8 The Nice Approach
THE NICE APPROACH
Mia
I ’m still full from dinner last night as I walk toward my desk. Since I took a nap earlier in the day, it was late after searching for the best hiding spot for my money while contemplating how much to give them. With the last buy-in at two thousand, I’ve determined that’s the amount I’m keeping for my poker fund.
I’ve saved ten thousand dollars and certainly don’t want to hand them all of it, but I’m not sure what the chances are that they’ll ransack my house to look for more if I don’t. I’m torn, but I also need to decide soon since I still have no idea when they’ll show up and need to be prepared. The unknown is killing me, which is part of their plan, I’m sure.
Last I saw Jackson, he was bringing me to Walker’s house. It didn’t go unnoticed that he waited to drive away until I went inside, even though it took me a minute to send the text first. I’m still shocked at falling for his charm and wanting him to kiss me, but I’ve come to my senses, thank God. Hopefully, he’ll turn back into a bosshole today and further my resolve to put that fantasy out of my head since replacing it with someone else didn’t work. Well, not yet anyway.
Walker is coming over after dinner later to help me sift through some of the other guys I’ve been chatting with and see if there’s anyone else worth seeing. I told him I’d give it one last chance. It really would be nice to have someone to take my mind off lusting over my boss.
Which I realize is damn near impossible when I look up and see him walking in. How is he so damn gorgeous? He looks like he just came from a photo shoot for Muscle this circumstance simply kicked it up a notch.
When Cici left San Diego after college, I swear she had to have closed her eyes and pointed to the map, ending up in a small town in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. It couldn’t be any more different from here. However, she chose well because she’s been thriving ever since. I give her crap about going into real estate since it’s a stone’s throw from what she could have been doing, but it’s so much more suited for her. She’s social, bubbly, and loves interacting with people. I can’t say property management is a fun business, but it is lucrative.
That’s why it makes sense to branch out into another growing market, and with Cici able to keep an eye on things, it’s a good opportunity. She’s been nagging me for months about getting up there to take a look. What she doesn’t know is that I’ve already researched the area to see if she was blowing smoke up my ass or if there truly was potential there. Turns out, there is—a lot. But I’ve been so busy with all the transactions in the works that I couldn’t make it happen.
With the current situation, I can kill two birds with one stone. Mia’s birthday is in two weeks, which happens to be perfect timing for a trip to Bozeman and allows me to research available properties before we go. Mia just lost a battle she didn’t know she was part of.
Mia
The rest of the day was spent avoiding Jackson like the plague, saving myself from any more crazy. Where did that conversation come from? He was still condescending, but the genuine concern came out of nowhere. Did he just wake up this morning and decide to give a damn, or what? No part of me would ever confide in Jackson about this, and he’s not at the top of my list to ask for help, either. In fact, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t make the list at all.
Part of me wants to tell someone what’s happening, but the more sensible half wins. It’s too dangerous to drag anyone into this, and I can’t even think about what would happen to my mom if these guys found out I’d told someone. I’ll be okay if I just follow their orders and play along.
I’m glad Walker is coming over soon to look at my dating matches again. A distraction is exactly what I need right now. If I had a dollar for every negative thought that ran through my head these days, I’d be able to pay my dad’s debt off.
I’m shaking my head at the absurdity of my life as I walk up the front steps, open my front door, and freeze. The worst of my negative thoughts is in my living room.
“Well, look who made it home. We missed ya, darlin’,” Jay says as he sits back casually on our sofa like he owns the place while Frank stands beside him.
“Can you give me some sort of heads-up next time?” I ask as I close the door and set my purse and phone down. I’m not as scared as I was last time since I know they won’t kill me until they have their money.
“Now, what’d be the fun in that? Besides, we had a nice look around, familiarizin’ ourselves with yer humble abode and all the nooks and crannies. Yer not very good at hidin’ stuff, darlin’, but we appreciate ya makin’ it easy on us.” He holds up a wad of cash— my wad of cash. “This here is a nice chunk’a change to get ya started. Keep it up and you’ll be done in no time.”
Shit, I’m instantly panicking. Did they find it all? “How do I know you’re keeping track? And how will I have enough to enter the next game if you take it all?”
“Don’t worry, sweet cheeks. We’ll make sure not to miss a penny. You’ll figure out yer buy-in, I’m sure. Yer workin’ every damn day, aren’t ya? Seems like that should cover it.” He’s still sitting with his arm slung over the couch, legs spread, one bent at the knee and the other straight out. “Or maybe I’d be inclined to leave ya a bit if ya give me somethin’ in return, huh? Ya want to come here and work for it?” He grabs his crotch and squeezes while Frank stands there with a sneer on his face.
“Thanks, but I’ll figure something else out. How long until the next game?” As disgusted as they make me, I won’t let it show. I learned my lesson last time not to get worked up. They’re like dogs, feeding on my fear.
“You’ll just have to wait and see, darlin’.” He gets up and walks toward me, making me brace myself. I’m still standing in the entryway and don’t want any more marks on my body for Jackson to question.
Stopping within inches, he grabs my chin firmly. “Now, if you’d like to play a little nicer, I’m sure we could be more accommodatin’.” He leans close and whispers in my ear as I freeze. “You might even like it.” He licks my ear, and I cringe, closing my eyes in disgust.
“I’m fine waiting” is all I manage, hoping he accepts it. If he decides to go further, there’s not much I can do to defend myself against two strong men. I’m silently praying he backs off.
He does, thank God. I inhale deeply as he lets go. Frank is right behind him and continues to stare at me like he’s visualizing me naked. It’s disgusting.
“Well, then, I guess we’ll leave ya to it. You’ll be hearin’ from us again soon, darlin’. Be sure to call if ya change yer mind about the workin’ arrangement.” He snickers before opening the door, and both men walk out.
My shoulders immediately cave, and I take a few deep breaths to steady my nerves when I suddenly remember he just walked out with all my cash. I bolt up the stairs and freeze in the doorway to my room. It’s trashed. Everything’s out of my drawers, the mattress is half on the floor, and all the shelves are empty. They left no stone unturned. Thank God it was enough to satisfy them, or they probably would have done this to the entire house.
Crap, there’s no way Walker can come over with this mess, and I’ll never get it cleaned up in time. Remembering my phone is still in the entryway, I shut the door and go back downstairs to grab it, dialing as I head into the kitchen to start dinner.
“Hey, girl, what’s up? Are you ready for some man shopping tonight?” Leave it to Walker to put a smile on my face at a time like this.
“Sadly, no. It’s been such a long day that I’m exhausted. I was actually looking forward to it, if you can believe it, but I’m barely going to make it through dinner. Can we meet tomorrow instead?”
“Yeah, I’m free tomorrow. You sound like you got hit by a Mack truck, so I know you’re not lying just to get out of it. Did something happen today with Jackson?” he asks suspiciously.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Well, unless you put being nice in that category. He was trying to be all protective about me playing poker, which he has no business doing. I swear he acts like my dad at times.”
“Maybe he wants to be your daddy.” He chuckles, and even though I’m na?ve, I’m not that clueless.
“You’re gross. He does not. He wants to criticize me and treat me like a child. It’s annoying. He said he was worried about me, but come on—a few weeks ago, he couldn’t stand the sight of me, and now he expects me to believe he cares? Whatever.”
“I don’t know, but that sounds like a daddy to me.” He laughs. “Seriously, though, maybe he finally sees the awesome person you are and feels differently. You did say he stopped trying to get you to quit a few weeks ago, right?” Walker is constantly searching for the bright side of things.
“Tolerating and liking are two different things, and I don’t know that we’ve passed the tolerating stage. What I do know is that I don’t care. Anyway, thanks for switching to tomorrow. I won’t bail, I promise.”
“Sounds good. Get some sleep, and I’ll see you tomorrow night. Bye, babe.”
“Bye.” I hang up with a heavy dread settling over me. I need to make it through dinner before a long night of putting my room back together and figuring out what to do now that my nest egg is completely depleted.