Chapter Ten #4
to be the one.”
“Is it about his past?” Olivia asked.
“Yes,” Garrett replied, feeling uncomfortable even telling
her that much.
Her expression softened. “He’s afraid to tell me?”
Garrett didn’t respond, but he was sure she got the answer
from his expression.
“Did he do it to survive?” Olivia asked.
Hope flared through him. He believed fully Olivia
Barnes-Fleetwood wouldn’t allow the time Keane did to change her impression of
him. Especially when she had the whole story. “Yes.”
She took a long breath and rested against him, relaxing.
“Then he can tell me when it feels safe to.”
“Livie, I don’t want this to end,” he admitted in a whisper
as though if he said it too loudly the wish would crack and break.
“I’ve been thinking about it, too. Maybe we can try dating.
You’re here for a couple of weeks, but then you’ll be in Deer Run and I’m on
the road a lot.”
“We can easily meet in Dallas while we figure it out, and
honestly I could learn the business better if I traveled with you,” he offered.
“And we’ve been talking about having Keane go to a couple of our partners and
train them on his protocols.”
She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “Well, that is
something to think about. But you have to deal with my parents.”
“I’m good with parents.”
“Oh, I’m sure my mother and Papa will adore you.”
“And your dad?”
She turned her head up and gave him the sweetest smile.
“Keep him away from your cars.”
Oh, didn’t he know that. “I have been living with the
evidence of how your father handles his problems. I see it every day in his
office. Did he cube Scott’s car?”
“He was thrilled when Scott quit. He practically threw a
party. I overheard him telling my mother that he would have paid to send the
fucker away so he never asked me to marry him. I thought he was showing
maturity, so maybe you don’t have to worry.”
Jack Barnes was the kind of man who paid attention. Every
employee was vetted. He should know about Keane’s past because they had
disclosed it. His brother, Lucas, had run a thorough check. He was fine with
giving Keane a chance to work, but he might feel differently when it came to
dating his daughter.
But that was a bridge they would cross when the time came
and not before. He didn’t want to sit around worrying. He wanted to be part of
this family he found. “We’ll handle your dad. We’ll show him how good we are
for you. Now, when is the massive ass showing up, and can we throw him away
with the mountain of garbage from the teardown?”
The main house was chaos. There were contractors all over,
but Jack Barnes didn’t want an inch of his office touched so at least they had
this space to work in. And honestly, he didn’t mind since there was no
receptionist downstairs or possible friends walking in because they happened to
be having lunch downtown. It made it easier for him to rail his gorgeous
girlfriend during breaks.
He was pretty sure Keane did the same when she went out to
bring him his afternoon snack.
She sighed and sat up. “Nope. I have to deal with him. I
wish Anna hadn’t retired. She was easy to get along with.” She moved to the
other desk in the room and sat down in the chair and shuffled through the
papers there. “What do you want me to do about Gladen?”
At least she was asking. It showed she was starting to trust
him professionally. He hadn’t lied to her. He wanted to work with her. He loved
her sharp mind. They’d had some spirited debates that ended in the playroom,
which luckily Gabe hadn’t torn down yet. He was working on a custom bed that
had to be put together in the space since it was too big to get through the
doors. So the playroom was mostly functional and empty at night. Which was good
because Olivia’s friends had taken over her place.
“Let me handle the rest of it. I assume the notes you took
weren’t completely destroyed by the fire.” She was too smart to only have one
copy.
“Of course. I typed them up, and the pictures I took are on
my cell phone,” she replied.
“Good,” he said.
“What’s good?” Scott stood in the doorway.
Garrett wondered how long he’d been standing there in his
perfectly pressed suit. “I was just saying it’s good that Olivia is always
prepared. Mr. Whittiker, why don’t you come in and we can get started.”
Scott looked around. “This room hasn’t changed. It looks
exactly the same. Except a few new pictures. Is that Lexi’s youngest? Did he
actually graduate?”
He moved to the picture of the O’Malley family that hung on
the wall along with pictures of Josh and Grim and Nicole and numerous photos.
There was a wistful expression on his face as though he was remembering a time
when he might have been in those pictures.
Olivia leaned against the desk. “Yeah, we were happy Roan
managed to get through. Not that he’s not smart. He’s too smart, but he likes
the ladies a bit much.”
“Tell me something—did Jack ever get the job he wanted?”
Scott asked like he was merely an old friend asking about her family.
“To his family’s horror, yes,” Olivia said and looked to
Garrett. “He’s talking about my oldest nephew, who is barely younger than me.
My brother-in-law was sure Jack would follow in his namesake’s footsteps and
take over the ranch one day. Jack changed his major in college from
agricultural studies to criminology and joined the FBI. My brother-in-law likes
to think of himself as an outlaw. Aidan’s not, but the whole fed thing threw
him for a loop.”
Garret nodded. “Yes, he talks about his wayward son a lot.”
“Jack O’Malley in the FBI,” Scott said with a shake of his
head as his brilliant smile faded. “I never realized how much I missed your
family.”
“I’m sure they miss you, too. Maybe you should call up my
father and ask him to lunch the next time you’re in Dallas.”
His baby was so mean.
“I think I’ll do that,” Scott agreed, and then seemed to get
serious. “Are you okay?”
Olivia’s brows rose. “I’m fine.”
“I had to ask. You look tired,” Scott said.
Asshole. He knew exactly what the other man was doing.
Negging. It was the asshole’s way to try to take a woman’s confidence so he had
the upper hand in the relationship. He was about to say something when Olivia
pointedly yawned and waved the fucker off.
“It’s hard to keep up with two ridiculously hot Doms,” she
admitted. “They keep me up all night.”
He chuckled. He should have known she didn’t need him to put
a dude in his place. Luckily he knew exactly where his place was with this
woman. “Sorry, baby. I would promise to let you sleep tonight but I probably
won’t.”
Scott’s disdain showed briefly. “So you’re still playing at
that dominance stuff, are you? I always worried about you being in that world.
I know your parents are in it, but they’re committed. It has to be dangerous
doing that stuff with people you don’t know well. And this is your Dom?”
Garrett would have answered that differently a few days
before, but he was totally comfortable now. It was funny how a couple of good
nights made everything seem possible. “That would be Keane, though I do top
her, too. I’ve recently come to learn I’m a switch. It’s been a revelation.”
“Like getting your ass slapped?” Olivia asked, obviously
amused.
He shrugged. “As long as I’m tied down right next to you,
baby.”
“This is not a professional environment,” Scott said flatly.
“I expected more from you.”
“Well, I don’t think a sales rep would normally walk in and
tell his biggest client she looks tired,” Garrett shot back.
“He would if he was worried about her,” Scott replied in a
slightly whiny tone. “I’m only saying she wouldn’t have acted this way around
my predecessor.”
Olivia gave him a bright smile and gestured to the seat
across from her desk. “Oh, I told Anna way too much. She loved some gossip. I
also know way too much about her sister’s sex life. But you’re right. You’re
not Anna, and we should get started. I’m sure you’ll want to get home as soon
as possible. When’s your flight back to the city?”
“I left it open ended. I have no real idea how long this job
will take.” Scott set his laptop bag down on the chair and opened it, pulling
out his sleek machine. “The truth of the matter is I can work remotely. I’m
weighing the possibilities. New York has lost its appeal. I want something
real.”
“New York is real.” Olivia sank down to her seat. “I love
the city.”
“But you don’t live there,” Scott pointed out.
“No, my family is here in Texas, and so are our
headquarters, but it’s been a while and I’m owed some vacation time when Josh
gets back. But that’s for another day.” She sat back. “So, tell me about the
new subscription box. I don’t know why we would give you such a deep discount.”
Garrett moved his chair to sit beside her and watched the
queen go to work.