Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
“A diti, can you scan this and email it to me? Hollis isn’t at her desk, and it’s a bit of a rush.” Stark handed the receptionist the package of papers.
“Of course,” Aditi said. “I’ll do it right now.”
“Thank you. Where is Hollis?” Stark asked.
“She’s with the plumber in the gym,” Aditi said. “Rayna’s figured out the problem and asked her to -”
“Rayna?” Stark’s body went stiff. “Did you say Rayna?”
“Yes.” Aditi was already starting to scan the papers. “Rayna Abrams. She’s a plumber. I went to school with her. She’s super nice despite her tragic background.”
“What do you mean tragic background?” Stark asked.
“Oh, well,” Aditi glanced around, “I’m not really one to gossip, but everyone in the town knows about Rayna’s childhood, so I guess it’s not gossiping, right?”
Stark could barely keep a straight face. He liked the receptionist, and she was excellent at her job, but she was the biggest gossip in the office. Normally, he didn’t participate in office gossip ever, but he couldn’t resist his sudden urge to know exactly what made Rayna’s childhood so tragic.
Aditi pushed the scan button on the printer. “Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it already. You go to Grind My Beans nearly every day and Seo-Jun is the biggest gossip in town. I swear she only works at the coffee shop so she can collect gossip on everyone and spread -”
“Aditi,” Stark said impatiently, “what’s Rayna’s tragic background?”
“She had a really terrible childhood. Like, awful,” Aditi said. “She grew up on the south side in severe poverty. Both her parents were horrible alcoholics and couldn’t keep jobs. They lived in the grossest places and moved around a lot. I think they were even homeless a few times. Once, near the end of high school, Rayna was coming to school in dirty clothes, and it was apparent she wasn’t showering every day because they were living in her dad’s car. She got really skinny because I think her parents weren’t even, like, feeding her.”
“Jesus,” Stark said.
“Yeah, it was pretty bad. She was bullied terribly for her clothes and not showering, and I don’t even know how she dealt with it. A group of girls led by Phoebe Edwards were so mean to her. Phoebe was the worst of them, and she nearly got Rayna expelled from school once because Rayna punched her in the face.”
“Rayna punched another girl?” Stark said.
“Totally, but I mean, Phoebe kind of deserved it. She was so awful to Rayna. Anyway, Phoebe’s dad threatened to, like, sue the school if they didn’t kick Rayna out, but the principal and the guidance counselor smoothed it over somehow.”
Aditi’s face turned solemn. “But, then, two months before graduation, Rayna missed school for nearly two weeks. We were sure she’d dropped out because of being homeless and stuff. But then she came back to school and was, like, showered and had clean clothes, and she graduated with the rest of us.”
“What happened?” Stark asked.
Aditi shrugged. “No one knows. Well, Emma over at Twisted Stitches probably does - she’s been Rayna’s best friend since they were kids - but the rest of us don’t have a clue.”
“Where are her parents now?” Stark asked.
“Oh, they died in a car accident six months after we graduated high school,” Aditi said. “Her mom was driving while drunk, and she was speeding and lost control. They hit a tree, and both of them were killed instantly. I was dating a guy whose dad was a paramedic, and his dad said neither of them was wearing a seatbelt, and they had to scrape Rayna’s parents off the pavement. Rayna had to go in and identify the bodies even though they were all gooey and stuff. Isn’t that awful?”
“Yes,” Stark said. His skin had gone prickly and tight, and the protein bar he’d eaten half an hour earlier was like a stone in his stomach.
“Anyway,” Aditi gave Stark a cheerful smile, “despite her awful childhood, Rayna is so nice, and she does so much for animals. She runs an animal rescue right here in Harmony Falls.”
She turned to her computer and typed rapidly before grabbing the papers and handing them to him. “The documents have been emailed to you.”
“Thank you.” Stark took the documents back to his office. He sat in his chair, stared blankly at his computer, then stood and headed toward the back exit. He stepped outside, regretting his decision not to grab his jacket when the cold air hit his skin, and stared at the white van with “Sneaky Leaks Plumbing” emblazoned on the side of it in bold purple letters parked next to the gym.
He didn’t need to go to the gym. Hollis was perfectly capable of handling the plumbing issue. Nope, what he needed to do was go back to his office and not think about Rayna Abrams and her crappy childhood. What did he care if she’d had a tough start to life? It didn’t change the fact that she had something he wanted.
Perfect breasts with gorgeous pink nipples and satin soft skin.
He muttered a curse and reached for the door handle. He wanted Rayna’s land, nothing else. His sudden obsession with her breasts was just a by-product of not being laid since he moved to Harmony Falls. He would spend this weekend in New Cassel, enjoying his penthouse and the company of a beautiful woman who wanted the same thing he wanted - easy, simple, no commitment sex.
He yanked open the door, hesitated, and then let it go, walking toward the gym. He stepped inside the warm building, letting the door close quietly behind him as he stared at Rayna and Hollis.
They stood at the far end near the entrance to the locker room. Rayna studied one of the weight machines, reaching out to trace her fingers along it as she said, “This is state of the art gym equipment.”
“Is it?” Hollis asked. “I’ve never used it.”
“Yes,” Rayna said. “His equipment is much better than either of our local gyms, and Iron Fitness just renovated last year and brought in all new equipment.”
“You’re one of them,” Hollis said.
Rayna glanced at her. “Them?”
“Gym fanatic,” Hollis said.
“That obvious?” Rayna asked with a grin.
“You’re drooling a little,” Hollis said.
Rayna laughed. “I do enjoy a good workout.”
Stark’s brain immediately went to a vision of Rayna straddling his hips, her firm, naked body riding him hard, both of them panting and sweating and -
Enough!
“Is this place for Stark only, or does he offer memberships?” Rayna asked.
“The gym is for Mr. Stark and employees of Stark Entertainment only,” Hollis said. “Sorry.”
“No worries,” Rayna said.
“Which gym do you use?” Hollis asked politely.
“Oh, I don’t have a gym membership,” Rayna said. “I used to, but this year, I needed to use my gym fee to pay for a couple of cat spays.”
“You use your money for the rescue?” Hollis asked.
“I try not to, but when donations are low, sometimes it’s a necessity.” Rayna shrugged. “It’s all good, though. I got some equipment from a Facebook local free group and use it at home.”
Rayna touched the equipment again, and Stark could practically see the yearning on her face from across the room. He walked toward them as she smiled at Hollis. “So, if you give me ten minutes, I’ll write up the estimate, and you can discuss it with your boss.”
“We can discuss it now.” Stark joined them, pretending not to notice how Rayna’s body stiffened or the irritation that flickered across her face before a mask of polite professionalism settled onto her features.
“Mr. Stark, this is Rayna Abrams,” Hollis said. “She works for -”
“We’ve met,” Rayna said.
“Ms. Abrams,” Stark said.
“Stark,” Rayna said.
Hollis studied them both, her dark brown eyes unreadable as thick tension filled the room. “I’ll leave the two of you to discuss the issue.”
She left the gym, and Rayna gave Stark a thin smile. “I believe the water pressure issue is from a leaking pipe.”
“You believe, or you know?” he asked.
Her nostrils flared, but she kept that thin smile on her face. “I know. I used a listening disc to detect and pinpoint the water leak.”
“This building is brand new, less than six months old. Why would the pipes be leaking?” He could hear the exasperation in his voice.
“Most likely, it happened during installation,” Rayna said. “In order to fix the leak, I’ll need to remove some of the shower tiles and cut an access hole in the backer board.”
Fresh irritation washed over him. “The tile is very expensive, Ms. Abrams.”
“I can assure you that if you leave the leak, the resulting water damage will be more expensive,” she said.
“You’re certain it’s behind the shower wall,” he said.
“Yes.”
“How certain?”
She gave him a withering look. “I am very confident in my diagnosis.”
“Maybe we should have a more experienced member of your team consult on the issue.”
Jesus, he couldn’t stop needling her which did him no favours in getting what he wanted from her, but how her pretty brown eyes lit up with fire whenever he did fascinated him.
Those eyes were flashing fire and brimstone at him right now. He was pretty sure he’d be a smoking pile of flesh and bone on the floor if Rayna glared any harder at him.
“I have more than enough experience for this job,” she snapped.
“You’re young,” he said.
“What does that have to do with anything?” she said. “You’re old, but I’m not holding that against you. Your shitty attitude, however…”
“I’m only thirty-two,” he said, “and wanting to ensure that I have the best person for the job is not a shitty attitude.”
“I am excellent at my job, but I have neither the time nor the interest in convincing you of that. I’ll give my estimate to Hollis, and you can contact our office if you’d like to hire us for the job.”
She pushed past him and stalked toward the door. He stared at her ass in her cheap polyester pants, his face flushing when she suddenly turned and caught him staring.
“Sneaky Leaks Plumbing is the best plumbing company in town, and you’d be an idiot if you didn’t hire us for this job just because I won’t sell you my land.”
“That has nothing to do with it,” he said.
“Bullshit,” she snapped. “It has everything to do with it. You’ve already insulted me enough today. Don’t insult me further by pretending it doesn’t.”
She left the gym, and Stark muttered a curse. Christ, what was it about Rayna Abrams that got under his skin and made him act so fucking childish?