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
“Okay.” Then she paused. “Maxx, my check is too much.”
“Nope. Consider it a bonus for all you’ve done. Go shopping, buy yourself something.” I flicked the lace on the sleeve of her blouse. “Maybe another frilly one of these.” I leaned closer. “To replace the one I ripped.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she slapped my hands away. “Stop it. I don’t need a bonus.”
I leaned against the desk. “Too bad. You’re getting one.”
“I didn’t do this to get extra money,” she protested.
“I know,” I snarled. “I gave you the bonus because I wanted you to have it. Jesus, woman, why are you always so difficult?”
“Why are you always so grouchy?”
There was no thought. One second, she was talking; the next, my mouth was on hers, hard, heavy, and powerful. I kissed her until she softened under me, until my head was so full of her, I could barely break away.
I pressed my forehead to hers. “Because you make me grouchy, Red. You make me feel a lot of things I don’t want to feel, and it pisses me off.”
“Oh,” she replied, her breathing fast.
“Now, take the check, put it in your account, and go shopping for god’s sake before I throw you down right here and Brett gets one hell of a show.”
She blinked at me, her eyes still unfocused. She reached for the checks and stuffed them in her purse.
“Okay, boss. Good talk. Thanks. The bank. Yeah, okay. Easy peasy.”
“Oh and, Charly?”
“What?”
“Order the computer and the software, as well as the iPad. Whatever one you want.”
“Really?” she breathed.
“Yep. I can hardly wait to see what you do with it.”
She was almost vibrating with excitement, which amused me. Then she turned and walked into the wall. She yelped, and I reached out to steady her. “Careful.”
She shook off my hold. “No more touching, gosh dang it. Kissing, computers… You mess with my head, Maxx.”
“You do the same,” I murmured.
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She walked out, my gaze following her long after she disappeared.
She had no idea how much she messed with my head. Or what she did to my heart.
I wasn’t sure which one was more dangerous.
CHARLY
I had coffee with Mary, enjoying the unexpected day off and the time to sit and do nothing for a change. I gave her the check, and she wasn’t surprised when I handed it to her. “Maxx is just like his father. He hates to owe anyone. Thomas Reynolds hated credit,” she explained. “Yet he never hesitated to extend it to someone who couldn’t afford to pay their bill all at once.”
“Maxx said something about hating to owe money.”
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” She leaned forward. “What did he say?”
“I think he was so shocked, I haven’t seen his entire reaction yet. But what he took in, he liked.”
“The new logo?”
“We’re going to discuss that tonight. He hired Brett today, so that is a good step.”
“It is. For Maxx, it’s huge.”
I finished my coffee and carried the cup to the sink. “I’m going to Lomand to the bank and the store. Anything you need?”
“I’d appreciate some milk.”
“Sure. I’ll drop it off on my way back. Easy peasy.”
I drove to town, listening to some music. I stopped at the bank, opened an account, then got the petty cash and grocery checks cashed and put the money back into the envelope the checks came from. I held the envelope in my hand, heading to my car, thinking over what I needed at the store when I ran into something, or as it happened, someone.
My purse fell to the ground, the envelope slipping from my hand and landing on the gravel. I fell on my ass, then scrambled quickly to my knees, looking up to see what, or whom, I had hit. I met the smarmy smirk of Wes Donner, and I had to resist rolling my eyes. The idiot simply didn’t get it.
“Excuse me,” I stated, gathering up the items that fell from my purse. He didn’t move, watching me from above with a shit-eating grin on his face. I tugged at the envelope he had placed his foot on, holding it against the ground. Reining in my anger, I looked up. “Move your foot.”
His grin got wider, making it all the uglier somehow.
“You look good on your knees in front of me.”
I tugged on the envelope, trying not to show my revulsion. He slid his foot forward, trapping more of the packet under his sneaker.
“I bet you’re good on your knees, aren’t you?” he muttered. He peered down, focusing on the logo on the corner of the envelope. “Reynolds Restorations. Is that where you’re hiding?”
I tugged on the paper, even though I knew it wasn’t going to budge until he lifted his foot. And that wouldn’t be until he decided he’d intimidated me enough. I glanced around the parking lot. It was empty except for my car and the few that belonged to employees. The lot was tucked at the back of the bank, so there was no one else around.