Renley
From the second Eveline entered the house, he knew he would be in big fucking trouble.
This woman would change his brain chemistry, and it was a dangerous game.
He desperately needed this job, and couldn’t afford to have a crush on his boss.
Yet, here he was stealing glances at her as she bit that pouty bottom lip of hers and scribbled into her notebook.
Fuck!
He forced his eyes to look at anything but her, savouring the pastry in his hand to have something to occupy himself while she was doing her thing.
“Newbie,” one of the guys said—Miguel maybe?
“Renley,” he countered, finding the man who’d demanded his attention.
“Right—you’re coming with us Saturday.”
“I am?”
“Yeah, we’ll show you a good time.”
“You can’t say shit like that,” another one said—was it Lukas? Fuck, he was bad at names.
“Why not?”
“Because it sounds like you’re sucking his dick.”
Miguel only blinked while everyone laughed, so Renley offered, “Shame, I would have been down to have a good time with you.”
Laughter turned into howling, and the blush over Miguel’s cheeks continued over his bald head. “I meant food.”
“That’s what we’ll tell everyone,” Renley teased further, even going so far as to wink at the man.
When the group suggested that Eveline join them, he found somewhere else to be.
Maybe Shannon had been right all along: he shouldn’t have turned to escorting.
He wasn’t mad at her. God, Eveline was far from at fault for this mess.
She could’ve denied him employment, yet here he was, entirely at her mercy while their night together played like an endless movie in his head.
He took out his frustrations on the wall he’d been assigned to demolish and when that didn’t work entirely, he drove straight to the gym. That was how he spent his week.
The more reality settled in the more he thought about the worst-case scenarios.
Maybe Eveline would resent her decision and fire him after all.
And if she came to the night out as she’d said she would, he was even more fucked.
He’d tried to make excuses not to go, but nothing he said seemed to be easing the pressure.
Not even when he told them he couldn’t afford it.
When he stood in front of the restaurant, already thirty minutes late, he just couldn’t bring himself to walk inside. Finally deciding to leave, he spun on his heel—and nearly stumbled over Eveline.
“Shit! I’m sorry.”
She only laughed, her bright green eyes seeming to reflect the sun, even after it had long gone down. “Not going inside?”
He stared for a moment, then shook his head. “I forgot something in my truck.”
Her smile didn’t fade as he stepped aside and let her pass. “I’ll see you in there.”
He let out a frustrated groan, and ran back to his truck, pretending to grab the invisible item he’d forgotten, while he centred his thoughts.
He already had a bad feeling about this night, and that intuition only worsened when he entered the restaurant to find the alcohol already flowing.
He was introduced to everyone’s families and then convinced to get a beer.
He sat back mostly focusing on his food and trying to ignore those intoxicating laughs from across the table.
Perhaps it was because she was forbidden fruit, but he swore that her voice was the only one he could hear.
After a while, everything quieted. A few families with kids left but as he tried to make his escape with them, a hand tugged him toward the bar and shoved a shot in his palm—then another, and another.
When he returned to the empty table, desperate for something that wasn’t booze, his head spun. He let himself plop into his seat and ran his hand over his face. “Fuck.”
“You can tell them no.”
Now he was dizzy for more than one reason. There she was, utterly breathtaking in a dress that showed far too much cleavage to be safe around his drunk ass. “It doesn’t seem like it.”
Chuckling, Eveline poured him a glass of water from the pitcher on the table. “They do this to every new guy.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m the only one with alcohol in my glass.”
She shook her head and snatched a roll from the basket. “Have they been nice otherwise?”
“Other than trying to give me alcohol poisoning? Yes.” He took a sip of water, graciously accepting the piece of bread she handed him. “Why did they tell you to leave your wallet at home?”
“Because if I don’t, I’ll pay for their food, and they don’t like that very much.” Then with a mischievous grin, she added, “But they can’t stop me from paying for the kids.”
“Maybe they are drunk after all.” Then the alcohol took over. “Please don’t fire me.”
“I’m not going to fire you because you get drunk on your down time.”
“I know you wouldn’t fire me for that .”
“I’m not going to fire you at all, Renley.”
“I need this job,” he whisper-begged, unable to meet her gaze.
“I’m not going to fire you because of what happened between us,” Eveline clarified, and it was the only thing that settled the anxiety buzzing through his veins.
“Thank you.” But he couldn’t stop staring at her, at the kind eyes looking over his shoulder to his colleagues at the bar. “Why?”
Confused, Eveline met his gaze again. “Why won’t I fire you? Well, Jeronimo said you’re a hard worker, we always need guys like you.”
He shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. Why did you reach out to me ? Why pay me to spend time with you?”
She sighed, sadness washing over her eyes as she ripped her bread in half. “You know why.”
“If I did, I wouldn’t ask.”
“Men don’t look at me like that.” And then with the saddest of half laughs she added, “You wouldn’t have.”
“I’m doing it right now.” His filter was long gone—probably with the second or third shot—and he was saying things he’d normally be able to sensor. “Look at me.”
It took a few moments before she did. “You don’t have to be nice about it, you know.”
“Eveline, I wasn’t being kind to you because I was getting paid to do so. I would’ve done everything the same if I had picked you up at a bar.”
A rosy pink tinted her cheeks, a brief flicker of something breaking through the sadness—but then it was gone. “If we had met on the street, you would’ve walked past me without a second thought.”
“I would’ve walked past you, yes, but only because you deserve a guy who has his life together at least half as much as you.
I wouldn’t have picked you up at a bar because you deserve a man , not an adolescent who just got out of jail and is homeless.
Hell, the only reason I don’t live in my truck is because my best friend hasn’t completely written me off yet.
You seem like a woman with standards and I’m not about to have you lower them only to regret it later. ”
“You say that, yet I’m still here paying a stranger to cuddle me for a few hours. I’m nothing but a crazy old cat lady in a wheelchair.”
“You’re an accomplished, smoking hot woman, who will meet the right guy when the time is right.”
The colour over Eveline’s cheeks deepened, and a mischievous grin curled her lips. “Maybe a young, handsome man in the construction industry will ask me out soon.”
“Let’s hope he gets his life together before someone else beats him to the punch.” He gratefully sipped at his water, feeling the alcohol slowly fade from his system—too slowly. “So, you have cats, huh?”
“Two—Flake and Luna.”
“And you call yourself a crazy cat lady. I expected a whole litter of names.”
“Oh, I’m banned from the shelter. Otherwise, I’d be building a whole house just for cats.”
He chuckled, loving the sparkle that thought brought to her eyes. “So that’s why you started your own company—to have access to willing hands when it ever comes to that.”
“Shh, don’t tell them. They have no idea what is coming for them.”
God , she was cute. “I’m sure you’ve already drawn up plans in that sketchbook of yours.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Head pounding, Renley rubbed his temples. “Shit, I didn’t come here meaning to drink.”
“Now you know better for next time than to drive yourself,” she laughed, handing him another piece of bread. “You can pick up the truck tomorrow. The owner knows how these guys can be.” Then her gaze drifted back to the bar, and she shook her head.
Renley followed her line of sight, seeing another round of shots coming his way. “Fuck.”
“You can’t tap out already,” Lukas teased, setting a double in front of him.
“Well, I am,” Eveline announced. “You guys have fun.”
There were disapproving grumbles from the whole group, but Jeronimo rose from his seat the second he had sat down. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“What a sweetheart you are.”
She gave them all a wave and disappeared out of sight, leaving a tingling in his stomach that had nothing to do with the alcohol in his system.