Chapter 5
ELIJAH
It’s midafternoon on Sam’s first day of work, and I’ve had to force myself to walk out of the office. I wasn’t getting anything done because all I wanted to do was watch her work as Carrie showed her the ropes.
I drove straight to the local car lot, and three hours later, I’m heading back to the office trying to figure out how I’m going to explain what I just did.
I know Kane is going to question me. Hell, Carrie’s going to know something is up, but I’m not worried about anyone except for Sam. She’s my only concern now.
I walk back into the office and find Samantha and Carrie sitting at the conference table, pouring over spreadsheets.
I walk into my office and shut the door.
When I see Carrie getting her stuff ready to leave, I walk out of my office. I nod at her. “Thank you for all your help today.”
She smiles at me. “She catches on quick. I’ll be taking a few days off soon enough.”
I lean against my door and cross my arms over my chest. “I’ve been working you too much. You deserve a day or two.”
She puts her tote over her shoulder. “Bye, boss man. Bye, Samantha. I’ll see you in the morning. Don’t forget to put those feet up.” She looks at me. “I told her she could put them up here, but she wasn’t having it.”
As Carrie walks out, I glance over at Samantha. “Well, how was the first day?”
She looks tired but happy. “It was good.” She holds up a legal pad. “I have pages of notes, and Carrie said she’s teaching me invoices and materials.”
I nod as I fiddle with the keys in my pocket. “So I bet you’re ready to get out of here, huh?”
She blows out a breath. “Kane said he’d swing by here when he’s finished at the job site. I’m good. There’s a few spreadsheets I am going to look at to get ready for tomorrow.”
I take a step into the conference room. “Right, well, John is almost finished with your office. He painted the walls today. I opened the window to air it out, but it may be a day or two before you can move in. I know paint fumes aren’t good for you or the baby.”
She gestures toward the main entrance of the building. “I hate you went to all that trouble. There’s two desks open at the front. I can use either of those.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “That’s where the foremen come in and do their paperwork at the end of day, and there usually ends up being dirt or mud covering the floor or seats there. Plus, I want you to have your own space.”
She opens her mouth to say something but then closes it. “Right, well, thank you. I mean, thank you for everything. Most people wouldn’t hire me in my situation, so I really do appreciate the job.”
I walk further into the room, and her scent envelops me. It’s like sunshine and home all wrapped into one. “There’s something else I forgot to mention.”
She sits back in her seat, and her hands rest on her belly. “What is it?”
She’s nervous, and I hate to see she’s prepared for fight or flight. I pull the keys from my pocket and walk over to her. “Here’s the keys to your company car.”
She doesn’t hold her hand out, so I put the keys on the table in front of her.
She stares at the keys and then back at me. “I can’t take that.”
I pull out a chair from the conference table and sit down. “Yes, you can. You’re an employee of Wolfe Construction, and as an office employee, you get a company car.”
She crosses her arms over her belly. “I have a car.”
Fuck. I should have known that she’s just not going to accept it.
“Your car is not worth salvaging. Both the engine and the transmission are on their last legs. It’s not safe for you to drive, Sassy.”
She puts her hand on the table to help her stand up, but I stay seated. She starts to pace the room. “But it’s my car. I own it. That’s all I have and—”
“And?” I ask her.
She finally turns to look at me. “And well, the baby will be here in three months. I’m going to need a car and—”
I do stand up now. “And you think I’ll take your car away while you’re on maternity leave.”
“Maternity leave? Are you crazy? Today is my first day. I’ll have this baby in three months, and you’re telling me I have maternity leave?
” She huffs out a breath. “Look, Elijah, I appreciate what you’re trying to do and all, but this is crazy talk.
I’m not accepting your car, and I’m not accepting maternity leave. ”
I chuckle. “Still stubborn, I see.”
She doesn’t laugh with me. If anything, her glare gets even harder.
I hold my hands up and walk around the table to her. I put my hands on her shoulders, and as soon as I do, I know it’s the wrong thing.
Being this close to her wreaks havoc with my nervous system, but touching her makes me feel feral in a way that I haven’t felt before.
“Why not? Give me one good reason why you can’t accept maternity leave or a company car.”
She stutters. “Well, because I don’t want any special treatment. I know you’re doing this because I’m Kane’s sister and—”
“No, I’m not.”
I shake my head and step toward her. “I love your brother, but I’m not doing this because of him. We’re friends, Sass. We may not have been around each other much over the past five years, but that doesn’t mean we’re not friends, and as your friend, I want to help you. Let me do this for you.”
She’s wavering. She’s staring at me, overwhelmed. “But…”
“You were worried about having a car. Done. You have one. I know you were worried about doctor bills. Done. You don’t have to worry about it now.”
I’m ready to continue to convince her when she starts crying. Big fat tears start to roll down her cheek. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry. I can’t… I don’t…”
I wrap my arms around her and hold her to me. “Fuck, baby, I’ll do whatever you tell me to do if it means you’ll stop crying.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
I kiss the top of her head. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I need to comfort her. “Because you’re my friend, and I want to be nice to you. You deserve to have nice things. You deserve to be given things that make your life easier. You deserve to be treated right.”
I lean back and wrap my hands around her upper arms. “Honey, if there’s one thing I want you to know, it’s that. You deserve so much more than just a car and paid time off. You deserve more.”
She lifts her hand and wipes her eyes. “Gah, I promised myself last night that I wouldn’t cry around you anymore, and look at me now.”
I reach for the center of the table and pull a tissue from the box, and instead of handing it to her, I wipe under her eyes.
“You know, you can cry with me any time you need to. I’ll listen, but I have to tell you, Sassy, I’m going to do everything I can so you don’t want to cry.
That’s going to be my mission over the next few months.
If I can make your life easier… let me.”
She eyes me curiously. I can see the questions, the doubt, everything in her eyes, but finally she nods. “Okay. Thank you. I feel like I’ve thanked you a hundred times since yesterday and it’s not enough. I can’t thank you enough.”
I run my thumb across her soft cheek. “You don’t have to thank me.”
The sound of the front door opening has me reluctantly taking a step back.
“Sis… you still here?”
I call out to Kane, “We’re in here.”
Kane walks in and looks between me and his sister. “Shit, you’re crying again?”
Sassy bursts out laughing, and I can’t help but join her. She walks over to where she was sitting and starts packing up her stuff.
“What’s going on? What happened?” Kane asks.
I fist my hands at my sides, hoping that Kane goes along with this. He can easily blow my cover. “I gave Sam the keys to her company car.”
“Company car?” he asks speculatively.
Sam looks up at Kane, trying to read his reaction, and Kane finally chimes in. “Right, right, company car. Sounds good. Have you checked it out yet?”
Sam shakes her head, and Kane grabs the bag she’s holding. “Well, let’s go look at it. Elijah, you coming?”
I want to, but instead, I shake my head. “No, I have a few things to finish up on. I’ll see you two in the morning.”
Sassy hands the keys over to Kane and stays back as he goes outside. She looks at me with full-on gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you, Elijah. Really, thank you for the job opportunity and—”
I hold my hands up. “No more thank-yous. Just do what we talked about, okay? You deserve this, honey. This and so much more.”
She nods and then follows her brother out the door.
I watch through the window, and as soon as I see Sassy’s face light up, I know I did the right thing.
Yeah, people usually work here a minimum of three months before they get a company car.
And insurance doesn’t usually kick in until after ninety days of employment, but that all changed this morning.
I made calls to put it all in motion. And seeing Sassy smile like she is right now is one hundred percent worth it.