Chapter 7
Night Shift
For the next week, I avoided Raymond at all costs. When Natalie tried to schedule meetings, I created excuses so bad, even she raised a questioning brow.
“How many dental appointments are you going to have this week?” she asked after I recycled the excuse. “And why are you going after the office closes?”
“Hey, I get special treatment, and I have a serious toothache.”
“Right.” She gave me a side eye. “So what do you want me to tell Raymond? He seems to really want this meeting. I’m not sure why he hasn’t just called you like he usually does.”
Maybe because I blocked him, so all his calls go straight to voicemail.
I shrugged. “No idea!”
“Oh, you’re going to need to do a fill-in at the site,” she said. “Luke is sick and needs the night off.”
“When?” I frowned. I had planned on doing the same thing I had each night that week: run home and hide.
“Tonight, so you might want to cancel that dental appointment.” She laughed as she turned and walked out of my office. “I don’t know why you’re avoiding that man, but you must have a great reason!”
“Whatever!” I called after her.
Once left alone, I quickly wrapped up the rest of my tasks. The studio was a good forty-minute drive from the office, even without traffic. I wanted to get there in enough time to make sure I could relieve Sandra, the guard on duty, before Luke.
“This is good,” I said after parking. I walked across the lot and headed to the post. “I won’t have to worry about seeing him here.”
“Seeing who?” Raymond's head popped out from around the corner ahead of me.
“Holy shit!” I skidded to a halt.
“Hey, you’re supposed to be here on guard duty. Can’t let someone sneak up on you like that.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I got a call Luke was sick, so I figured I would fill in.” He grinned.
“I’m here to do that, so you can go home.”
“Now, that doesn’t make sense.” He ran his hand over his beard. “I’m the second-in-command. Shouldn’t you go home?”
I shook my head. “You’re the second-in-command, so you should do as you’re told.”
“Ah, got me there,” he sighed. “Still, I think I’ll stick around.”
“Why?”
“You’ve been avoiding me. There are things I want to talk about.” An evil grin spread across his face. “You’re insisting on being here, so you have plenty of time.”
“Fine, I’ll leave.”
“Oh, darn!” he shouted. “I’m not sure I remember the protocols here. I would hate to mess something up!”
“You wouldn't dare mess anything up.” I turned on him. “That would look bad on both of us.”
“Correction: that would look bad on you. Remember, this is a temporary thing for me. I’m not the one who needs a long-lasting reputation of upstanding service.”
I wanted to stomp my foot but decided cursing was better than looking like a child. “Son-of-a-bitch!”
“Lead the way, oh leader.” He stepped aside, waving me forward.
“I cannot believe you're pretending as if you don't know how to do this job on your own,” I complained as Raymond followed me through the lot.
Soon, we would reach the post where Sandra waited, so I didn't want to get too much into any conversation she might overhear.
No matter what, we had to look professional.
I would not let my discomfort or annoyance with this man ruin my business.
“I thought you would appreciate my desire to learn everything I can.” He slowed his pace, but I kept going, forcing him to keep up. “What if I have to step in when you can't?”
“Isn’t that why you came here?” I shot him a nasty glare. “You said you intended on doing the job, which meant you knew what you were doing, because why would you come here if you didn't?”
“Darn it, you caught me in a lie.” He shrugged in that playful way that made me want to pop him upside the head.
“So you admit to lying to me.” I pointed at him then dropped my finger when I heard my name.
“Miss Brown, it's good to see you. Thank you so much for coming to relieve me,” Sandra called out as she stepped outside of the guard post. I kept my thoughts about Raymond to myself as I greeted her.
“Of course, you know how I am. If you guys need me, I'm here.” I smiled at her.
“I've completed my rounds and everything is good to go,” she reported. “They're just really getting started on the new production, so there is a little more foot traffic than over the last couple weeks.”
“Thank you for the update.”
Sandra grabbed her things and headed out. As soon as she was out of earshot, Raymond started up again. Apparently, I wasn't the only one concerned about keeping up professional appearances.
“Now that we're alone, will you please tell me why you've been avoiding me?” he asked.
“This again?” I huffed. “Was there something in our contract that said I had to answer every time you called? I swear that’s something my lawyers would have talked to me about.”
He paused, a tight frown on his face. “Did I do something wrong?”
“If this is you teasing me again, I'm going to hurt you,” I threatened.
“This is me genuinely asking what I did to make you avoid me for a week.” All the joking tone had left his voice. “Did I hurt you when we were sparring? Are you embarrassed?”
“No, you didn't hurt me.” I ignored the second question, because yes, I was embarrassed, but no, I was not about to tell him that.
“So, what is it? Because I thought we were finally building a good relationship.
I know that's not important to you, Jericha, but it is to me.” He sat in the empty chair next to me inside the guard post. “We don't have to be the best of friends, but I would think if I was in business with someone and I was calling them, they would at least give the courtesy of answering me.”
“You're right. It was unprofessional of me, and I should have responded to you,” I relented. “You had something related to business you wanted to talk about, and it deserved attention.”
The smug look of a man rarely told he was right spread across his face. “That's all I'm saying.”
“So, what is it?” I asked.
“What's what?” His expression turned from pride to confusion.
“The important business thing you wanted to talk to me about so badly,” I reminded him. “What is it?”
“I—um…” The man looked like he was actually panicking. “The mats in the gym seem a bit firm. I think we should probably think about swapping those out.”
I scoffed. “Do you expect me to believe that's what you really wanted to talk to me about?”
“I expect you to have some compassion for my…short term memory loss and drop it.” He leaned to look out the window, as if he spotted something more interesting than our conversation. “I'll give you a pass about ignoring me, and you give me a pass for letting things slip my mind.”
“Raymond. This is a professional relationship, nothing more.” I turned a serious eye to him. “Do you often talk to your other partners a lot?”
“Only the ones I want to talk to.”
“So, you want to talk to me?” I leaned back in my seat and raised a brow. “That’s what this is about? Were you lonely?”
I expected him to come back with something snarky, an attempt to put me in my place, but the damn man answered with honesty.
“Yes, Jericha. I wanted to talk to you.” There it was, that challenging expression I hated so much.
He was testing me. “Is that so bad? I realized I enjoy your company. I enjoyed talking shop and even sparring. That was one of the best sessions I’ve had in a very long while. Figured we could do it again.”
His honesty caught me off guard, so much so that I struggled to respond.
He enjoyed being with me? He wanted to talk to me?
What was I supposed to do with that information?
Sure, he presented it like he was talking about a typical friendship, but there was something in his tone and the way he looked at me when he spoke that made me feel like there was far more to the story than he was telling me.
“Well, don’t.” I shifted my attention away from the man who stared at me. “Focus on the contract. Getting the job done is all that matters. You shouldn’t want to talk to or spend any extra time with me. That’s inappropriate.”
“Says who?” Raymond locked his eyes on me. “You’re the boss, aren’t you? You make the rules.”
“Yes, and a strict rule of mine is to not get too close with my staff. It creates conflicts of interest.”
“Your staff. Right.” He paused. “I think I qualify as more than staff. As a partner in your business, however temporary, shouldn’t I at least be allowed to get to know you?”
“Why would you want to do that?” I laughed. “I don’t understand why this matters so much to you.”
“To be honest, it didn’t before.” He leaned closer to me. “But seeing how resistant you are to the idea makes me a lot more intrigued. I need to know why you’re so against it. Is there something about me that repulses you, or are you typically this abrasive?”
“Oh, I see.” It finally clicked. Raymond’s ego was bruised. “This isn’t about me at all, is it? Let me guess: you’re used to women falling over you?”
“Not just women.” He winked. “I’m a people person. People like me.”
“Men too?” I raised a brow. It wasn’t something I expected to hear, but Raymond was an attractive man. I could see people of all types wanting to get their hands on him.
“What are you asking me, Jericha? Is that a professional question or a personal one?” He frowned. “Doesn’t that go against your policy?”
“It’s not a question at all.” I kicked the thought out of my mind. “Forget I said anything.”
He moved closer to me and whispered, “Just know, I’m the one doing the bending.”
“I—” My breath caught in my throat. Had he really just insinuated what I thought he had? And why the hell was it a turn on? I mean, my pulse quickened, and I felt that familiar tightening between my thighs.
“Is that a problem?” He leaned back and propped his feet up on the table beside me, laughing when I knocked them down.