Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
R ayna parked her truck on the quiet side street and grabbed her lunch bag. Typically, she would return to the Sneaky Leaks office space for her lunch break, but her next client wasn’t far from downtown.
She unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite while checking her emails. There were over a dozen emails requesting help for animals, but thankfully, her dog and cat foster coordinators were handling them. Her phone dinged with an incoming text, and she responded to Reba, their cat and dog medical volunteer, confirming that she could do further testing at the vet for a cat that had been vomiting off and on for two days.
In between bites of her sandwich, she answered various messages from different volunteers, assured Zuri she hadn’t forgotten about their meeting regarding the bachelor/bachelorette auction, and called Brandt Vet Clinic to book an appointment to spay the cat of a senior with limited funds who couldn’t afford it.
Out of all the programs she’d set up within Little Whiskers Rescue, she was most proud of their Helping Hands program. The program utilized rescue funds to support low-income families in Harmony Falls with veterinary care for their animals.
Speaking of funds, she really needed to rebook her meeting with the rescue’s accountant. Mack had cancelled twice now, and with year end rapidly approaching, she needed to know the exact numbers in order to allocate funds for the various rescue programs for the following year.
She sighed and rubbed at her forehead. Dealing with the money side was her least favourite part of the rescue work, and she knew how lucky she was to have Mack. He’d been with the rescue since the start, volunteering his time to handle donations and bank accounts and doing all the bookkeeping. Still, she was sometimes uneasy at how little she paid attention to the money side, but she was already stretched thin as it was. She couldn’t be a control freak over every aspect of the rescue. She’d go into complete burnout if she tried.
Her work phone rang, and she hit the answer button. “Go for Abrams.”
Her boss laughed. “God, you’re such a dork.”
“Takes one to know one, Douglas.”
He laughed again, and she grinned before biting into her apple and chewing noisily. “What’s up?”
“Where you at?”
“Just outside of downtown.”
“Perfect. I need you to handle an emergency call.”
“Sure. Where?”
“Stark Entertainment. Their office is the old fire station.”
She froze with the apple halfway to her mouth. The sandwich she’d eaten now sat like a rock in her stomach.
“Rayna, you still there?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Can you ask Jimmy instead?”
“He’s way over on the south side. You’re closest.”
“What’s the emergency?” Rayna asked.
Doug hesitated, and Rayna said, “Doug? What’s the emergency?”
“Low water pressure in the gym showers.”
She scowled. “That isn’t an emergency.”
“It is when it’s the gym shower of the richest guy in town.”
She didn’t reply, and Doug said, “Head over there now, please, Rayna.”
“One, I’m on my lunch break, and I still have thirty minutes left. Two, I already have a client appointment booked for after lunch.”
“You’ll be paid overtime for your lunch hour, and I’ve already asked Ranjit to cover your one o’clock.”
“What? Why? Just send Ranjit to Stark’s.”
“I want you to do it.”
She tossed her half-eaten apple into her lunch bag. “I’m not doing it, Doug.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
Doug huffed in annoyance. “I don’t have time for your bullshit today, Rayna.”
“I have never once refused to work a job, Doug. I take all the messy jobs without complaint, don’t I? The exploding toilet? The broken sewage pipe under the trailer in the middle of July when the weather was over a hundred degrees? Who took care of those monstrosities without a single complaint? Me, that’s who.”
“You did, which means this one will be a piece of cake for you,” Doug said.
She tossed her half-eaten apple into her lunch bag. “Why can’t Ranjit do it?”
“Because you’re my best, Rayna, and the guy is a multimillionaire.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You do a good job like you always do, and we’ve got a new client. One with bottomless pockets. We all know he’ll be building a new house on that property he bought sooner or later, and it’ll probably be a goddamn mansion with seven fucking bathrooms. I want Sneaky Leaks to be the plumber he calls to install those seven fucking bathrooms.”
“He won’t be building any home until I sell him my property, and I’m never selling it to him, so this is a moot point,” Rayna said.
Doug sighed. “Rayna, I get that he isn’t your favourite guy, but I am asking you as your boss to do your goddamn job. Getting on Stark’s good side will only help the company, which in turn will help you. You want a raise next year, play nice with the multimillionaire.”
“I really hate you, Douglas,” Rayna said morosely.
“No, you fucking love me,” Doug said. “Get your ass over to Stark’s gym and be nice, Rayna. I don’t care how much you hate his guts. Got it?”
“Got it,” Rayna said.
“Thanks, kid.” Doug ended the call.
Rayna stared at her phone before letting loose with a very loud and very satisfying “Fuck!”.
* * *
“Thank you for coming so quickly, Ms. Abrams.”
Rayna didn’t want to be intimidated by the woman standing in front of her, but she couldn’t help it. The receptionist had asked her to wait a moment while she called Stark’s assistant, Hollis, and the woman had arrived at the reception desk roughly thirty seconds later. Hollis’s expensive suit, her perfect hair and makeup, and how she practically oozed sophistication made Rayna even more self-conscious of her make-up-free face, her hair pulled back in its usual ponytail, and the ill-fitting cut of her Sneaky Leaks golf shirt.
She wondered idly if Stark and the woman were sleeping together. She seemed like Stark’s type of woman. He certainly didn’t find Rayna’s look appealing, that was for sure.
You have no idea what his type of woman is. And hey, why exactly do you care that he doesn’t find you or your tits attractive? You hate him, remember?
She pulled at her shirt before studying the bright and open space they stood in. Whoever had been in charge of renovating the fire station into a working office had done an incredible job. The big bullpen in the middle was bustling with activity, and she glanced up when she heard a burst of loud laughter from the open upper floor. Was Stark in the office right now, just waiting to cast his judgmental gaze on her? Probably not. He would disapprove of laughter in the workplace. She could feel the tension oozing out of her shoulders.
Hollis was still waiting for her reply, and Rayna forced herself to focus. “You’re welcome. So, the problem is in the gym?”
“Yes. We’ve been noticing a decrease in water pressure for a few weeks now. I brought in a plumber to address the issue, and he said it was a partially closed shut-off valve and a shower head restrictor. He said he’d fixed the problem. Obviously, he was mistaken.”
“Well, I’m happy to take a look and solve the problem,” Rayna said.
“Good. The gym is located behind the main building. Let me grab my jacket and -”
“Hi! You’re a plumber, right?”
Rayna’s shirt was tugged on, and she looked down to see a small dark-haired girl, who couldn’t have been more than six years old, standing beside her.
“I am,” she said, glancing at Hollis. The woman had a strange look on her face, one part annoyance to two parts… shit, was that anxiety? Did the pixie-size girl actually make her nervous?
“That’s so cool,” the little girl said.
“How did you know that?” Rayna asked. She hadn’t brought any of her work tools in with her.
“It says on your shirt.” The little girl stared at the embroidered patch on Rayna’s shirt. “Sneaky Leaks Plumbing. That’s a funny name.”
“Aren’t you a little young to work here?” Rayna grinned at the girl.
She giggled and took Rayna’s hand, hanging off of it as she swung her small body back and forth with enthusiasm. “I don’t work here, silly. My daddy works here. I’m only here because I have a dentist’s appointment in half an hour, but he had to stop by the office because he forgot something. He always forgets things. He has a very chaotic and disorganized personality, but he means well.”
Rayna blinked in surprise. “You know a lot of big words for a six-year-old.”
“I’m seven!” the little girl said indignantly. “My Aunt Nora says I’m probably a genius, but Daddy won’t get me tested because he wants me to have a normal childhood without any pressure to live up to certain expectations. Hey, what’s your name?”
“I’m Rayna,” Rayna said.
“I’m Eva,” she said.
“Nice to meet you.”
“You too. Do you like being a plumber?”
“I do,” Rayna said.
“I’m going to be a race car driver when I grow up. Or a doctor. Or maybe an accountant like Daddy. I’m not sure yet. I might be a mechanic like my Uncle Shepherd. I’m gonna have a fast car when I grow up. My favourite car is the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. What’s your favourite car?”
“Oh, um… I…”
Before Rayna could think of an answer, Eva turned her attention to Hollis. “Hi, Hollis.”
“Hello, Eva.” Hollis gave the little girl a stiff smile.
“I like your hair today. Do you ever braid it? My daddy braids my hair, and he knows how to do French braids and Dutch braids because Emma taught him how to do Dutch braids,” Eva said.
She let go of Rayna’s hand and ran her hand over Hollis’s suit jacket. “I like your suit, too.”
Looking visibly uncomfortable, Hollis stepped back. Eva grimaced. “Sorry, I shouldn’t touch you.”
She turned back to Rayna. “Daddy says I shouldn’t bother Hollis when I’m here because she isn’t a person who enjoys being around little kids, and also, I like to give hugs and be touchy-feely like my Aunt Nora, and Hollis hates that. She doesn’t like hugs. Do you like hugs, Rayna?”
“Yeah, I like -”
“Eva! Hey, I asked you to come straight back to my office when you were finished in the bathroom.” A dark-haired man with blue eyes and a killer body scooped Eva into his arms.
“Sorry, Daddy,” Eva said cheerfully. “I was distracted by Rayna. She’s a plumber.”
The man smiled at her. “Hi. I know you.”
“You do?”
“Well, sort of,” he laughed. “I’m James, and I’m one of your bachelors for the upcoming fundraiser.”
“Oh, awesome. It’s great to meet you.” She shook James’s hand. “Thank you so much for participating. We really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.”
“How did you hear about it?” Rayna asked.
“Emma,” James said. “She popped into my office one day and convinced/bribed me to participate.”
Rayna laughed. “Bribery with chocolate chip cookies or banana bread? Both are crowd favourites.”
“The cookies,” James said. “I can’t resist cookies.”
“It’s true,” Eva said. “I have to hide them at home, or he eats them all after I go to bed.”
“Hey, no sharing family secrets with strangers, remember, Eva?” James said with a good-natured grin. His grin faltered a little when he glanced at Hollis. “Hi, Hollis.”
“Hello, James,” Hollis said.
There were a few seconds of silence before Eva frowned. “Why is it weird?”
“It’s not weird. You’re weird.” James tickled her, and Eva laughed before kissing his cheek.
“C’mon, Daddy, we gotta go, or I’ll miss my cleaning.”
“Right as always, Bunnykins.” James smiled at Rayna. “Good to formally meet you, Rayna. I’ll see you at the fundraiser.”
“See you then,” Rayna said.
James turned and walked away, and Rayna glanced at Hollis just in time to see the woman’s gaze slip to James’s admittedly very tight ass. She looked away, giving Rayna a bit of a flustered smile.
“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in participating in the fundraiser if you’re single? I run Little Whiskers Rescue, and we’re looking for a few more bachelorettes,” Rayna said.
“Absolutely not,” Hollis said and then grimaced. “Sorry, that was rude. I’m single, but I’m not interested in participating in the fundraiser as a bachelorette. I’m happy to donate separately, though.”
“That’s very kind. Thank you. Or,” Rayna glanced at James’s retreating back, “you could come to the fundraiser and bid on one of the bachelors. It’s for a great cause, and you’ll get a fun night out with your bachelor if you win the bid.”
Hollis cleared her throat, her gaze slipping to James a final time before she smiled her stiff smile. “Give me a moment to get my jacket, and I’ll take you to the gym. All right?”
“Sounds good,” Rayna said.