Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
SHORT STRAWS
Jett
For fuck’s sake, Devon must be a slave driver. How late does Lennon work?
I’ve been hanging out in the lobby for so long, I’m starting to get to know the guests. Ask me if I enjoy that, and the answer would be a big, fat fucking no.
Unlike the staff at the manor, I do not work in hospitality.
Not that it was on my list, but I could cross off talking to people about my possible career changes.
I’d escape to my room, but I’m not about to let Lennon sneak out.
I was the one who created the drama with the stolen car, so I’ll make it my duty to cart her around wherever she needs to go.
Not that I have anything else to do. I’m also not about to admit to anyone else, or myself for that matter, that she’s the easiest distraction I’ve had to focus on in years.
Felicity left over an hour ago and assured me Lennon was still holed up in her office. There’s no way she got by me.
I’ve officially lost my patience.
I don’t ask permission from the front desk attendant and make my way through the door to the back offices.
I’ve been back here a few times with Devon.
His office door looks like it’s from the dark ages.
I pass his office and head down the hall peeking into every space I come across until I stop at the end.
The door is closed but the name plate tells me I’m in the right place.
I knock twice.
Nothing.
I try again, this time louder and times four. If she couldn’t get past me in the lobby, she sure as hell can’t escape me here.
When I get pure silence, I rap a few more times and demand, “Lennon, it’s Jett. Open up.”
She finally answers. “I’m working late. So busy.”
“Open the door.”
“I’m in focus mode.”
Focus mode. What the fuck is that?
“You’ve been in focus mode for hours. Let me in so we can talk about your car.”
“Unless my car is waiting in the parking lot for me, we have nothing to talk about. If it’s still in a million pieces at the Grease Me Up, I have no desire to talk to you.”
I pull in a deep breath, if for no other reason than I have no fucking idea how to deal with a woman I’ve pissed off. “Fine. I’m coming in.”
“No—”
I don’t give her another opportunity to put me off or tell me to go away. I open the door but halt at the threshold.
She looks nothing like she did earlier in the parking lot when I was accused of grand theft auto.
Her usually sleek dark hair is piled high on top of her head, her eyes are bloodshot, and any makeup she was wearing earlier is gone.
I haven’t been close to a woman in years, but my guess is she hasn’t been in here doing a complicated fifty-step skincare regimen.
I’d bet my new trust fund she cried off her makeup, and I’m the reason behind her stress.
Those swollen dark eyes widen in panic. “I told you I was busy. You can’t just barge into my office.”
My brows pinch. “What the hell happened to you?”
“You have the nerve to ask what happened to me when you took my only source of transportation. It’s not just a car, Jett—it’s my freedom.
Now it’s in a million pieces, and I can’t get where I need to go.
There are no Ubers in this place. Not even a taxi.
Devon had to create his own limo service to get guests to and from the closest airport. ”
I cut through the space until I get to her desk. Her agitated expression is carved into her beautiful features as she angles her face to me. What I don’t see is anger. I see anxiety in her dark eyes. “I told you I’d take you where you need to go for however long it takes.”
“That’s not the point.” Her tone is shaky as she pulls in a deep breath and closes her eyes. It looks like she’s doing everything she can to keep from crying or murdering me. “Just go. I’ve decided I’m going to stay here tonight until I can figure out a rental tomorrow.”
I look around her small office. Devon might not have skimped on anything when it comes to this place, but it’s not like there’s a cot in the corner. “You’re going to sleep here?”
She sits up straight and schools every ounce of angst in her body. “I am. I can work and piece myself together in the women’s locker room by the pool. Not a big deal. I’ve managed harder. You can go.”
“Interesting,” I mutter and decide this is too fascinating not to dissect. I do not go. I sit my ass in an office chair across from her desk. “You do not look like the type of woman who regularly gets ready in a locker room, let alone has managed harder than that. No offense, of course.”
A wrinkle appears between her thick, dark brows. “Offense taken. You know nothing about me. You really have no clue what I can and cannot handle. Whatever you think of me, I’m not high maintenance.”
I give her a slow nod. “My apologies. I’ll never make another assumption about you.”
“Add to that I don’t like surprises in the form of my car being stolen, no matter what the purpose is.”
My lips pull at the corners. “Noted.”
“It’s not funny.” Her elbows fall to the desk and her face lands in her hands. “Today started out so well. My job went from trial to permanent with full benefits and even vacation. Then...”
“Then,” I echo. “I came in and fucked it all up for you?”
She leans back in her office chair and folds her arms across her chest. “No. But you definitely complicated it.”
I nod slowly. “So instead of accepting a ride from me, you’re going to sleep in that non-ergonomic office chair.”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. You can’t change my mind, so don’t try.”
I shrug. “I promise to stop trying to change your mind. But tell me one thing. Have you eaten anything since your car was stolen?”
She says nothing, but she does roll her lips in to wet them.
“I’ll take that as a no. And since I complicated your life, the least I can do is feed you.”
She waves me off. “I’m not hungry.”
I stand. “I doubt that. I’ve been waiting on you for hours. I’m starving. Harlow insists on family dinners every night no matter how much I tell her I’m used to eating alone. I’m sick of being the third wheel with her and Devon. You’ll be doing me a favor.”
“You stole my car. I hardly owe you any favors.”
I don’t bite back my smile. “You did try to kill me. That’s a far worse transgression than me spending more money than your car is worth rebuilding it from the inside out.”
“But I made up for trying to kill you. You said so yourself. I’m completely off the hook for that.”
I close the distance between us and lean forward to put my hands on the desk.
I lower my voice and gaze into her dark eyes.
“You made sure I ate after I got here. You’ve had a shit day, and I added to it.
Let me feed you. You can come back to work all night and sleep in that chair that looks about as comfortable as a two-by-four. ”
As if on cue, her stomach grumbles. She bites her lip.
“See?” I add. “You need to eat.”
She shakes her head. “Where are we going to go? The only thing open is The Greenhouse. I’m not walking in there looking like this. I don’t even want to go to the Combover looking like this. That might actually be worse. Everyone will talk about me.”
When I push off the desk, I stand straight and realize I don’t feel it in my gut like before.
Today is the first day in years that I’ve had something else to occupy my brain, and my body is more normal than it’s been in years.
It feels fucking good. “My sister is engaged to Devon. Pretty sure I can do whatever I want around here. I promise you won’t see anyone other than me. ”
She finally gives in and pushes her chair away from the desk. She slips her bare feet back into her spiked heels and pulls at the tie in her hair.
I feel it in my dick when she combs her fingers through it as she tries to tame the mess.
“I’m holding you to that. If I see guests or any locals, I’ll die.”
I hold my arm out low for her to go first. “It’s only you and me, Lennon. I’ll make sure of it.”
She crosses her arms to hug herself around the middle and moves through the door.
“Wait,” I call when I glance at her desk. “You forgot your cell.”
Her gaze darts to the phone that’s screen down on the desk. She doesn’t look at me when she shakes her head. “I don’t need it. It’s dead, and there’s no one I want to hear from anyway.”
She turns to make her way down the long hall toward the lobby. I close her office door and follow. The only thing that diverts my attention from the fact she’s not attached to her cell is the fact I’m still worried she might try to escape me.
Lennon
Irest a hip against the stainless-steel island that stands in the middle of the kitchen of the Winslet Café. I’ve been here many times, but not when it’s closed.
Jett makes himself at home like it’s his own personal kitchen.
I pick up my glass of water and take a sip. “Do you raid the kitchen after hours often?”
He doesn’t look up from what he’s doing. “Only when I can convince Harlow that she doesn’t need to babysit me. I’m not used to having family, let alone a sister.”
I watch him finish chopping onions and mincing garlic before he tosses it into a skillet on the gas range.
“I don’t know Harlow well, but she seems great.
She’s been so sweet to me. The employees all talk about how she doesn’t act anything like a spoiled heiress. In fact, they say you’d never know.”
Jett shrugs and drizzles olive oil over the onions.
“She’s the first billionaire in my contacts, so I have no one to compare her to, but I agree.
It’s a relief. I’d think she was more interested in how I’m taking care of her kidney than me but that’s not the case.
Don’t ask me how I know—I just do. I can feel it. ”
“I’m happy for you. Family can be...” I let that thought trail off, because there’s no way I’m tiptoeing anywhere close to the subject of family.
He angles his gaze to me with a hiked brow. “What can family be?”