Page 10 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero

LILA

C ross-legged on my couch, I had my sketchpad in my lap and the assignment I was working on for class open on my laptop on the coffee table.

It was Saturday afternoon, but I was nowhere near relaxed after almost getting hit by a car in front of my boss last night.

I also wasn’t making much headway on this assignment.

I sighed and lifted my gaze from the rough outline I’d been drawing on the pad.

My apartment wasn’t much, just a little studio with open-sided stairs up to the loft I used as my bedroom.

My bathroom was through a door under the stairs and I had an open-concept kitchen on the other side of my living space, but that was it.

Even so, it was more than enough space for me alone and I kind of loved it.

It was mine , and that was the most important thing to me.

I’d covered the couches in olive-green and yellow throws and scatter cushions and I had all sorts of knick-knacks on the floating shelves on the wall, cacti in funny-shaped containers and mementos of all the places I’d visited.

Ben had always been completely anal about décor, so I’d gone all out when I’d finally moved back in on my own. I had abstract art—none of it worth anything monetarily—on my walls and even a giant teddy bear sitting at my small, round dining table.

Paying for this place was a stretch on my salary, but I’d splurged because it was close to both my office and the institute. Location had meant more in my apartment hunt than space.

As I looked around my home, so warm and cozy, I suddenly found myself wondering what Ford would think of it.

For just a moment last night, I’d considered inviting him up for a drink.

It would’ve given me the opportunity to get to know him a little better, maybe chip away at some of that mystery he kept himself wrapped up in like a safety blanket, but he’d been so gruff about the whole thing with the car nearly running me over that I’d decided against it.

A light knock on my door saved me from obsessing about what had happened and I smiled, relieved that Addy was finally here. “It’s open!”

I stood up anyhow, striding over to the kitchen to slide two wine glasses out of the cabinet. Addy walked in clutching a bottle of white and brought it straight to me. “What do you mean you nearly got run over last night?”

I chuckled. “I texted you about that this morning. Are you still not over it yet?”

Her rich, dark brown ponytail swished behind her head as she shook it. “How can I be over it? I don’t even know what happened, but it didn’t seem like something one discusses over text messages and I knew I’d be seeing you for our girls’ night, so fill us up and then fill me in.”

“You have such a way with words, but sure. I’ll do all the filling.” I accepted the bottle from her and poured some into our glasses. “It was nothing really. My knee has been stinging a bit all day, but outside of that, I’m fine.”

As I moved out from behind the kitchen counter, her gaze dropped to my injury. It was on full display since I was wearing what I considered my uniform when I wasn’t at work—denim shorts and a flowing, flowery top.

She winced as she looked back up at me. “Ouch. That looks painful.”

I shrugged. “Ford warned me to clean it properly so it wouldn’t get infected. I think I managed to do that. Like I said, it’s just the stinging now.”

“Ford?” She frowned as she followed me back to the couch. “As in, your boss , Ford? Wait, is he the one who nearly ran you over?”

“No.” I scoffed down laughter and dropped into the spot I’d vacated a couple minutes ago, tucking one of my legs underneath and angling myself so I was facing her fully.

“He happened to be driving by when it happened and he was kind enough to pull over to help. I don’t even think he knew it was me at first. I suspect he’s the kind of person who doesn’t really want people to know it, but he actually has a good heart. ”

She smiled, looking me over like she was not so discreetly checking for any other injuries.

Only once those dark eyes of hers had scanned every inch of my arms and legs did she finally speak again.

“Well, thank God he was there, and thank God all you have to show for the accident is a skinned knee. It could’ve been so much worse, Li. Do you want to talk about it?”

I shrugged, smirking a little as I brought my glass to my lips. “Nah, you worry about me enough as it is. I wouldn’t want to give you something else to worry about.”

She pursed her lips at me. “Your parents are in Southern California, Lila. Someone within two thousand miles of you has to worry about your health and well-being. I feel responsible for you. You know that.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to.” I finally took a sip of my wine and relished the tangy sweetness of it on my tongue, letting out a happy sigh. “I’m perfectly fine, Addy. My health has been holding steady for years and my well-being is doing okay too.”

She chuckled, exhaling a deep breath and pausing before she finally nodded. “I know, and I know I don’t have to worry, but I can’t help it. I wish I could live my life the way you do and just grab it by the horns and go for it, but I can’t. It makes me nervous even when you’re doing it.”

I winked at her. “I can teach you my ways, young Padawan.”

She faked a shudder. “Thanks for the offer, but I’d rather not. If you’re sure you’re okay, then catch me up. Outside of your most recent near-death experience, what else is new? How’s work going?”

“It’s been really amazing. I helped Ford get this huge contract he’s been after for a couple months and I might even get to help with the interior design. I thought he was going to be so pissed when the client mentioned it, but he was pretty cool about it in the end.”

“Does this mean you’re more comfortable with him now?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I was never uncomfortable with him. I just didn’t know what to make of him at first. I’ve literally never met such a grumpy, growly alphahole in my life, but like I said, I think he has a good heart buried underneath all those spikes.”

“That’s good.” She smiled. “I’m glad you have someone else looking out for you, too.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I’ve definitely gotten to know him better and he’s different than how I thought he was, you know?

There’s a lot more depth to him. Oh, and you should see his dog, Addy.

He’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.

Of course, Ford tried to make me believe that he was some tough-as-nails, unloving, canine soldier, but I think that’s only because he doesn’t want people to think of his dog as a softie. ”

Great. Now I’m talking about Ford like I’ve got a crush on him. On my boss . I sighed, realizing that it was possible that I did have a crush on him, but thankfully, it seemed to go right over the top of Addy’s head.

“If you’re happy,” she said with a smile that stretched from one of her ears to the other.

“I’m happy. I really was super worried about you for a minute there, but it sounds like it might actually all work out.

As long as you’re sure your boss isn’t going to send you running for the hills after all. ”

“I don’t think he will.” I took another sip of my wine.

“I feel like every now and then, he lets me glimpse behind the curtain and there’s a real person in there somewhere, but even if he is a complete alphahole, if he lets me be involved with this project at all, I might be able to use it as a springboard to launch my career. ”

“Well, maybe he’s less alphahole and more… traumatized alpha,” she said, surprising me.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, Taylor mentioned that he saw him again at one of their meetings. He never tells me much about what they talk about, but he did say he encouraged Ford to share and he hopes that he’ll do it.

It didn’t sound like your bossman participates much, which may well mean that he’s suffering from very real, very much unhealed trauma. ”

I had to bite my lip to keep myself from asking her what else Taylor might’ve mentioned about Ford.

I was dying to know about his past, but I knew that it was none of my business.

Plus, if Taylor didn’t even talk to Addy, who he’d been dating for a few years, about what they discussed at those meetings, I definitely had no right to pry about what he might’ve learned there.

“If Taylor thinks that it’ll help Ford, then I hope he’ll do it too,” I said finally, and then I left it at that.

Finally moving away from my boss as our main subject for the evening, we talked about her and Taylor, about how things were going at the school, and we reminisced about our days together at college. Eventually, we decided to go out for one last drink and walked to a bar overlooking the water.

Nineties rock music blasted from the speakers and from the outside as we approached. I saw a deck outside and massive glass sliding doors leading from the main area out. It wasn’t packed inside, but it was busy enough that there was a nice vibe.

No sooner had we walked in than I was surprised as someone called my name.

I spun to see Jared Rexton, who I’d interviewed with for my job at CE, cutting through the crowd toward us.

Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, he looked a lot younger than he had at my interview, and I realized he was probably around Ford’s age.

With dark blond hair and beautiful green eyes, he smiled a lot more often than the man he’d conducted the interview for. On the day we’d met, I’d thought I’d be seeing a lot more of him, but I realized now that I hadn’t really seen him around the office much at all.

“Jared, hey!” I grinned when he reached us. “How are you? Where have you been?”

He chuckled. “I’m working on a big commercial project near Richmond, so I’ve been out of town a little more often than usual. I hear you’ve been busy since I left, though. The Heritage House project? That’s huge, Lila. You saved our asses with that one.”

The friend he had been with joined us, and Jared smiled again as he made the introductions. “Henry, this is Lila, Ford’s new shining star at the firm. She just landed that big residential contract I was telling you about earlier.”

The guy looked me over slowly and obviously before he extended his hand. “Henry. I’m a real estate broker. If your clients ever want to sell, give me a call.”

I was still flushed at Jared’s praise, but I shook with his friend and nodded. “Sure. We’ll do that, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. The couple who currently owns the house seems quite comfortable there.”

“Alright, well, it was worth a try.”

I smiled. “Always. Guys, this is Addy. Addy, I told you about Jared Rexton. I work with him.”

“Of course.” Addy gave both of them a friendly grin before she turned toward the restrooms off one side of the bar. “I’ll be back. I just need to pop into the ladies’.”

I inclined my chin. When I returned my attention to Henry, I was surprised when he was a little closer than he had been before.

The guy was about my own height, which was five-foot nothing, and he had burnt copper hair and playful green eyes.

He seemed nice, but for some reason, he also gave me the creeps.

“Buy you a drink?” he asked once Addy was gone. “We’ll get one for your friend too, if that’ll make you feel better.”

If it’ll make me feel better? Wow . “You know, we’re actually having a girls’ night, but you’re welcome to walk with me if you wanted to get a refill anyway.”

Jared smiled and squeezed his friend’s shoulder. “I’ll meet you back at the table. I’m good with my drink though, so don’t worry about me.”

Henry nodded, following me through the crowd to the sleek, glass-topped bar. “Jared told me all about that house you guys are going to be working on. He’s been gushing about your role in it all night. I’m impressed, Lila. It sounds like you’re going to be a big deal over there at CE.”

I blushed but not because I was feeling a vibe with him. I just wasn’t used to this much praise or attention. “Thanks. It was nice meeting you, Henry.”

“Oh, hey.” He made no move to back away from me, scooting a little closer instead. His eyes hooked on mine and he smiled. “We’re getting drinks, right? No need to run me off just yet. We can use this time to get to know each other a little better.”

I leaned back slightly, just trying to put some distance between us in a polite way. “Thanks, but I really should go find my friend. I just realized I don’t even know what she’d like to drink.”

“She’ll find us.” Henry seemed completely undeterred, and while he hadn’t done anything inappropriate, I was finding myself getting a little anxious.

Just as I was about to drop my usual sunny disposition in order to get him to back off a bit, a strong, firmly muscled arm cut between us. I twisted to see what the heck was going on, surprised to find myself once again looking up, up, and up into Ford’s stormy blue eyes.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said dramatically, holding my gaze as if he was begging for forgiveness. “I’ll buy you that drink I owe you now to make up for it.”

Henry’s features tightened into a scowl. “Hey, Ford. I guess I’ll just see you later, then.”

He aimed that last part at me, then spun around and marched away, clearly realizing that he’d been defeated. I glanced back up at my boss, wondering why my heart was racing so much at the sight of his sharp, chiseled face.

“What makes you think you owe me a drink?” I asked. “I’m also not sure how you can be late when I didn’t even know you’d be here tonight.”

He shrugged. “I could tell you were feeling uncomfortable. Henry tends to make women feel that way. He’s not bad when it’s just the guys, but he doesn’t seem to have a knack with girls.”

I smiled up at him, but he just looked miserable. As usual. He’d saved me from attention that had definitely been unwanted, but he didn’t even seem to be satisfied at having chased off this perceived threat.

But he was, in fact, here, and I was happy to see him. Happier than I should’ve been, but there was nothing to be done about that.

“How’s Rook doing?” I asked, figuring that was probably one topic he wouldn’t mind talking about, but he frowned.

Deep down inside, I sighed, not knowing if anything would ever make this man happy, but all I knew for sure was that apparently, mentioning his dog wasn’t the way to do it.