Page 18 of Bargain With the Boss

I was the one who kept the back end of the business running. Me being out here in Crescent Cove wasn’t going to go well for any of us.

My thumbs paused over the screen.

Maybe that was the point.

Maybe this was how my mother would actually see that I was a valuable part of A Home You Love.

“Syd?”

I texted back to Leah for her to let my mother handle it. Then shoved my phone in my bag. “Everything’s fine.”

“I don’t believe you, but we’re here.”

I tucked a lock of hair that blew free from my braid around my ear. “This is where you work?”

He nodded. “Wait until you see inside.”

Before I could get out of the car, he was opening my door, holding out a hand for me. Manners had been too ingrained in me to avoid his hand. His skin was warm and surprisingly calloused. At the same time, he was well groomed. It was an odd mix of masculine and playboy that left me unbalanced.

I immediately dropped his hand when I got out of the car.

“It was an old chair factory back in the day.” He rushed ahead to open the front door for me. It was an old stone building with a surprisingly updated security panel. It was discreet which didn’t take away from the wrought iron touches around the large French doors.

As soon as the doors opened the strong scent of wood and mineral oils hit me in a wave.

“Strong isn’t it? We can’t quite get rid of the scent, but it isn’t offensive.”

“No, it’s...soothing.”

“Right?” He pulled off his sunglasses, tucking them into the collar of his shirt. “Smells like when I used to go over to my Aunt Victoria’s place. She was very proud of her wood floors and built-ins. I always remembered the hint of beeswax on the air from her Sunday cleaning.”

Surprised, I followed him inside, my ballet flats quiet on the hardwood floors. “Her cleaning?”

“My mother married into the Hastings name. She crawled her way out of Syracuse with good grades and a scholarship. I didn’t get to see Aunt Vick very often, but when I did, I didn’t have to worry about sitting on her furniture or talking.”

“I know how that can be.”

He smiled at me, but the usual charm wasn’t there. “Sucks sometimes.”

“I used to sneak off to the gardener’s shed.” Surprised that I said that, I cleared my throat. “This is wonderful.”

“Gardener?”

I escaped to the big window that showed off the other factory buildings. Some seemed abandoned while others were repurposed like this one. The back of the building had a small garden with large, comfortable chairs that seemed to be half for looks and half for actually enjoying time out there.

The patio was a pretty shale gray with flower boxes full of pansies and coneflowers with an abundance of ninebark that were just starting to bloom. “Who’s the gardener?”

Xavier came up behind me. “Gavin wanted a place to bring clients outside. I put the flower boxes in. Luna helped me pick some plants.”

I turned and he was far closer than I expected. His lashes were long and light blond with dark tips which made his blue eyes far too pretty. The mix of wood and spirits along with his sandalwood scent closed in around me. I reached behind me to twist the doorknob to the back and swung the door open to get a few steps between us.

Xavier grinned. “Do I make you nervous?”

“No, of course not. You’re just a space invader.”

He looked at his hand and waggled it. “Not green.”

“Stop, you know what you’re doing.”