Chapter 22 #2
“No, but you seem to know what I need.”
“No, I know what I like, but it has to suit you.”
“Exactly,” I grinned. “So, we’ll start Saturday.”
“I work Saturday.”
“Then Sunday.”
“That’s my day off.”
“And I’ll pay you for your time,” I said, taking another bite as I watched her eyes shift uneasily as she considered this.
“I don’t like the idea of taking money from you.”
“Because we’re sleeping together?”
“Well…yes.”
“You’re performing a service for me.”
“And what if you hate it?” she argued.
“Then I’ll fire you. And then I’ll take you home and fuck you.” I picked up a pickle and held it out to her. “Pickle?”
She snatched it out of my fingers and took a bite. “Fine, but if you don’t like something, you have to say so.”
“Alright.”
“And you have to give me a budget. I need to know what I’m working with.”
“I’ll work up some numbers.” My eyes shifted to her plate. “Eat. It’s getting cold.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, but picked up her burger. “Don’t think I’m going to perform other services just because you’re paying me to redecorate your office.”
A low chuckle left my lips at her words. “There’s no amount of money I could pay you to do the things I want to do to you.”
“Exactly.”
I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “All I have to do is lick that sensitive spot below your ear, and you’re putty in my hands.”
“Ellie, where am I putting these files?” I called out from the new front office.
She rushed through the large hole in the wall where the new door would be installed later today. The stack in my arms wavered precariously as she rushed over, taking the top half.
“Let’s just put them here for now. We’ll save that wall,” she said, pointing to the back wall, “for the oldest cases.”
“Who saves this much paperwork?” I asked, brushing the dust from my arms, then waving the particles from my face with a cough.
“Hopefully, your new secretary will be able to make this all digital.”
“Yeah, I just have to find someone capable of sorting through all this shit and understanding what’s what.”
Turning on her heel, she headed back into the other room for the last stack of files. “You just need someone with great organizational skills.”
“Are you for hire?” I asked, taking the stack from her as she picked it up.
“I have my own boutique.”
“But you’re so good at this,” I pouted.
“Yes, and if I worked for you, I’d spend every day on my back instead of upright in a chair getting work done.”
That much was true. I headed back through the opening and set down the last of the files. Now that that was done, we could get started on painting the office.
“These are the colors I’ve chosen for you,” she said, holding up paint samples.
I glanced over them, but wasn’t really impressed with any of them. “What about something gray?”
“Um…sure, if you want everyone to think you have no personality.”
“What’s wrong with gray? The right shade would look really sharp. Isn’t gray in right now?”
“Well, yes it used to be…like ten years ago, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs gray. You want something warm and welcoming.”
“This isn’t a house. It’s an office. It can’t be too welcoming. I don’t need people stopping by for coffee and hanging out to chat.”
Her eyes brightened before I shot her a glare to cut her off.
“I am not putting in a coffee machine for clients.”
“But that’s what people want! Even salons have coffee and water for their clients. Do you really want to be so cold that you don’t offer clients something?”
“Yes,” I snapped.
“Well, too bad. You hired me to help, and I’m telling you, gray is out.”
I took the samples from her and walked over to the front window where the light was shining in. “Look at this one. Letter Gray. The name even matches the office!”
“Look, we’re going with Juniper Ash. You’ll love it. It’s more of a gray/green, and for the trim, we’re going with Brook Green.”
“But white would look better.”
She scoffed at me. “Are you kidding? Brook Green is a mix of white and green. It will be perfect. You need to trust me on this.”
“I get the final say,” I argued. “It was in our verbal contract.”
“Yes, and if you want to get between my thighs tonight, you’ll go with the colors I chose,” she argued.
I was about to stand firm and tell her there was no way I was going with green, but damn, I really wanted to get between her legs. I hadn’t spent a single night at my own place in the last two weeks, and I didn’t plan on changing that anytime soon.
“Fine,” I snapped, taking the cards from her hand. “I’ll go get the paint.”
Shooting me a devastating smile, she pressed a kiss to my lips. “You’re gonna love it.”
“I’d better get something extra special tonight.”
“Every night with me is extra special.”
Didn’t I know it, and so did she, which took away all the leverage I had.
Stomping out of the office, I drove over to the hardware store, grumbling the entire way.
How the hell had I gotten my balls so twisted up that I couldn’t even make my own decisions?
I was supposed to be the man of the house, yet I wasn’t even allowed to decide what color to paint my office.
“Ryder,” Dick said, holding out his hand for me to shake. “Good to see you back in town.”
“You, too,” I said warily. I hadn’t gotten that reception from most people, but still, it was good to see a friendly face.
“So, what can I help you with today?”
“I need some paint.”
“For the new office?”
“Yeah.” News traveled fast in this town.
“Heard you bought the building next to the law office. That’s quite a purchase.”
I hadn’t told anyone, including Ellie, that I bought the building. She thought I was renting it, and that was the way I wanted it to stay. I didn’t like the idea of people thinking I was throwing around money.
“Just an investment.”
“A good investment,” he agreed. “Peterson was a good lawyer, but he wasn’t great about drumming up business. I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did. So, let’s get some new colors for you. Do you have something in mind?”
I was about to pull out the colors Ellie picked when I suddenly felt a defiant streak rush through me. “Actually, I was thinking of something gray.”
“Gray,” he nodded. “Manly.”
“Exactly. Elegant but butch.”
“I like the way you think,” he said, walking to the back of the store where paint samples lined the back wall.
“With white trim.”
“Uh-huh. Good, good. Something like this?” he asked, picking out a nice, dark gray.”
“Exactly.”
“You’ll need some window treatments to go with that.”
Ellie had picked those out, too, but I didn’t like those either. Not really. “Show me what you have.”
He gestured over to a large book, flipping through the pages until he landed on something I really liked. “These are the finest cordless blackout shades they make. Popular with a lot of offices.”
“I like it,” I said, making a command decision. “Let’s do it.”
“Did you pick out your accessories yet?”
“What do you mean?”
“Door knobs and such.”
Yeah, Ellie had picked those out as well. “Nope. Don’t have any of those.”
“Well, we have some nice selections over here,” he said, guiding me to yet another part of the store. I looked over the selection and picked out the first one that caught my eye.
“This one.”
“Nice choice.”
I took a deep breath, then exhaled, feeling lighter than I had all day. These were all my decisions, and I liked them. This was gonna be good. Ellie wouldn’t be happy, and she might even withhold sex for a few days, but it was worth it.
“I’ll take it all.”
“Alrighty. Let’s head to the register and I’ll ring you up.”
He started writing up the ticket, grabbing the numbers from the paint, the window treatments, and the knobs. “And I’ll just need to see a signed note from your wife.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, sure I had heard him wrong.
“For all these purchases. I need a signed note, stating you’re allowed to buy them.”
I gritted my teeth in irritation. “I’m not married. I don’t have a wife.”
“You also don’t have approval.”
“Have approval for what? It’s my stuff!”
He slid his glasses on his face as he picked up a piece of paper.
“I have a note here from my wife,” he said, glancing at me pointedly.
“She wrote down a list sent over by Ellie this morning. It states exactly what you’re supposed to get today, and that I’m not to deviate without her written approval. ”
He set down the paper and took off his glasses, shoving them in his shirt pocket. “So, do you have approval?”
I gritted my teeth, slamming my fist down on the counter. “Look, Dick, this is for my office. If I want gray for my walls, I’ll get gray. If I want puke green, I’ll get puke green. And you’ll sell it to me. Do you know why?”
He grinned at me.
“Because it’s my office. I don’t have a wife. I don’t need approval. And most of all, it’s my money! Are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
“Thank you.”
“But I still can’t sell you any of this without a note.”
“Dick,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “We’ve been through this.”
“Yes, we have. But I do have a wife, and I have explicit instructions,” he said, picking up the paper again. “No approval, no sale.”
“Dick. Work with me, here.”
He sighed, glancing over his shoulder. “If I get caught, it’s my ass on the line.”
“This is my business. I can’t let a woman run my life for me.”
He nodded, “I get it. Colleen hasn’t let me make a decision in twenty-five years. I didn’t even get to pick the color of my truck.”
I leaned on the counter, keeping my voice low. “That’s why we have to fight back. We can’t let our women order us around and tell us what to buy.”
“Hell no. It’s just not right.”
“Paint colors are first, but what’s next? Do we get to pick out the underwear we like?”
He pursed his lips at that. “Get it in my stocking every year.”
“Jeans? The shirts we wear? I bet you don’t even like having pockets on the front of your shirt.”
“No self-respecting man wears a short-sleeved shirt with pockets,” he muttered.
“So…are we going to let them continue to rule our lives, or are we going to stand up to them and take back our dignity?”
He stood taller, his face stoic for the first time since I’d known him. “Let’s do this.”
Thirty minutes later, I walked through the door of my office, setting the paint by the far wall. Ellie walked out, grinning at me.
“Didn’t make it out the door, did you?”
I wiped the strawberry milkshake from my neck, grimacing at how sticky I was. “I did make it out the door. Colleen was waiting for me.”
She laughed, her eyes twinkling brightly. “I hope you learned your lesson.”
“I did,” I grunted. “Dick, on the other hand…poor bastard. He’s gonna smell like pina colada for the rest of the day.”