Page 12 of Running Risk

CLAYTON: NOW

Keeping my eyes closed was a new form of torture. Rylee was inches away from me in a thong, and I had to pretend it didn’t faze me. But touching her again . . . nothing has felt as right as when my fingertips skim her body. Her skin was as soft and inviting as I remember.

I thrum my fingers on the steering wheel, driving back to the construction site.

After all these years, I ran into her two days in a row.

My world has always been loud and overwhelming, but when she came into my life, it quieted.

When she would sit on the same bench every day during lunch for years, it made me feel less alone.

I never minded being alone, but there’s something about having someone quietly show you they care.

A silent reminder that you have someone in your corner.

“Look who finally decided to show.” Avery’s voice carries across the site as I walk to my office.

I lift my hand and give a two-finger salute.

I have a lot of things to do, but finding a designer is the priority.

A few of them are coming in for an interview, and I hope one will be the right fit.

I rake my fingers through my hair as I slouch in my chair, already tired for the day I’m about to have.

There’s a knock on my door, and I straighten.

“Yeah?”

Avery’s face peeks inside. “Hey, boss.”

Slouching my shoulders again, I rub my hands down my face. “What?” I scan my desk and grab the first application from the woman who’ll be here in fifteen minutes.

“It’s not every day the boss calls saying he’ll be late.” Avery walks inside and shuts the door.

“Yeah.” I don’t take my eyes off the papers in my hand.

I need to stay focused on all the interviews I have today, but I can’t help but think about this morning.

When I pulled up and saw all the blood on her leg, I felt something shift in me.

I had to make sure she was okay. It felt like high school all over again, where I always wanted to protect her and make her safe.

“Aren’t we talkative today?” He smirks. “Did something happen?”

I blow out a breath and toss the paperwork back on my desk. “Ry.”

His eyes widen. “What about Rylee?” Avery walks closer and sits in the chair across my desk.

“She fell on her run.” I rub my hands on my jeans. “I was with Mike when she called him, and he asked me to get her.”

Avery whistles. “Damn. I bet that was a fun little reunion.”

I glare above my mug before taking a sip. He knows how hard it is for me to be around her, and it wasn’t like I could tell Mike no. There was no part of me that wanted to anyway, but it’s probably what I should have done. Nothing good will come from being around her.

He holds his hands up. “All I’m saying is, you two have unfinished drama to work through. Don’t you think it’s time to bury that hatchet?”

Avery started attending our high school as a senior.

The blow-up with Rylee happened soon after.

He knows a little about what happened, but not everything.

He doesn’t know that I had the biggest damn crush on her almost my entire life.

Though he’s probably guessed it. I still remember pulling into her driveway for the first time and seeing this girl bounce over to us.

She wasn’t shy and didn’t mind that I wasn’t much of a talker.

She was happy to drag me along with her, and it was never awkward.

A light knock on my open door saves me from answering.

A woman, probably in her thirties, with short blonde hair, wearing a gray pantsuit, stands in the doorway.

Her striking blue eyes stare at us awkwardly.

“I’m sorry.” She lays her hand across her chest. “I’m looking for a Mr. Daniels. ” Avery stands and saunters toward her.

“Well, hello there.” His million-watt smile spreads across his face, and I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh.

I knew this would be trouble. It’s never an easy task to have a woman on a construction site. I knew the risks, but I didn’t think trouble would start this soon. My crew acts as if they have never seen a woman in their life anytime one walks by.

Shoving my chair back to stand, I say, “Yes, I’m Clayton Daniels, and you are?”

She peers around the tall man in front of her before focusing back on Avery. She lifts her brow, taking a small step toward me. His shoulders noticeably deflate as he steps aside.

Sticking her hand out, I shake it. “I’m Brianna Martin. I’m here for the job interview.”

Avery gives two thumbs up behind her, and I rein in my urge to roll my eyes at his childlike behavior as he closes the door behind him.

I bring the coffee mug to my lips and swallow a mouthful before starting the interview to see if she might be the right fit for putting our customers at ease and showing them possibilities .

Three hours and six applicants later, I’m exhausted.

No one felt like they would be a perfect fit.

The first one, Brianna, is the closest one to impress me, but she still isn’t exactly what I’m looking for.

I can’t bring just anyone in. I have to be able to work well with them, and they need enough people skills to do well with our customers.

I’d also like them to be an eighty-year-old woman or a man so Avery gets actual work done, but I was less impressed with the male applicants.

They didn’t have the vision we need. What I need is someone whom I can work with, and only one person comes to mind who fits that description.

The light on my phone screen pulls my attention away from the resumes on my desk. Mike’s name flashes across my screen, and I answer right away. “Mr. Thompson.”

“Clayton, how were the interviews?”

I went to his house this morning to tell him I’m hiring someone and to get his advice.

He didn’t say much other than he thought it was a great idea.

He’s always been supportive of my ideas.

But he also isn’t afraid to tell me when he thinks I’m wrong, except when it has to do with his daughter.

That matter, he won’t say a single word about.

“They were rough.” I take a sip of my now cold coffee.

“That’s unfortunate.” I hate letting him down. If anyone has an idea on whether or not Rylee would consider working for me, it’s him. “I did want to thank you for getting Rylee home safely. I just got off the phone with her, and she’s been resting all day.”

“No problem, sir.” I grimace at my covered desk of resumes. “So I might have an idea, and I want to run it by you.” I tuck the phone between my cheek and shoulder and put all the papers into my manila envelope to take home with me.

“What is it?” Hope returns to his voice.

“Do you think Rylee would consider helping temporarily?”

He chuckles. “I think she could be persuaded. I know you and Rylee have your”—he pauses—“issues. But she could be the help you need.”

“When I saw her house, I was amazed by the work she’s done to the place, and I know she made all the design choices.”

“Yeah. She’s pretty great.” There’s pride in his voice whenever he talks about his daughter.

“But do you think she will?”

“I think you two need to have a good talk and work through your issues together. You were best friends . . . once.”

“Yeah. Easier said than done.”

He audibly exhales. “Nothing will change unless you try.”

We may have been best friends, but I’ll never forget the look on her face when I told her I was going to follow a different path from hers.

It was like I saw the waves crashing in her deep blue eyes as the world she had planned hard for crumbled around her.

We had plans, and I fucked it all up. I couldn’t even blame her for hating me, but my world shattered long before I ruined hers.