Chapter 2 Ruby #2
“I don’t want any handouts.” She rolled her shoulders backward as if preparing for a fight. She was fierce—and it made her even more beautiful.
“Ms. Ward, this isn’t about a handout. As I said, I need to put up cameras anyway to secure Roger and Daphne’s event.”
She shook her head, obviously not pleased. “We’ll see,” she huffed, then added, “You said you wanted to see the outdoors too.”
“Yes.”
Ruby motioned for me to follow, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She was wearing a dress that was surprisingly short for work attire. Her legs looked endless in those heels, and I kept looking at her ass as she walked in front of me. I shook myself out of it, looking ahead of her instead.
“This is it. This is the great outdoors,” she said in a comical way.
Well, fuck me. The place had no fence. I was honestly stunned at her lack of self-preservation. Businesses were on every thief’s radar, and this one was prime to be hit.
“We’ll need to install a fence and—”
“What? That’s preposterous!” she ranted. “We have these beautiful evergreen trees forming a natural fence. I don’t want to lose the ambiance with some metal monstrosity.”
“Anyone can walk through or climb over those trees,” I interjected. Her priorities were skewed.
Ruby crossed her arms over her chest, and that annoyed look she gifted me was surprisingly sexy on her. “And you think they couldn’t jump over a fence?”
“Again, it’s a deterrent, but I can put cameras and sensors on a fence more effectively than in your trees.”
Her shoulders drooped. “Grant, I’m sorry to be so blunt, but is all of this really necessary? Neither of them is a politician or a superstar. What do you really expect to happen?”
“Roger is the head of a hockey team that has a certain notoriety. The guests who are attending are from prominent businesses. These kinds of events are magnets for robberies. We like to be prepared for anything,” I replied. The last part sounded cliché, but it was one of my other mottos.
“Yes, yes, I know, but this is a bit much.” She was exasperated, and though I understood, safety was important. Especially when it came to people I cared about.
I stepped closer to her and looked at her plump lips for longer than I should have. Then I forced myself to make eye contact. “No, it’s exactly right.”
“Not sure what to tell you, then. We can’t put up a fence.”
“We’ll put one up on the day of the event and take it down right after. It wouldn’t inconvenience you in the slightest.”
“Well, no, but it’s very hard to decorate a fence,” she countered. “I planned to put twinkle lights in the trees and so on.”
“Feel free to do that anyway.”
“But then your fence will block all of it.”
“Ruby, I need you to work with me on this,” I insisted.
“I’m doing my best, but you’re not making this easy. First, you want to put up cameras everywhere, and now a fence. The whole point of people coming back here again and again is that it’s so cozy and homey. It’s going to look anything but that. What will my guests say?”
“It’s only going to be for one day.”
She swallowed hard. “I can’t forgo lunch business for you to set up whatever you need.”
I didn’t respond, letting the silence linger between us. She’d have to do it my way in the end, or the party was going to be moved elsewhere. I knew Roger would understand, and hopefully Daphne would too.
“So, what exactly is your plan?” she asked. “When do you want to set everything up for the party? Lunch is done at two thirty, and the party starts at six. That’s plenty of time.”
“No, it’s not,” I retaliated. I was tired of this conversation and ready for it to end. I’d tell Roger this just wasn’t going to work, and they’d have to change venues. “It simply isn’t. I need the whole day. ”
Ruby smiled. “Grant, please, can you relax a bit? I’m sure we can find a solution that works for both of us. Maybe you can just put up your cameras in the trees?”
Her placating me was setting me even more on edge now. No more concessions. “That’s not how I operate, Ruby.”
“Can’t you make exceptions?”
“No! And especially not for my friend’s engagement party.” Is she for real?
“It’s just that I really don’t believe anything will happen.”
Oh, she’s a psychic now? I was going to lose my shit in a second.
“Most things happen because people don’t take precautions.”
Ruby swallowed hard, and I watched her throat move. Damn it. She was so beautiful that I kept losing my train of thought.
“It’s just that I really, really don’t want you to put anything on this lawn. It’s going to leave marks in the grass, and it costs a lot to keep it the way it looks now.”
“Right. Then I’ll talk to Roger and Daphne—” she smiled hopefully”—and ask them to move the party somewhere else.”
Her smile completely fell. I felt like utter shit for making her feel like this. But honestly, my patience was gone, and this was the only solution to keep my friends safe.
“Why?” she asked.
“The party can’t take place here under the conditions you just laid out. I can only secure it to 90 percent, and I don’t do 90 percent.” It was all or nothing with me. Roger would understand.
She opened her mouth but didn’t say anything.
“No sense wasting more time discussing this any further,” I added.
“You’re right. Then I guess I’ll see you at the party—wherever it takes place.”
I nodded once. “Exactly.”