Chapter Six
Emma
To say that the meeting had been intense was an understatement. This was why I oversaw these sorts of projects and didn’t take part in them.
I hated the arguing and the resistance from clients who needed the help.
Feeling the weight of everything, I stepped out of Larson’s office and into the hallway to see a very displeased-looking Colton Fox sitting on a bench across from the door.
For a moment, I still couldn’t believe I was doing this, but it was true.
He looked at me but said nothing as Kent, Pamela, and Thompkins left, each of them saying their goodbyes, but he said nothing, only watched as they made their way down the hall.
As I watched him, the only thing I could focus on was his demeanor. This man sitting in front of me really was a stranger. He definitely wasn’t the Colton I used to know.
“Ready?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral.
“I’ve been ready for an hour,” he muttered as he stood up and made his way down the hall the same way I’d come in. “You are all overreacting to this. I told them to give it time, it would blow over and be gone.”
“I can assure you we aren’t overreacting,” I said, following him down the hall. “If it were going to blow over, it would have by now.”
The moment we stepped outside, I saw my bags sitting beside a black pickup truck. Then, as if out of nowhere, the man who’d driven me here appeared and nodded at Colton.
“I have her things. I can put them in your truck, sir,” he said to Colton.
Colton looked at me, then nodded. I could tell he was less than pleased to have me stay with him. I wasn’t all that excited about it either at this point. Colton led me around his truck, opened the passenger door, offering me a hand as he waited for me to climb in.
“What are you doing? I have arms,” I said as he stood there.
“Suit yourself,” Colton muttered. “The truck is higher than you’d think. Didn’t want you to rip your skirt,” he said, his eyes skimming down the length of my body once again.
“Please, I’ve gotten into plenty of vehicles before—in this very skirt, in fact—and I wear skirts more often than not.”
“Again, suit yourself.”
This time he didn’t wait; he walked to the back of the truck where the other man was loading my bags and began organizing things.
I bit my bottom lip as I looked at the foot rail and went to place my foot up onto it, but the pencil skirt I’d chosen for today was too tight and barely had any give at all.
I tried it again, this time lifting my skirt a little higher, and placed my heel on the footrail.
As I went to pull myself into the truck, I felt my foot slip, and I screamed as I fell. I tried to grab the handlebars but missed, and that was when I felt a pair of powerful hands grab my waist.
“I got you. Stop fighting me and just relax,” his deep voice said. “Let your body relax.”
“What the hell are you doing?” I screamed.
“I said relax, stop fighting me.”
Against my better judgment, I stopped fighting and allowed my body to relax against his muscular chest as the scent of his cologne invaded my senses.
“Now, reach up and grab the handrail,” he whispered, his warm breath tickling my cheek.
I did as he asked, hoisting myself into the passenger seat, quickly adjusting my skirt while getting comfortable.
“Thanks,” I muttered, trying to catch my breath.
“Next time, just take the help, would you?” he bit out, closing my door.
He said nothing as he opened the driver’s side door and climbed into the truck. He threw his wallet on the center console and fired up the engine and pulled away from the arena.
I shifted in the seat, let out a sigh, then reached down and slipped my cell phone into my purse. Once I relaxed in the seat, I glanced over to see Colton watching me.
“What?” I questioned.
“So, are we still pretending we don’t know one another?” he asked, glancing at the road and then back at me.
I looked away. When I’d first been told I’d be helping Colton Fox fix his reputation, part of me had been excited, while the rest of me was nervous at the mere thought of seeing him again.
It had been years, and while I’d watched him on TV for the first few of his career, it wasn’t the same as being in the same room with him.
I remembered what it felt like being in the same room with him when I was younger. He was intoxicating, and from the way my body had immediately reacted upon seeing him again, I knew nothing had changed. Until he spoke.
However, I also couldn’t jeopardize my job by allowing others to know that I knew him, or by letting my unresolved feelings for him get in the way.
I feared I’d given away the first part the moment he walked into the room and announced we knew one another.
It had taken everything in me to compose myself and put on a show, because what I really wanted to do was sit down and talk to him like we used to.
“Well?”
I inhaled deeply and looked out the passenger window.
“We may have known one another a long time ago, but I can assure you I’m not the same girl I once was. So, I’d appreciate it if you’d stop acting like you’re outraged at the fact I didn’t run into your arms and wrap myself around you.”
“I’m not outraged.”
“You sure look like you are.”
“I’m not. Shocked, maybe, but not outraged. You say it as if we were two people who hung out occasionally, not like two people who once dated and were in love.”
“Be shocked all you like. I don’t really remember it the way you are describing it,” I lied.
“You also don’t know me. I’m not the dreamy-eyed girl you remember.
I’ve grown up. I’m also in an amazing relationship with a wonderful man, and the only thing I’m here to do is repair the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.
This is my job, so whatever you were hoping to have happen when you got me alone, you can forget it. ”
Colton chuckled and then shook his head as he looked out at the road in front of him.
“What is so funny?”
“Enlighten me, what was I hoping to have happen?”
“I know guys like you. You think you’re all that because of what you do. Think that women will fall at your feet and beg to crawl into your bed at night. It won’t happen, so get over yourself.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep.”
He glared at me as we stopped at a light and then leaned over.
“Newsflash, there, baby girl, I’m not desperate, and you could beg and plead all you want. Nothing will ever happen between us,” he whispered, not taking his eyes from mine until I broke contact.
Without looking in the mirror, I already knew that my cheeks were flushed. I sat back in my seat, keeping my back straight. Once we were moving again, I glanced over at Colton. He was no longer looking at me, but watching the road, and that was how he stayed for the duration of the drive.
We’d been in his truck for forty minutes and we hadn’t exchanged another word.
I was just about to speak when we finally pulled into a quiet little neighborhood in Vancouver.
As we drove through it, it reminded me of the area we’d grown up in.
Minutes later, we pulled into a driveway, and I stared at the cute little bungalow that was in front of me.
It wasn’t a place I expected Colton to live in; he struck me as a condo type.
Colton cut the engine and hopped out of the truck without a word to me. I watched in the mirror as he opened the back of his truck and then came to the passenger side door, pulling it open.
“Want help?” he grumbled.
With my jaw clenched, I shook my head no.
He shrugged and muttered, “Suit yourself,” and then made his way to the front door while I slid carefully out of his truck.
“Don’t forget your stuff in the back,” he called from the front door.
Was he seriously not going to help me bring my things inside, I wondered, but when I heard the front door slam shut, I had my answer, especially when he didn’t turn around and come back out.
Irritation flooding me, I went to the back of the truck, grabbed my bags, and struggled to get them into the house.
I stopped the moment I entered the door.
His house was empty. There were a couch and chair, a large-screen TV, a coffee table and two side tables in the front room, but it lacked the things that made a house a home.
The walls were bare. The built-in shelving unit was empty.
There wasn’t even a stack of books! I glanced over at what would be the dining room area. It too was empty.
“Problem?” He questioned, dropping his keys on one of the side tables.
“Nope, if you could kindly show me where I’ll be staying, I’d like to get unpacked.”
Without a word, he disappeared down the hall, which I could only guess was where the bedrooms were located, so I followed him. He opened one door and stepped to the side.
“You can stay in here,” he mumbled, looking displeased.
I looked around the room. Clothing stuck out of the partially open dresser. The bed was messy, showing someone might have napped after they made it. There was a book on the night table, and bottles of cologne on the dresser. Then I noticed a pair of men’s boxers lying on one pillow.
“Uh, is this your room?” I questioned, glancing at the hamper in the corner full of dirty laundry.
“Yep. It’s the nicer of the two. The other one just has a mattress on the floor and one small lamp. It’s basically used when I watch little Mia for Levi and Scarlett, which isn’t often, but she loves tents, so I build blanket forts for her and Potato.”
“Potato?” I questioned.
“Yeah, her stuffed animal.” He chuckled.
Why didn’t I insist on a hotel, I thought to myself as I continued to look around. There was no way I was sleeping in here, in his bed, with a pillow his boxers had been on.
“It’s fine. I’ll take the other room,” I muttered.
“This one has an excellent mattress and a private bathroom. The other room, you’ll have to use the main hallway bathroom. I think you will be more comfortable here.”