Page 15 of Bargain With The Boss (Crescent Cove: The Moguls #2)

Xavier

Sleep had been elusive for the last few nights and no amount of coffee was going to make me fit for the office. Sydney had been staying with Claire and working remotely.

She still kicked ass even while pissed at me.

Luckily Devon knew my schedule needed to be light a few times a week. Instead of putting on a suit, I went with my demo-wear and met Gavin at the worksite.

He was already there with a sledgehammer. We were going to knock down a few walls and build out the corner property. There was far too much water damage from the winters it sat waiting for fucking permits.

We didn’t even speak for the first hour. Both of us bashed in the waterlogged drywall and rotted frames under it. When the workmen had come on for their shift we had made our way into the next building. The heat of the day was already bleeding into the building and sweat slicked my skin.

Gavin nodded to me to go outside. I followed him and accepted the bottle of water from the cooler in the back of his truck. “Care to tell me what your demon is this morning?”

I sighed. “Do I have to?”

He chuckled. “No, but maybe you’ll prevent a migraine.”

I hopped up onto his tailgate and gulped down half the bottle.

“Does it have something to do with a new redhead?”

“That obvious?”

He shrugged. “We haven’t had much else going on. The last few properties have been smooth sailing thanks to our new version of Jude.”

“Jesus, don’t say that out loud.”

Gavin laughed and took a sip from his bottle. “Not like there’s much going on while we’re in demo. Shuffling around some appointments and the endless drudgery of paperwork.”

“Yeah. She jumped right in. I showed her the plans for here and she had some good ideas about seasonal rentals. She’s more retail minded than I am.”

“Huh. Yeah, that’s a good option. Maybe something rotational between the delicatessen and the other bookend. Have you talked to Tatiana about taking the spot?”

“No, I was slammed yesterday.”

And too pissed off to speak to humans who I didn’t have to.

Between seeing Syd with a Maitland and the clusterfuck my Japan call had become, I’d been ready to blow off steam with a few drinks.

I figured I could smooth things over with her, but Sydney had other plans—none of them included me for the last few days.

I could still see her as if it had just happened. Windblown and a bit pink in the face from her time on the water. But the way she’d ripped into me and defended the Maitlands had been a topper to the goddamn night.

Gavin finished his water and dug back in for a soda. He passed a Coke over to me. Any caffeine was good caffeine at this point so I cracked the can.

“Gonna elaborate?”

“Since when do we talk feelings?”

“Okay, fuckhead. We don’t need to.” He started to slide off the tailgate.

“Fuck.” I tipped my head back. “Sorry. Sydney made friends with someone.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Claire Maitland.”

The teasing smile fell away. “Excuse me?”

Buoyed by Gavin’s pure hate for the Maitlands, I went on. “Yeah. Evidently they made fast friends during a shopping trip the other day.”

“Shopping?”

“I know. It’s a long story, not important. But evidently when I went back to the day job, she made friends with Claire. I’m not entirely sure she knew who she was until I told her.”

“Wait, why—back up.”

I sighed and filled him in on the incident at the docks and our less than ideal fight in public. “Then, when I couldn’t find her later I rolled up to the Maitland mansion.”

“You did what?”

“I know, I know. I was worried about her.”

“She’s a big girl, X.”

“I know, but we had a blow-up and what am I supposed to tell Jude if I lost his damn sister?”

“Did you go to Jude’s place to see if she was there?”

No.

No, I knew she wouldn’t be there.

I don’t know why I knew, but I did.

“X?”

“I knew she wouldn’t be at Jude’s,” I muttered.

“Are you fucking her?”

“What the hell, G?”

“You’re being too cagey.”

I set down the can before I crushed it. “No, I’m not fucking her.”

“You want to fuck her.

“Can we stop saying fuck?”

Gavin’s eyebrows shot up. “Since when?” He sipped more slowly, and I could tell he was assessing.

“Shut up.”

“Dangerous game, bro.”

“It’s not like that.”

“No, you would get her out of your system if it was. You’re not shy about getting a woman under you, X.”

“She’s Jude’s sister.”

“Not like it would stop you if you really wanted her.”

And I did. That was the problem. If she was only staying for a few months it shouldn’t be a problem if we wanted to get naked. Then why was I so damn twisted up? “It’s been a few months,” I said absently.

“Not like you.” He finished off his can and tossed the empty back into the cooler. “Probably why you’re so cranky.”

“At least I let off some steam. You’ve been a damn monk.”

“The hell I am. I’m just more discerning than you.”

“Fuck off.”

He grinned. “Besides, you were sniffing around her like a puppy the minute you met Sydney. J was just too blinded by love to notice.”

“She’s interesting. Smart, too.”

“And you have a weakness for redheads.”

“Shut up.”

Gavin hopped off the tailgate. “Get out of here and make some money. I found a new property on Sullivan Hill that looks promising. It’s an old estate that we could make into some cool apartments.”

“At least Maitland won’t block us from buying that one.”

He snorted. “Don’t put it past him.”

I took my Coke to go and we agreed to check in with each other at the end of the day. Instead of heading to the family office, I opted for ours. I wasn’t ready to get back into a stuffy suit. I had a change of clothes, and we had a shower so I could get rid of the grime.

I’d opted for the Shadow instead of my car since the day was sunny again. I took the long way around, still annoyed that I hadn’t heard from Sydney.

Christ, she’d been so angry with me. Not that I had done anything wrong. I was just worried about her. She didn’t know anyone in town and the first friend she makes is a fucking Maitland?

How?

I kicked it into gear, the hum of the engine pushing out my annoyance as I took the winding back roads that led to the old factories.

A few more of them had been snatched up for offices and an art studio.

Just beyond our office was the Wainwright’s printing press.

As I pulled into our parking lot a car was idling near the front door.

My pocket buzzed as I slid my kickstand down.

I pulled off my helmet just as the door to the car opened.

Sydney’s shapely leg stepped out. The summery shoes from the shopping trip were back on and my tongue pressed on the back of my front teeth as I hissed out a breath.

She was wearing one of the dresses from Vintage December.

This one a wrap style that showed off every one of her curves.

The summery turquoise set off her pale skin and made her red hair look like fire.

Goddamn, she was beautiful.

She turned and looked at me, her face cool and her eyes hidden behind her oversized sunglasses. She spoke to the driver then closed the door, waiting with her massive bag.

Had she stopped back at the Sherman? Or had she come right from the enemy camp?

I slipped off my bike and hooked the helmet to my handlebars. She had her hip cocked and my lips twitched when her foot literally started tapping. I took my time crossing the lot to the walkway. Her golden eyes flashed behind her honey colored shades.

Her gaze drifted over my dusty self. “I didn’t have access to the building. Suppose we can fix that today?”

“I have an extra set of keys for you. Are you planning to ride share to work every day? I could have picked you up.”

Her lips flattened. “That’s not necessary.”

I shrugged. “Bet you’d look good on my bike. Might be a little harrowing with that slit in your dress.”

“It’s perfectly modest.”

“Duchess, nothing about that dress is modest.”

Her nostrils flared adorably.

“I’m not complaining.” When she just stared at me, I sighed. “Still mad at me?”

“I’d have to care to be angry.”

I grinned. “Oh, honey you totally care.”

“Duchess, honey, what will it be next? Baby?”

I stepped closer and she sucked in a breath. “Baby doesn’t suit you.”

She licked her lips. “Can we just work, please?”

“Sure.” Suddenly cheered by her acerbic tone, I unlocked the front and put in my code for the alarm. I opened the door and let her go ahead of me. “A few days away help?”

“I was working from—” She cut herself off as she stepped inside and crossed the room to our coffee station.

So she had been with Claire, but I decided to let it go. At least she was here. A part of me wondered if she’d back out and stop helping FHK. We could get by without her even if I didn’t want to.

After a few days?

God, I needed to get a grip.

She came back with two mugs, handing one to me.

“Thanks.”

“Can we discuss some sort of schedule?”

“Sure. I was working with Gavin this morning.”

“Is that why you’re dusty and sweaty?” She pushed her sunglasses on top of her head. Her hair was a bit more loose today, the curls a bit less tamed.

“Yeah, we were demoing at the Terrace property.”

“So, we’re moving now?”

“Yes, we have some more paperwork to deal with. We’ve got the permits started to do the initial demo. The plans are in at town hall, but we still need the updated building permits to go through.”

“Okay, I can work on those.”

“You can?”

“I told you I dealt with a lot of permits and new buildings. I’ll make sure they’re ironclad so they can’t deny the build.”

“Good luck there. This is a small town.”

“They haven’t dealt with me yet, now have they?”

“All the more power to you. I’ll let you take over permits for everything. They drive me absolutely insane.”

“Deal. You take a shower and maybe we can discuss the rest.”

I laughed. “Okay, okay. I didn’t realize I was that bad.”

“You are.” But her gaze slipped a little lower to my neck, then back up to my face.