25. Garrett
Chapter Twenty-Five
GARRETT
H is pacing was threatening to wear a groove in the hardwood floor. This morning had been a disaster.
Sure, it had started good. Fantastic, in fact. That hazy minute where he’d been in between sleep and waking had been surreal, a stolen moment from another timeline. The life he hadn’t gotten a chance to live.
But that voluptuous warmth, the rich softness of Emma’s skin had gone to his head. Both of them.
Hard as a rock and half-asleep, he’d taken things he had no right to claim. Emma had bolted, making an excuse and running out the door two hours early for her shift at the coffee kiosk.
What she should have done is crack him one over the head.
And there he went again, thinking about his dick. At least he hadn’t said it aloud.
Could you stick a foot in your brain? He should just punch himself in the groin and save Emma the trouble.
His downward spiral was interrupted by the kitten. Garrett had been vaguely aware the beast had been following in his wake, claws scraping the floor’s finish. The little shit thought it was a game.
He’d spent the entire day on edge, drafting and erasing texts to Emma. In the end, he’d decided to wait to speak to her until she got home.
That should have been a half hour ago. Garrett knew that because Hector had sent him her schedule yesterday. Garrett didn’t even have to ask for it anymore.
Fifteen minutes later, he lost the battle with his patience. He ordered his driver to take him to the waterfront.
He jumped out when he spotted Emma sitting on a bench, facing the water.
Wordlessly, he sat down next to her. All his worst fears about that morning were confirmed when she didn’t turn around. Emma refused to look at him.
Garrett sucked in a deep breath, his carefully prepared speech gone, completely forgotten at the sight of her.
“Emma, I know I fucked up this morning. But you don’t have to be afraid to come home. What happened was an accident. I took some Benadryl last night and it knocked me on my ass. It won’t ever happen again. Even if the antihistamines render me unconscious, I’ll make sure to go to my room. And if I don’t make it and end up sleeping on the floor halfway, just leave me there.”
The joke fell flat. Emma kept her eyes on the water. He glanced in the same direction and was startled to see the end of a sunset so spectacular it belonged in a movie.
But it paled in comparison to Emma. The golden glow transformed her caramel skin into a fiery bronze. She was a golden goddess, but one warm and alive.
It physically hurt not to touch her. And it made his heart hurt that he couldn’t tell her that. But enough boundaries had been crossed today.
Emma twisted to face him. The confusion and hurt in her eyes damn near killed him. “Is it true that you own De Olla ?”
Okay, a line had been crossed. Just not the one he thought. And Emma was just realizing it now.
“Was this news?” he asked, unable to hide his surprise.
Her mouth dropped open. “It’s true?”
He raised a shoulder. “I thought you knew. The first De Olla café is in my building.”
Her lips parted. “I thought the owner paid rent!”
He shook his head. “ De Olla doesn’t pay rent because it’s a partnership. And yes, I have controlling interest. Or Next Chapter does.”
Emma’s brow puckered. “You and your partner own it?”
“Our company does,” he stressed. “But I did accept a seat on the board at their invitation.”
“Why?”
“Hector’s boss Hilda, who is also his wife, wanted to partner with someone experienced at expanding businesses.” Garrett turned so he was facing her. “Don’t get me wrong, Hector is a decent manager, but he’s a perfectionist. His chief interest is in making sure the recipes he’s using are authentic when mass-produced. Which is a good thing because they make money, but he can’t handle the logistics of more than one café.”
She processed this slowly. “But you can.”
He nodded matter-of-factly. “I push boundaries and excel at seeing the big picture. They decided sacrificing controlling interest was worth having someone like me on board, directing from the top.”
“I did know about Hector’s wife,” Emma said slowly as if the memory had come from a long way away. “I knew she was the company president. But I didn’t know about you. No one mentions it.”
“I wasn’t keeping my position a secret,” he promised. “I’m on the board of many businesses. I don’t do any of the day-to-day. And I won’t have to, so long as they stick to the expansion plan I drafted.”
He waited for a response, but Emma didn’t have one. “Are you upset about this?” he asked.
She closed her eyes. “If you have controlling interest, that makes you my boss.”
His brain filled in what she didn’t say aloud—that this morning her boss had been pressing his cock to her lush ass and fondling her bare breast.
“ Hector is your boss. I don’t intend on interfering.” Not any more than he already had .
Emma looked down at her lap, her hands tightly gripped together. She turned to him, blinking fast.
Fuck, this was bad. He was a monster. Garrett was going to have to sell De Olla .
“I don’t want to ask you for help.” Her breath was shaky. “But I might need it.”
Oh. Oh … Wait . “Did something else happen?”
She nodded, a tear sliding down her cheek.
What the fuck? Had someone messed with her?
Garrett slid closer to her, sliding an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, you can ask me for anything. You know that, right?”
He expected to be rebuffed. But Emma shocked the hell out of him when she gripped the lapel of his suit jacket, burrowing her face in his chest.
Emma was crying but he hadn’t caused it. She was turning to him for comfort. Garrett’s shoulders straightened, puffing up involuntarily even as he pulled her into his side, comforting her.
He didn’t know if he should be pulling out his wallet or getting ready to kick someone’s ass. Whatever she needed, he’d do.
She sniffed. “There was this man.”
Garrett went from zero to sixty in nothing flat, heat coursing through his veins. “Who is he? Did he touch you ?”
Emma raised her face. A tear track stained her cheek.
“No, it wasn’t like that,” she said. But she hesitated, worrying her lower lip with her teeth.
Garrett ordered himself to calm down, but he couldn’t seem to. “Baby, you need to tell me what the hell happened 'cause I’m this close to tearing this bench apart,” he said, holding his fingers a hairsbreadth apart.
She was so fucking upset she didn’t register the endearment.
“It’s concrete,” she whispered.
“What?” he breathed.
“The bench. It’s concrete.”
“Then prepare for a Hulk-level smash,” he replied from behind gritted teeth.
That surprised her into a laugh. The sound relaxed his tense muscles a notch, but he stayed alert, battle-ready.
“This man was waiting in the lobby of the building,” she began, launching into an unexpected tale of a state investigator and accusations of insurance fraud.
Garrett processed it all in silence, tapping his fingers on his thigh. “This Folsom said he worked for the state?”
She lifted her hands. “He showed me a badge. Someone must have reported me. At least that’s what Kyle thinks.”
He scowled. “And you have to prove you don’t have money because you live with me?”
“I guess.” Emma sighed miserably. “How does a person even do that?”
“Bank statements, income tax records?” he guessed. “The state must have forensic accountants that would authenticate them.”
Garrett didn’t know much about the inner workings of California bureaucracy, not outside the areas where it intersected with his various business enterprises.
Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought he’d be wishing for expertise in health insurance of all things.
‘ Health care for all’ is starting to sound better and better.
“They’re jumping the gun cutting off your insurance before their investigation is done,” he said with a scowl. “Your medical record alone should be sufficient to let you keep it.”
She looked at him with her heart in her eyes. “Do you think I could get the coverage I need through De Olla , even though I don’t work enough hours?”
Well, shit . “I’m sorry. I don’t think so. You see, I already spoke to Hector and we realized that’s not a viable route.”
He reached for her hand when her eyes welled with tears. “But I don’t want you to worry. Because there’s no fucking way I’ll let you go without the care you need.”
The tremor that passed through her was enough to get him mad all over again .
“I don’t want you to just pay for everything,” she said, wiping under her eyes. “I should have insurance. I need it.”
“I know, baby, I know.” He pulled her close again, squeezing her tight. “I’m going to make sure you get it. Hell, we’ll get married if we have to.”
Her breath puffed against his chest as she laughed. A small fist hit him in the back. “That’s not funny.”
“It wasn’t meant to be,” he said. “But don’t worry. I’ll find a solution—like switching jobs. Something great that will come with a fantastic health plan.”
She pulled away abruptly. “I have to stop working for De Olla ?”
Garrett showed her his teeth. “I don’t see a better path but give me a chance to ask–” he broke off and pressed his lips together when he realized he already knew an insurance expert.
Emma’s hand fisted in his shirt. “What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
She poked him. “ Garrett .”
He let out a frustrated noise. “This isn’t a problem. It’s just that Fletcher is the guy who handles the nitty-gritty paperwork side, including the health plans.”
She studied him for a moment. “And he doesn’t like me.”
“He doesn’t not like you,” Garrett assured her. “What he has a problem with is me.”
Emma blinked those impossibly long lashes at him. “I don’t understand.”
He tried to think of a better answer but was forced to settle for the truth.
“Fletcher has been trying to warn me away from you since the parking garage. He was convinced you’re going to sue us into oblivion.”
Garrett’s eyes lit up. “Which you are welcome to do. Just be sure to ask for a big-ass settlement. A couple of million dollars would cover your medical expenses, with or without insurance.”
Emma shook her head in despair. “Why are you like this?”
Laughing, he tugged at her hands, coaxing her up from the bench. Overwhelmed, she let him bundle her up and take her back home.
Drained, she even let him put her to bed.
Garrett promised to have the issue resolved by lunch the next day. But thanks to his partner, it didn’t work out that way.
“What don’t you understand?” Fletcher threw up his hands. “Living with you is putting her coverage in jeopardy. The solution is simple. Find her a new place. Something that would normally be within her means.”
“She works minimum wage part-time in Southern California,” he ground out. “Her means equal a shack by the side of the road.”
“Then set her up in a nice two-bedroom with her cousin, preferably across town. You can subsidize their rent in a way the insurance investigator can’t object to—you know, the setup she had before you ruined it for her.”
A less stubborn son of a bitch would have crumpled under that direct hit. “Then there’s nothing I can do as her employer? Not even if I gave her a new job?”
“What job? Cat sitter?”
Garrett leaned back in his chair. Hell, that wasn’t a half-bad idea. If he could pay Emma to keep the little shit off his bed, then he could?—
Fletcher was incredulous. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re thinking about it!”
Garrett irritated him further by shrugging. “It’s outside the box, but it’s not the worst idea I’ve heard. I hate that animal.”
“Unbelievable,” Fletcher muttered. “Why do you insist on making everything so damn hard? Any new insurance plan you find her will likely deny her because of pre-existing conditions. She has to keep her current coverage. Just find her a more modest place, so it doesn’t look like she has a sugar daddy too cheap to pay for her aspirin.”
Fletcher stalked out, leaving Garrett to come to the same conclusion. And he did… in a way.
Emma did not need a sugar daddy. She needed a husband.