14. Jet
Chapter 14
Jet
“Are you listening?”
“Of course, I’m fucking listening,” I snap at Hayden on the phone, my eyes glued to the pool area.
“So where to next?”
“I’m not sure. Callaghan’s changed his schedule. Bastard’s been off grid the past two days. He’ll have seen the announcement about us changing suppliers to stock Aunt Iris’s gin. He’s doing it on purpose because he knows I want to speak with him.”
“He’s slipperier than a dick on a porn set,” Hayden quips.
I grunt in response.
Ava gets up from her sun lounger and stretches. Her love of expensive lingerie must extend to swimwear, because she’s wearing a barely-there white bikini with a ruffled trim. The back of it cuts high up over her ass cheeks. Cheeks that were bright red with my handprint only days ago .
“I’ve already got the team on it. They’ll sniff him out in no time. Callaghan’s not one to miss a moment to gloat about whatever fancy place he’s visiting.”
“Good.”
Ava’s talking to her friend, Liv, who’s visiting for a couple of days. She spent the morning in the garden typing on her laptop and wiping her eyes. She’s not spoken a word to me since leaving the estate yesterday. I saw her scowling at me through the window when I was skipping this morning, but since the moment Liv arrived, she’s been beaming. Their laughter’s echoing around the house.
It's the happiest she’s been since I arrived.
“Oh, and the kid signed the non-disclosure,” Hayden says, bringing my attention back to him.
“He knew what was good for him, then?”
“His father ripped him a new one when we told him you were serious about banning all employees of their company from flying with us again.”
“It’s the least he should have expected. No one takes videos of our passengers and tries to sell them to the press for a quick buck.” I follow Ava with my eyes as she walks along the poolside, smiling and waving to someone.
“She wasn’t even that drunk. I’ve seen way worse,” Hayden says.
“She wasn’t drunk. She’d taken a herbal remedy that she didn’t react well to. She said things she doesn’t remember.”
“Whatever it was, the video’s gone now. ”
“Thank you.”
My shoulders tense as David and another man join Ava and Liv. The four of them begin chatting and laughing like it’s a fucking party. “I’ve got to go. Call me the second you find Callaghan,” I say, hanging up.
I toss my phone onto the desk and stand with my hands on my hips surveying the scene outside. David’s chatting to Liv. And Ava’s got her hand up, shielding her eyes from the sun as the other guy stands far too close to her.
I turn back to the desk and throw myself into the chair. This has got to fucking stop. She’s already occupied my thoughts more than I should allow. This deal with Callaghan must be my sole focus. I can’t lose my head over a feisty brat who likes to push me. The only reason she’s getting under my skin at all is because I haven’t had sex since I left New York.
It’s blue balls. That’s all it is. They make it hard to focus.
I clench and unclench my hands a couple of times, then open up the emails on my laptop.
A guffaw, followed by female laughter outside, makes my fingers jolt on the keys. That’s fucking it! Some of us have businesses to run. I abandon my laptop and storm through the house, leaving the door wide open as I march across the grass to the pool.
Ava’s back is to me. But David sees me, and his eyes widen.
“All right, Mr. Grant? This is my brother, Ed. He runs the landscaping business with me.”
I nod a curt greeting at the other man.
“They were telling me about the new club we’re going to tonight,” Liv announces.
“Sounds fun.” I breeze past without glancing her way. “Ava?” I snap.
Her spine straightens before she turns slowly.
“I need to speak with you.”
She frowns. “Sure.”
“In private,” I add, when she doesn’t move.
She sighs. “Fine. I’ll be back in a bit, guys.”
I catch the way she smiles at Ed, and I bite my tongue to prevent myself from firing David on the spot so he and his brother never step foot here again.
I gesture through the door, and she walks in first. My attention drops to her ass, my palm twitching with the urge to spank it hard for flirting with another man in front of me.
“What do you want?” She whirls to face me.
I close the door, keeping my voice low. “Why are you distracting David from his work?”
She laughs. “You’re unbelievable. I wanted to introduce Liv to him. I saw him drive in with Ed. They were picking up the ride-on mower. David needed Ed’s help.”
“Fuck the mower, we can get some sheep to cut the grass if it means Ed won’t be coming around again.”
Ava looks at me like I’ve sprouted wings and taken off.
“Since when were club recommendations part of David’s job description?” I grit.
Ava scoffs, crossing her arms tightly. It pushes her breasts higher in her bikini, and I run my tongue over my teeth.
“Liv wants to go out. Ed offered to drive us all.”
“They’re going with you?” I take a step closer. She tilts her chin up, glaring at me.
“So what if they are? I’m working with you. You don’t get to dictate what I do in my free time. You haven’t even given me any real work to do!” She throws her arms wide. “You’re chasing some guy around, who’s gone AWOL. So until you find out where he is and tell me where we’re going next, I can do whatever the hell I like.”
“You’re a guest in this house, in case you forgot,” I snap, stepping closer. She holds her ground, remaining rooted to the spot.
“Yes. For which I am eternally grateful to your father for.” She drops her arms, shaking her head as she goes to barge past me. “You’re such an asshole.”
I catch her opposite hip and hold her in place.
“Are you going to sleep with him?”
“What?”
“The older brother who needs a haircut. Are you going to fuck him?”
“Oh my god. Would you listen to yourself?”
I am listening. I’m listening to my blood pounding in my ears at the thought of a man’s hands on her.
“Don’t,” I growl.
“Don’t what? Tell you how ridiculous you’re being? Tell you how inappropriate this conversation is? ”
“Don’t have sex with him.” My hand flexes on her hip, and my gut settles a little as she allows it to stay there.
“We’re going out to have some drinks and a dance. To have fun . Not that you’d understand that.”
She’s so close I could claim her mouth if I lean in.
“Those things lead to sex, Ava.”
“Not always,” she snaps.
“I’m not a gambling man.”
“Let me guess.” She snorts. “Because you always have to win.”
I look into her eyes, keeping my voice calm. “I don’t want you with other men while you’re living here. This might be my father’s house. But don’t forget, you’re my guest too. You’re sleeping in my room. In my bed.”
“Fine.” She pouts, and the tightness in my chest eases. “If we’re going to have sex, we’ll go to Ed’s place.”
“Ava!” The force of my shout doesn’t make her jump. It makes her smile coyly.
The brat’s pushing me on purpose… Again.
I move forward, caging her in between my arms against the wall. My rapidly rising chest brushes against the thin fabric of her bikini top as I lean over her.
Her eyes drop to my tie, and she reaches up, running a fingernail down it. I bat away the urge to grab her hand and place it on my hard dick.
“What about Liv? She’s a guest, too.”
My eyes fall to her mouth. “Liv can do what she wants. ”
“Ah, so you’re an asshole and a hypocrite.” She smirks.
“I don’t care who Liv fucks.”
“But you care who I do?” She lifts her eyes to mine as she waits for me to say something.
My jaw tenses. Nothing comes out. We shouldn’t be having this discussion. I have one focus. And it’s not her.
I step back.
“You know what? Fuck you, Jet,” she whispers, pushing past me.
She turns to me as she reaches the door, giving me a sarcastic smile. “And don’t wait up.”