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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

brOOKS

T he office was quiet except for the click of my computer keyboard and the occasional squeak of my chair. I rubbed the back of my neck, reviewing the numbers for an estimate I was working on.

The bid was due yesterday, but the numbers didn’t make sense, and the labor hours were off. I was tempted to call the client and ask for an extension. I had to make sure everything was solid because I really wanted to land the project.

Right as I was double-checking the numbers for the cost of lumber, my office door swung open. I didn’t need to look up; Hayes was the only one in the building who ignored the concept of knocking.

“Are you still working on that proposal?” he asked, leaning casually against the doorframe.

Couldn’t he see that I was trying to get some damn work done?

I glanced up. “Your numbers were off.”

He stepped inside, dropped his ass in the chair, and tossed his boots up on my desk. He crossed an ankle over his knee. I could see the soles of his boots were caked in mud. “My numbers were fine. They decided to add extra fixtures and more square footage.”

I rubbed my jaw and scanned the spreadsheet in front of me. “Still wrong and their timeline needs to be adjusted, too.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Do you want to be the bad guy and tell Mrs. Collins that her sunroom and kitchen remodel is going to take longer, and cost more than we originally quoted her?”

I glared at his feet. “Nope. You are. Now get your dirty boots off my desk.”

Hayes smirked and kept his feet rooted in place. “You’re getting a little uptight in your old age. Probably why I see a couple of gray hairs already.”

I leaned forward and knocked his feet off. “You keep talking like that, and you’ll be limping your way out of here.”

“Relax, old man. You’ve got that big dinner tonight. You need to save all that charm for Clark Investments.”

I sighed and dropped my pen on my desk. Richard Clark was the potential investor I’d been talking with for months. All our equipment was outdated, and I needed to purchase some state-of-the-art machinery if I had a chance to land the biggest project Marcellus Falls had ever seen.

Clark expressed interest in partnering with us. He had enough cash to lend me the money I needed, but Richard Clark was older than my grandfather. He preferred family-oriented business owners. He had very traditional values, focused on stability and reliability.

I’d been dodging his questions about my personal life, coming up with every excuse under the sun.

I might have lied and told him I was in a serious relationship. He asked me a few times to bring my significant other to our dinners. I lied and came up with bullshit stories.

The old man wasn’t stupid, and I was running out of excuses.Thank God Harlow came back into town when she did and agreed to this deal.

“Don’t worry about the dinner tonight. I have everything under control.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about the dinner. I’m more worried about you. After seeing you and Harlow on the dance floor last night and how you almost lost it when Danny talked to her, I’m starting to wonder if there is more going on than you’ve been telling us.”

I shot him a warning look. “I didn’t almost lose it. Whatever you think you saw was all for show.”

I was such a liar and regretted that asshole move the second I kissed her. I wasn’t the type of guy who claimed his territory and kissed a girl in front of everyone to prove a point.

But Harlow Bennet wasn’t just anybody.

He coughed to cover up his laugh. “Dude, we both know you weren’t thinking of Clark Investments when you had your tongue down her throat.”

My younger brother had a way of getting under my skin.

“You need to get a life.”

“Right, and what about scaring poor Danny away? The guy is petrified to come near you. The crew has a bet going on about how long it will take for him to quit.”

“He’s not going to quit,” I said, picking up my pen and pretending to review the estimate again. Today was shaping up to be a shitty day, and it was only nine a.m.

After a few minutes, he was still there, smirking.

I pushed back in my chair. “Don’t you have work to do?”

He laughed, not even trying to hide it this time. “Nah, this is more entertaining.”

“Hayes,” I warned. “Knock it off.”

He rubbed his chin. “You know. You’ve been grumpy ever since she showed up in town.”

“Can you please get out of my office?”

He slapped his knee. “Damn, you are a wreck over this girl. If you want to keep pretending that you feel nothing for her, then you’re going to be in for a rude awakening when you realize the only person you’re lying to is yourself.”

“Get. Out.”

He laughed, stood up, and headed toward the door. “Just be careful. I know this is for the business, but it’s also Harlow.”

I forced a casual shrug because he wasn’t wrong. “I’m doing this for Marty, too.”

Hayes’ grin faded. “So, you’re doing this for grandpa?”

I leaned back in my chair. “I want to make Marty happy, and we need this expansion if we want to compete in the market.”

My dad and grandpa built this business from almost nothing. They trusted me to take over, and letting them down wasn’t an option.

“There are other ways to make Marty happy. We can try to find another investor. You don’t need to do this.”

I stared at him, trying to figure out if I should be annoyed or grateful for his advice.

“I’m doing what I feel is best.”

He nodded and turned to leave. “Good luck tonight. Let me know how it goes.”

After he was gone, I stared at the estimate in my hands. Hayes wasn’t wrong.

My grumpiness wasn’t solely about the investors and Marty. It was about Harlow, too.

No matter how much I tried to deny it, she was under my skin, and that scared the hell out of me because I liked having her there.