Page 30 of Bargain With The Boss (Crescent Cove: The Moguls #2)

Xavier

I backed away from Syd and Jude.

Sabotage.

The word fuzzed in my head like static.

More lies.

Everything between us had been a damn lie. I couldn’t even listen to the rest of the conversation after she’d confessed that she’d been sent to spy on us and find a way to ruin everything.

To report back to her mother.

The tears had nearly swayed me, until she’d said it was her fucking directive.

From the jump.

And I’d let her into our system. I jogged back down the path to my bike and took off to the offices. I didn’t even remember getting to FHK headquarters. It was a complete blur of humiliation.

All the times she’d asked about the business wrapping it in worry—she’d been looking for a way in. To see if there were places she could twist our files to suit her purposes.

To play me for a fool.

Us for a fool.

I parked and ran to the door, my fingers shaking on the code panel as the anger bloomed hotter in my chest. I strode across the showroom to the spiral stairs, my hip slamming into the rail as I rushed upstairs.

The pain barely registered as I got to the top.

I went to my desk and logged in before I even sat down.

The backdoor program I’d put in didn’t feel so paranoid now.

Had part of me known she was lying? I’d pushed it aside because I wanted her. Wanted to believe she was for me. That the connection I’d felt was something special.

But it had been a spell.

I was so damn stupid.

I tracked through her work. The files she’d touched. My stomach churned as I followed her trail. She’d checked every single file that had anything to do with our money. Had she altered it?

Sabotage .

The word pushing at my brain like a fever.

Had she actually done it? All for what?

Did she really think that would be the thing to make Jude go back to Seattle? It wasn’t just the business that kept him here. It was the same reasons that cemented me to this town.

The community.

His family.

Wanting to belong to something bigger than me.

To give back and to protect.

Money wasn’t the sole purpose for that. Our project was just one of many that went to prop up the town.

And yes, dammit, we did turn a profit, but it wasn’t just to pad our bank account.

It was for the families in Cove Gardens who wanted to fill their houses with kids, dogs, and a yard full of toys.

The bikes on their sides next to a skateboard left behind because they were called in for dinner.

Once the houses were built, I’d sometimes take a ride through the development to see what came after the build.

The life that blossomed in the houses we made sure were safe for a family.

Not quick, shoddy work with base materials.

We made sure they’d last forty or fifty years without needing much more than maintenance.

It had been so much more rewarding than riding the high of a stock market deal.

And I’d never have found out I needed more than what I’d been groomed to do if my sister Luna hadn’t come back into my life. If she hadn’t showed me that family could be warmth and laughter.

She’d been the first step in showing me I didn’t have to live with the path chosen for me.

And I’d thought Sydney might be the next one.

But she’d lied.

I pushed away from my computer. I was too strung out seeing where she’d been in our files. Her tainted fingers touching everything we’d built. Everything we’d trusted her to be a part of.

My phone chimed in my pocket.

I had it on silent for everyone save one.

My sister.

Luna:

Hey big brother. Got that tool belt handy? I need some help. I’ll pay in chicken and mac salad.

My fingers hovered over my screen, ready to reply “no.”

I was in no shape to be around anyone.

Then a photo of Luna and Milo came through.

Luna:

Cute nephew photo included for extra added pretty please buttering purposes.

I laughed.

See you in a few.

Luna:

Yesssss.

Then came a series of GIFs expanding in her joy that only my sister would send. Since Luna rarely asked for help, I imagined it was a doozy.

And maybe some manual labor would actually be an outlet for this anger.

I stopped into the room off the first floor that had extra clothes and showers. Juggling our various jobs sometimes required a quick change. And because I was going to my sister’s place, I took a second to pull my shit together.

She was way too intuitive—to a staggering level.

I needed to lock down some of my anger.

I took one of the work trucks with my tools in the back and headed out to Luna and Caleb’s place. He was a teacher at St. Agnes and not exactly the handiest guy. He was open to learning, but I’d been so busy with juggling both jobs that I’d been falling down on my lessons.

My sister’s family had been one of the first home builds we’d done. It was a sweet little Craftsman style house perfect for them. It wasn’t a lakefront property like mine and our parents place, but it had a nice yard ready for Milo to use as he got more mobile.

It was only ten minutes from FHK’s office. When I pulled up the drive, Caleb’s car was missing.

I got out and grabbed my toolbox before walking up the stone path to their house. Out front, there were a series of crystals hung along the porch. I wasn’t sure what Luna did exactly, but walking up the steps, I immediately felt lighter.

There was a series of bells on the doorknob. Crystals wound in the twine jangled cheerfully as I opened the door. I had a feeling it had meaning. My witchy sister always had reasons for what she did.

“Shoes!” she called.

Well aware of her penchant for not treading any energy into her place, I toed out of my sneakers and set my toolbox down before heading inside.

The front living room was full of kid toys, blankets, and sippy cups on three different tables. The house smelled woodsy and sweet at the same time. The walls were a calming sage green with about a million plants. An orange cat hopped off the windowsill and wound around my ankles.

I reached down to stroke my hand down his back. “Hey, Cheddar.”

I stepped around a toddler tricycle into the heart of the home. The crisp tang of lemons hit me first, followed by something spicy. It was Luna after all. Harry Styles played through the hidden speakers in a vibey, happy song about sunflowers.

“Hey!” Luna had Milo on her hip as she swayed in front of the sink. “Thanks for coming.”

“Sure.” I walked toward her and scooped Milo off her hip.

He gave a happy laugh. “Ung!”

“Getting better, pal.” Milo flailed chunky fists toward my chin. I winced at the sticky fingers, but the drooly happiness was worth it.

“Sorry, he’s getting his molars. I swear he’s chewing on everything like he was a baby.”

“No problem.”

She was filling a pan when she turned around, her gaze narrowed. “What happened?”

“What? Nothing.”

“Your aura says otherwise.”

I rolled my eyes and swung away from her to sit at the kitchen table.

Caleb’s planner was open on the table with a coffee cup on top of it.

Luna’s bigger book was on the other side.

She worked from home as a tarot reader for in-person and video meetings.

I shifted Milo onto my lap, but he squirmed to get down.

“How are the terrible twos?”

“Don’t worry about my terrorizer child. What’s up with you?” She handed Milo a sippy cup and set him behind his puzzle table.

“You called me for help.”

“Okay, but your aura is gray with a haze of red. I think my husband’s blunder can wait.”

“What did he do now?”

“He tried to put up floating shelves in my reading room. It looks like we just had an earthquake and everything is slightly off kilter. Never mind that, you first.”

I sighed. “It’s nothing.”

“Nothing?” She put a hand on my cheek and tipped my head up to meet her gaze. “I think not.” Then she gave it a little tap. “Spill.”

“Have any lemonade?”

“If I get you some will you stop avoiding my question?”

“Maybe if you put some beer in it.”

She laughed. “Luna Shandy coming up.” She went to the cabinets and pulled down two mason jars and started building our favorite summer drink. “You aren’t planning Arthur’s demise again, are you?”

“Always.” I kicked out my legs and crossed them at the ankles. Cheddar chased a coil across the cork flooring then rerouted and used his sharp little nails to climb my jeans to settle himself on my chest then immediately set to purring.

“See, even Cheddar Better knows you need something.” She set the sweating glass in front of me with a ridiculously large lime slice on the lip.

I tipped the slice into the glass and lifted it for a sip. Between the drink and the cat and Luna’s house, I felt some of the anger ebb from me.

“It’s a girl.”

I sighed. “Is that your witchy powers?”

“No, sisterly.” She sat across from me at the cluttered table. “And I’ve had that vibe when I’m fighting with Caleb. So spill.”

“Lu, I’m not sure I’m ready to.”

“That bad, huh?” Milo came over with a chunky puzzle piece and tossed it on the table. “Hey, Tornado Mi, does that belong on the table?”

He just shrugged and went back to the bench to return with another, this time he left it on Luna’s leg.

She sighed and piled it with the other. “This is why my house looks like it does.”

I grinned at her. “You love it.”

She wrinkled her nose at me. “Yeah, I do. And I see you changing the subject.”

“Yeah, well it’s a damn long story.”

She stood and took our drinks. “Then come into my lair and tell me all about it.”

I hauled myself up off my chair, dumping the cat on my seat. I picked up Milo on the way by and flipped him up over my shoulder. He squealed and demanded another flip. “You’re not going to pull cards are you?”

“I wasn’t going to, but now I am.”

“Man. I walked into that.”

She snickered as she opened up the door to the four seasons space she used for her reading room. It was bright and cool in the midday sun thanks to three massive fans overhead. More plants were in here, these more oversized with a monstera in the corner as well as a fern that was as tall as me.