Chapter 2
MAYA
Reed pulls into the construction site, and I brace myself for what we’re going to find. It used to be that I was excited to come out here and see the progress, but now the stress of what’s been happening here keeps me up at night.
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter, realizing not for the first time that I sound exactly like my father when he swears. Through the rain-streaked windshield, I see fresh graffiti on our development sign. My stomach tightens.
“Stop here. Let me check this first.” Reed’s hand hovers near my arm, not quite touching. His nearness is distracting in a way that takes me by surprise.
Reed is definitely handsome, but this isn’t a date. I don’t know why his mere presence makes my body flush and my mind fill with fantasies of lazy days in bed, ignoring the world and losing ourselves in each other’s bodies.
I’m already out of the SUV before he finishes the sentence, glad that I changed into casual clothes and pulled on a pair of old running shoes before leaving the office. I walk through the summer rain, shivering as the wind comes off the lake.
“Not again.” I groan at the sight of fresh graffiti.
I pull out my phone to document it, but Reed’s already moving. His entire demeanor suddenly changes. He’s professional, but moves with an intensity that stirs something deep inside me. I watch as he stalks around the sign, taking photos and looking around.
“Don’t touch anything.” He circles the sign a second time, taking photographs of the ground around the sign. “There are a lot of shoe treads here, which is expected on a site like this, but this may help later on.”
My foreman, Leo Swinton, jogs over from the equipment shed. His eyes flick between Reed and me, his expression tightening in a way that I’ve never noticed before. “Maya, we need to secure everything before this storm hits.”
“How long do you need?”
“Maybe an hour.” He glances at Reed again.
“Do what you need to do, and make sure the crew gets out safely. Leo, this is Reed Ambrose. I’ve hired his firm to handle what’s been happening here, and to make sure it ends.”
Leo and Reed shake hands stiffly, clearly sizing each other up.
Reed steps back and addresses Leo. “Any of your crew have issues with the development?”
Leo’s jaw tightens, and I know Reed is on shaky ground. Leo prides himself on doing honest work and having an honest crew—it’s why we work with them. “My crew is solid.”
“Not what I asked.”
“You implying something?” Leo’s voice carries an edge that I’ve never heard before. He’s a family man who takes pride in his work, not someone who goes looking for fights. “Maybe you should figure out who’s actually doing this instead of pointing fingers at my crew.”
I step between them before this escalates. “Leo, it’s okay. He has to ask these things. Also, I need you to tell everyone that I’m pausing all work until we can resolve what’s happening.”
“But the schedule—”
“Will survive a short delay. Given the circumstances, it’s the only way forward. We don’t know when or if the people behind the vandalism will escalate. I’d rather take a short delay than risk the safety of your crew or this project.”
Leo retreats, pulling out his phone as he strides across the site, waving to his team. But not before shooting Reed a dirty look. Reed watches me with an expression I can’t read.
“What?”
“You handle authority well.”
“Disappointed I’m not a clueless prima donna?” I snap, but immediately regret the sharpness in my voice. “Sorry. That was uncalled for. I’ve been under a lot of pressure.”
“No apology needed.” His voice drops to something rougher, and heat coils in my stomach at the sound. “You’re handling this better than I expected.”
My stomach flips at his compliment, but I also bristle at the fact that he clearly underestimated me…
just like every man, including my father.
This is my first solo project. If I fail, Dad will probably never let me run another.
If I succeed, maybe he’ll finally trust my vision and let me take over the company.
“Maya.” Reed touches my upper arm and guides me back toward the SUV. “We should photograph the rest of the site before the storm washes away the evidence.”
The heat of his palm through my jacket makes me want to lean into him and relax.
We park at the far end of the site, and I give Reed a full tour. He asks about construction timelines, worker schedules, access points. Every question reveals an impressive attention to detail. Ghost Security’s reputation is stellar, but seeing it in action is different.
“This is personal,” he says, examining spray paint on a bulldozer. “The messages like ‘Save Our Lake,’ ‘Leave,’ the dead fish are all meant to make you abandon the project.”
“Then they don’t know me very well.”
He looks at me then, but I don’t know what he was expecting. I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge. “No, they don’t.”
The certainty in Reed’s voice makes me wonder how much he’s researched me, because he seems a lot less surprised at my commitment to this project and the fact that I’m not shrinking back from whatever is going on here.
My phone rings, and my dad’s name flashes on the screen.
Sighing, I hold a finger up to Reed. “I have to take this.”
“Maya, I heard about this morning’s incident,” my dad says—no greeting, just straight to the point. “Perhaps we should reconsider having you lead this project. I’m sure I can get your brother to step in.”
“I’m handling it. You and I both know Martin isn’t interested in this project.” What I don’t say is that my brother knows how important this is to me, and he wants to see me succeed. I think I’d have to be in the hospital in a coma for my brother to step in.
“Are you?” I close my eyes and force myself to unclench my jaw. I love my dad, but life and this project would be a lot easier if he’d just trust me.
I grew up tagging along on projects with him. Real estate is in my blood, and I want to take our company to the next level by getting into developing vacation properties, not just managing rental apartments and selling houses.
I take a deep breath. Rain is starting to pick up, fat drops hitting my face as I turn away from Reed for privacy.
“I have things under control. The security company I’ve hired is installing surveillance equipment today.
I’m not letting all this slide by and crossing my fingers that the vandalism will stop. Trust me on this, okay?”
“Maya.” His tone shifts to the one that used to make me cave as a child. “If you can’t manage this, say so.”
“I can,” I say without hesitation, standing up straighter even though he can’t see me.
My dad was always so supportive when I was starting at the family business, and it’s surprising and infuriating that he thinks I’m good enough to manage the existing business our family has built, but not good enough to lead new and bigger projects, despite all the successes I’ve had up to this point.
“Your stubbornness will be your downfall, Maya. Just like—”
“It will be what gets this project finished on time.” I end the call before he can finish that sentence.
The model home’s door slams behind us, cutting off the wind. We’re both damp from the sudden downpour that caught us between the site inspection and the house, and now I’m trying not to stare at how Reed’s shirt clings to his chest and shoulders.
“Wow.” I push wet hair from my face. “That escalated fast.”
“Your father sounds supportive.” His tone is carefully neutral, but I hear the question and disbelief underneath.
“He means well, I think,” though I wonder if I really think that, or I’ve been conditioned to defend my father because he’s family. “But he doesn’t think I can do this. Change isn’t part of his DNA, and it was hard enough to get him on board with this project in the first place.”
“You can,” he says simply. His blanket confidence in me catches me off guard. Is he saying this because I’m his client and he wants to keep me happy? Or is he somehow able to look at me and see what my dad doesn’t seem to see in me?
My phone buzzes, but I let it go to voicemail without checking it.
I pull up my email instead, needing to focus on something that doesn’t involve talking or arguing.
Three messages from contractors, two from the insurance company, one from my best friend and sister-in-law, Lucy.
I make a mental note to call Lucy as soon as I can.
Everything else can wait, but I want to make time for my best friend.
Through the model home’s windows, we watch the storm transform the construction site into chaos. The rain comes in sheets now, horizontal in the wind. Our access road is rapidly disappearing under water and mud.
“That’s not good.” Reed stands beside me, close enough that I feel his heat despite our damp clothes.
“Understatement.” I try to calculate how long it will be before the road is impassable.
My fingers fly across my phone screen, sending urgent emails to postpone tomorrow’s deliveries.
I should have driven here myself, but it seemed unnecessary for us to drive out here together.
I’d thought I’d catch a ride back to town with Leo, but something made me stay behind.
Is it too frustrating not to be here and not to handle things myself?
Or is it because I wanted to be around Reed?
I focus harder on my phone, finishing my email to Lucy, and moving on to answer emails about permit renewals and inspection schedules. Anything to avoid thinking about being alone with him.
“I don’t suppose your security assessment included emergency provisions?” I aim for light, but my voice comes out breathless.
“I have supplies in my truck. The brief said to expect to be out here for a week.” He glances at the window, assessing the storm. “I’ll grab them before the storm gets worse.”
“Worse? How could it possibly—”
Lightning flashes over the lake, and the following thunder is so close that the windows rattle. Then the rain increases to the force of a raging waterfall.
“Like that.” He’s already at the door, hand on the handle. “I’ll be right back.”
“In this? That’s insane.”
“I’ve been in worse.” And then he’s out the door before I can argue.
I watch from the doorway as he jogs through the rain to his truck. The rain soaks him in seconds, his dark shirt plastering to his body. He grabs two duffel bags and a cooler, moving with a strength that makes it seem like the wind trying to knock him sideways is no big deal.
When he returns to the house and closes the door, water is streaming off him.
My mouth goes dry as I stare at how his wet shirt clings to every line of muscle, leaving nothing to the imagination and adding fuel to the fire of my growing lust for Reed.
Water drips from his hair, runs down his jaw, and disappears under his soaked shirt.
He sets the supplies down carefully, then looks at me.
His eyes are dark in the storm light. For a moment, we just stare at each other.
Him soaked and breathing hard from fighting the storm.
Me frozen in place, phone forgotten in my hand, my mind running through fantasies that all involve me peeling the wet clothes from his body and tasting the rain on his skin.