Chapter Nine
AMARIE HAD SEIZED an opportunity to increase her worth to her boss. Hadn’t she wished for this tiny miracle? But that was before she knew the truth of Eli’s instability. If not for the absolute pandemonium breaking loose in her skull and the spiraling cartoon loops blurring her vision, her knees would be knocking in celebration rather than hysteria. Thirty days to pay eighteen thousand individual dollars or default. She’d never accumulated that many zeroes separate from Russell’s shared account. Everything Amarie owned didn’t equate to five figures. Poor Eli. And by default, poor Amarie. Jobless. Penniless. Manless. Carless. She literally had run out of lesses. Her grandmother’s proverbial “Into every life some rain must fall” came to mind, but this—this bordered on a Category 5 hurricane, the one-hundred-and sixty-mile winds ripping the floor from beneath her feet while an F3 tornado sucked the roof and meager contents from her straw house. A band constricted her chest, like when she squeezed into a medium-sized spandex blouse in the department dressing room knowing full well her breasts screamed extra-large. She didn’t have a word to describe her riotous thoughts, so she made up one. This was Spanx-ing terrible. She was being emotionally Spanx-ed for daring to believe she could succeed on her own.
Her mother’s warning squeezed into her crowded thoughts like a foul, sweaty jogger forcing open the elevator doors and wedging the stench of impending doom inside her head.
Amarie, don’t be foolish and stupid. Keep yourself a man.
The realization of Eli’s dire financial situation had her considering, for half a nanosecond, Russell’s recent text message.
If you’re ready to behave like an adult, I’m ready to consider your apology. What’s the password to my TikTok account?
Not happening, Dr. Feldman. Why give him the chance to offer his basement apartment so she could nanny his offspring? It had been a part of the plan for her and Russell to have children. This way she wouldn’t have to bother with morning sickness and more stretch marks on her thighs. That was one plus in the nanny column. But then she’d have to subtract for pain, suffering, and the humiliation Russell would inflict if she returned, totally at his mercy. The man had none. And knowing him, she’d have to fend off his sneak attacks to lick her chocolate cherry on the down-low. Not how she wanted to be wanted. Delete message.
Eli squeezed her hand. “You’re not moving.”
“Oh, sorry for the deer-in-the-headlights. I tend to slip into a catatonic state when I’m, ah, scared. You know, just… the money, car, job thing. Whew.” She did a twirly maneuver with one finger pointed at her temple. “Thoughts are nightmarish in here. You?”
He said nothing. Just stood there. Big. Brooding. Staring at her. Then it occurred to her, she’d made the possible foreclosure all about her.
Amarie Walker, you are a horrible person for thinking of yourself.Real peril could befall the Calvary family. And she, in a crisis of emotion, had painted herself as a possible savior?! Jeezuz. And why? Because Lourdes Pendleton had called her a vagrant. A woman who, like Russell, sought to exploit Eli’s financial vulnerability. Amarie detested bullies. So, she’d uncorked her Black girl magic, spinning a thread into Eli’s tangled web. Yes, Amarie had helped Russell grow his client roster, thereby increasing revenue, but never under the financial deadline Eli faced. Had she oversold herself?
Could Amarie’s digital marketing and IT skills improve the Calvarys’ predicament? How must Eli feel? She’d witnessed how he, as the eldest, pulled at his chain to guard his family from the threat Lourdes posed. Tobias and Noah, both capable and skilled in their chosen professions, would manage if they lost the property, but what would happen to Leah?
A memory surfaced of Amarie’s mother, dull brown eyes milky from premature worry, flowing onyx strands with graying roots that looked misplaced on such a young woman. The mask of homeless desperation, hope depleted, clung to Bethany Walker’s face, an old cheap blanket that deposited unsightly fuzz fibers that everyone noticed. An impossible-to-brush-off reminder of how dependent she and her daughter were on her husband’s benevolence. Amarie couldn’t bear to think of Leah suffering the humiliation her mom had endured.
Either way, she had to decide. Stick it out in Service as Eli’s fake business partner and work her hot cross buns off to raise the money with Leah’s bachelor auction idea. Or she could return to D.C., move in with Vali, and live with a daily reminder of how effortlessly her career-minded bestie scaled the corporate structure and loved Amarie too much to mention she had been hurled, rather unmercifully, back to square none. The thought of limping back to the city to sleep on Vali’s kidney bean–shaped sofa had her back muscles spasming in protest.
But if she abandoned the Calvarys without trying to help, could she stomach her cowardice? Should she cut her losses, continue her current messy broke status, but away from Service? Or possibly exceed historic data where her efforts resulted in a negative correlation with success?
Run away and hide.
Stay and face possible failure… again.
Her choices summed up to a laxative or an enema. Either way she dosed it, things could get messy. Oh, this rapid beating of her heart felt wrong, so very wrong. Eli stepped in front of her, his excessive height looming over her. He tracked his broad fingers through the thick nestle of curls framing his forehead, making the ends a tad bit spiky. Expression lines sprouted from the corners of his alert gaze, which she thought gave him a distinguished look.
“Amarie, what are you doing?”
Tilting her head back, she looked up into vivid green eyes. Hmm, he’s handsomer, or more handsome, in multiples. The sky began to spin off its axis. The sky didn’t have an axis, but she got the image of the metaphor.
“Trying to decide if I’m hyperventilating. Do you feel Spanx-ed?”
“Spanked? How much of those polish fumes are you inhaling?”
“It’s shapewear. Does wonders to smooth bulges.”
“Where are you going with this? You’re making me nervous.”
That made two of them. If she were going to have a meltdown, it should start now. She used her free hand to blot the perspiration gathering under her chin.
“Your meltdown has to be a traveling show. The clock’s ticking on the mechanic.”
“You don’t understand, I’m not equipped to handle red notices. I’m falling apart. Look at me.”
Hiccup, his loveable dog, lifted his round face, piercing Amarie with his black eyes, and let out a hearty woof.
“Thank you, boy. Least you’re concerned for my health.”
“Amarie.” Eli sighed. “You’re not hyperventilating. You’re talking. You’re in shock. Scared about the future.” He placed his large hands on her shoulders. Amarie jerked in response. “Relax.”
“Are you sure?” she panted.
“I’m a doctor.”
Inside, she cringed at the use of his title. “Ew.” She shrugged his hands off, slamming her eyes shut.
The doctor she’d worked for had berated her for needing tutors when he excelled academically without assistance. Or for spending extra hours in the library rewriting her class notes. Connections between textbook and her clinical practice improved when she wrote by hand. It was the reason she loved her lists so much. She waited for the soul-crushing stones to hit their target, the invisible bruises to form. But… nothing happened. She ventured a peek, one lid open, the other bracing for impact.
“That’s it?” No name-calling. No disappointed side-eye. She recalled the tension in her muscles, releasing a shaky sigh.
Eli shrugged. “I got nothing. Can we go now?”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” And off they went, through the breezeway that Amarie knew connected the house and clinic, except then they exited through a small door leading to the backyard. “This house is a labyrinth.”
“My dad built it. Added on as the family grew. I can’t lose…” He trailed off.
“Eli,” Amarie said, her tone more curious than accusational, “why didn’t you tell me the clinic was in trouble?”
“Can you say you wanted to know I’m this close,” he formed a tiny gap between his thumb and forefinger, raising it for her to see, “to losing the life my father left for me to safeguard?”
Amarie couldn’t imagine her father entrusting her with his pulmonary practice. Her mother had been a patient instructor, teaching Amarie how to best augment her father’s staff by nurturing her love of information technology. In the end, both of them had been ignored as a daily habit. After he’d hired a young brunette with tight abs and loose bra straps, both she and her mother were promptly dismissed.
“Since we’re confessing, you going to explain why you didn’t take care of the business with your vehicle?”
“You first. I’m still recovering from my meltdown. Self-care is an important part of the healing process.”
“Fine, I’ll tell all… unless you’re quitting on me?”
Rather than answer, she stated the obvious. “I’m here.”
Eli scoffed. “You don’t have a car, Amarie.”
“Wrong, my car is indisposed for the moment. Now are you going to tell me why you would tell anyone we’re partners, especially a woman like Lourdes? People like her, blue-eyed with five-hundred-dollar platinum dye jobs, mean-girl women like me. Why antagonize her?” When power players noticed her, she sucked down her plate of appetizers and vacated the room.
“She’s a Pendleton.”
“Means nothing to me.”
“They’re the country Kennedys. Her father owns the bank, literally. There’s history between my father and old man Pendleton.”
“Lourdes doesn’t seem to care about that. Maybe you can dust off your charm. She wants you to wiggle your patootie. Might get you a big payout.”
“This is me being charming,” he rasped. “Besides… I meant every word of not being for sale. This notice doesn’t change my stance. She’s offering a meal ticket when all I need is the means to earn my way. If I wanted to be rode like a rented mule, I’d hire on with the circus.”
“Call me a capitalist, but I need money just about any way I can get it. I was serious about my closing fees.” She had dropped enough hints for him to know her cooperation came with dollars and cents, so she didn’t consider her directness crass. Because, unlike his high moral standards, she could be bought, rather, purchased, for a contractually limited amount of time. “I understand why you spun a preposterous story. Why did Lourdes believe you?”
“Now, wait a minute. Is it unbelievable that you and I could be partners?”
“That’s unlikely because—”
“So, you’re saying a decent, hardworking vet committed to taking care of his mother isn’t worth the investment. Too risky for you?” Eli muttered under his breath, holding the door open for her.
“I would never say that about anyone, certainly not my boss. Really, you jump to the oddest conclusions. You did the same thing the morning when I arrived. Do you do that with everyone or just me?”
“Everyone. Now come on, business partner.”
“More like a busy partner these last couple of days.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you’ve been difficult since I arrived. I’ve done my best to be a support, yet you haven’t been the most trusting of bosses. And now you want me to pretend we’re equal partners to save face with the cute girl.”
“Not a cute girl. A Pendleton. And you’re right. Before you start rambling, I apologize.”
“I’m allowed. Stop policing me. This is your first and last warning if we are to be partners. If I have to tell you again, your pretty boy chin catches these hands,” she teased, doing a classic Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope two-step.
Eli chuckled. “Don’t hurt yourself. This handsome devil is tougher than he looks.”
Amarie believed him. Even now, she could see those sun lines at the corners of his eyes were more pronounced. He didn’t want her to worry. She was a stranger he’d just met, but as his employee, she, well, her livelihood depended on Calvary Vet increasing its value proposition and its revenue. His sense of duty and responsibility included her now.
“Why aren’t you panicking about the notice?”
“Because I don’t have the luxury of falling apart. My father believed I could care for our family. He had faith in me.”
“Must be nice.” She wished her parents could trust her to make the best choices for her life and career.
“It’s no walk in the meadow, Amarie. Some days I want someone else to make the decisions. Trust me, if I had any other way to come up with the money besides the auction, I would take it.”
Amarie wiggled her brows. “Think of it as an ego booster. Lourdes did come with her checkbook.”
“No amount of money is worth that woman sinking her fangs into this family. I can smell her kind from miles away.”
“Well, at least you know there’s a market for grumpy men?” Too late to snatch back the insult. Amarie winced. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that aloud.”
“Sure you are.”
The apology was genuine, everyone deserved to be somebody’s “one.”
“I am,” she pleaded. “It’s just, you make women out to be apex predators lying in wait to pounce on defenseless men while they graze on the open plains. Save the dude-in-distress performance. I wouldn’t need this job or any money from the auction if my fiancé had paid me for all the work I did to grow his medical practice. Don’t get me started on how he left me high and dry—”
Well that wasn’t exactly how she’d ended up in Service. She’d been the one to punch the gas, but Russell had ensured she had little-to-no resources to rebuild a life without his wallet.
“Okay, that explains a lot. Look, I’m a man of my word. You mentioned closing costs. How about in exchange for your partner—”
“Fake partnership,” she interrupted. “I will not be held liable for grumpy pants dustups.”
“Noted, sunshine. As I was saying, for your social media magic, you get a percentage of the auction’s net proceeds?”
“Make that gross revenue.” She winked. “And in writing.”
Eli shook his head. “I’ll honor our agreement with or without a written contract. Now, can we get going if you want your car looked at this week?”
“As in seven days?” She balked.
“Town’s got one certified mechanic who also happens to be the sheriff. Trust me, you don’t want these shade tree tinkerers underneath your hood if he’s busy on the job. Been there. Regret that.”
Amarie walked ahead of him in the parking lot where a rather beastly hunter-green GMC Sierra with massive tires and running boards awaited them. Two quick chirps sounded before the locks disengaged with an airy thunk sound. How out of character for this beast of an automobile. An elephant’s trumpeting seemed more appropriate. “Wh-what is this?
“Your steel chariot.” Eli held the door open, stepping back for her to climb aboard. “Now light a fire, and let’s git.” Eli beamed, his face alight with schoolboy glee. It might as well have been the Empire State Building on wheels. Forget a step stool, she needed a ladder.
“What are you waiting on?”
As if she required a demonstration, Hiccup bounded off the chrome-polished running board, landing on the passenger seat.
“Next time pay for an elevator install,” she said, reaching for the doorframe to hoist herself up.
“Ah, I’ll help.”
“Uh, okay. Yes.” Amarie offered her hand. “Yes, thank you.”
Instead, Eli planted one hand on each side of her waist and lifted her off her lavender NOBULL adjustable slides with rose-gold buckles.
“Uh, oh, okay, a nice display of upper body strength and er, ah, raw masculine power. Didn’t see that coming. It’s impressive—”
Too much. Too soon, Amarie. Her father called her a handful. Which Eli seemed to lift without a single sign of overexertion. Maybe he enjoyed handling curvy packages? Hmm, handfuls, mouthfuls. Briefly, her gaze dropped to his mouth. Mistake. Quickly she directed her attention up. He was watching her.
Eli met her eyes. “You’re being weird again.”
“I just remembered something,” Amarie said.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t like you.”
“But you’ll take my money?” His lips lifted into a lopsided grin which looked more attractive up close. In fact, she inhaled. He smelled… nice. Mountain air and fresh pine. “That makes us partners.”
“Not really. Only that I’ll act as yours. And you should’ve asked me first. I don’t like men assuming they know what’s best for me. I make my own decisions.”
He frowned, those thick, dark brows drawing together like a little caterpillar. No, that wasn’t right. Eli was too big for insect metaphors. His brows, rich in color above long dark lashes, looked mink-y. Yeah, that description rang with more accuracy. She noticed other things—like his strong nose, and full mouth. Amarie angled her head and her gaze fixed on his corded forearms and broad fingers with short-trimmed nails. Totally uncomfortable with her teenage girl ogling, she cleared her throat, swallowing her jitters.
“You were wrong to take my choice away.” There was a little breath-holding on her part. Ideally, he’d spit out whatever was on his mind before her oxygen-deprived brain rendered her unconscious. Would he fire her if she refused?
He nodded, took the seat belt, and buckled her in. “Fair enough, but I got nothing left to offer you, Amarie. The job, it’s yours. The money, it’s yours. Noticed you haven’t left Calvary land since you arrived. You’ve been living with us.”
“Leah invited—”
He held up a hand and pressed a finger to his lips. “No explanation needed. Momma’s happy. That’s what matters most to me. Now as partners, there should be shared risks and benefits. So, I’m willing to guarantee that if you help with the bachelor auction regardless of the final outcome, I’ll cover the deposit on a place of your own, the cost to fix the car, and pay you a bonus.”
“Eli, what if the auction falls short? You could lose the everything!”
“The way I see it, we both have something to win. Right, partner?”
Amarie had walked into her relationship with Russell with no guarantees. Quickly, she had learned he preferred the customer service version of Amarie, where his needs took priority over hers, her role centered on making his life better.
“Yes, we do.” Could she fake being Eli’s partner and build a foundation for the authentic woman she needed to be for herself? Heavens, she hoped so.