Refurbished (The Dapper Duck #4)

1. ANGUS

Chapter one

ANGUS

A man that I didn’t know approached me, and I offered him a smile. The look was a little lecherous, but he was cute, and he wasn’t shy about the way his eyes traveled over my body. I smiled again and gave him a little wink as we got closer. That earned me a smirk.

He carried himself with confidence. It was clear to me that his common-looking workout clothes were all designer.

I suspected that the confidence he carried easily served him well.

This guy would be invited into The Dapper Duck, the bar I worked at, because I could see through the ‘average guy’ facade, because he most certainly wasn’t.

Once we were side by side, he came to a stop.

“Are you a trainer? I really like your look.” He asked casually, both of us knowing it wasn’t casual at all. His lips turned up on one side.

“You look pretty good yourself. I’m not a trainer, though.”

“That’s a shame. I thought you might like to work me out, show me how to use specific muscles.”

And there it was, the truth behind why he stopped.

I chuckled. The man was hot, and his attitude made him hotter.

Every time someone hit on me, I was surprised that I had attracted them.

In the mirror, I saw a tall, lanky kid with no friends who would rather read a book than socialize.

The truth was, I had changed all that. My body was defined, my hair was lush and perfectly styled, I had some great friends, and my clothes were all designer, tailored to fit my broad shoulders and narrow waist. I was still a geek and loved a good book, had an affinity for LEGO, and I cared for raccoons that lived in my yard.

He opened his wallet and pulled out a business card, then gave me a gorgeous smile. My body reacted to the attention as he held out his hand. “Oliver.” He said as we shook hands.

“Angus.” Our contact was a little longer than natural.

“Angus, give me a call. We can work out,” he lowered his voice a few octaves, “or work out. I’d also enjoy dinner and drinks. I’m hoping you are interested in men.”

I appreciated how he didn’t assume and asked outright.

Immediately, I decided I would take him up on his offer when I could.

“Oliver, I am most certainly into men.” I took another long and very obvious look at him.

“As I said, I am not officially a trainer, but maybe I could teach you a few things. All of those options sound good to me.”

“I’d really like that, Angus.” Suddenly, he looked shy, but it only took a second for his confidence to return. “I need to get in there, but I’m excited to hear from you.” He walked away grinning.

I took a minute to look at the business card. It was on quality card stock with raised lettering. That in itself told me a lot about him.

Dr. Oliver Mars, M.D, Ph.D

Director of Neurosurgery

It included his address and phone number.

If I called Dr. Mars, I had to decide whether to start with dinner or go straight to exercise.

I chuckled, still amused that I could get the attention of a man like him.

As I approached my old car, I noticed streaks on my windows.

I couldn’t help but chuckle because those were nose prints from Ramsey, my labradoodle, whom I loved dearly.

As soon as I got home, Ramsey raced across the lawn and bounced at my feet.

I easily caught him, then spun around, laughing while he licked my chin.

On the ground, he wagged his tail so hard his entire body wiggled.

I shook my head as I walked to the front door.

“You’re crazy,” I said as the front door opened.

“How dare you!”

I looked up at the gorgeous woman welcoming me home. I chuckled. “If the shoe fits.” She handed me a coffee cup, and I kissed her on the cheek.

“That ‘child’ of yours acts like you were gone for a year, not a few hours. You’ve created a spoiled monster.” Her comment was the same every time I’d come home since we’d been living together.

“He’s not spoiled.”

She rolled her eyes. “Your breakfast will be ready in a minute. And yes, he is”

“If I spoiled him, I learned it from somewhere.”

“It was your father who spoiled you. I was the strict one.”

I nearly choked on my coffee. “You cried harder than I did when you had to punish me for breaking the neighbor’s window with a rock.”

“You were such a good boy, Angus. Punishing you hurt my heart.”

I pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head.

When she moved in, she insisted I let my housekeeping service go because she wanted to ‘take care of things properly’.

So she cleaned the house, made my meals, and took care of Ramsey when I wasn’t home.

I was fortunate that she was an amazing cook, so it wasn’t a hardship.

She didn’t have to do any of those things, but for some reason, she had always wanted to.

She had a trust to manage and was still on the board of most of the corporations she owned.

She also loved to do charity events. If she didn’t want to work, I suggested that she travel or take up a hobby.

She teased that Ramsey and I were her hobbies.

“Come eat, sweetie.” When I sat down, she placed eggs and bacon in front of me, then patted my head. “Be a good boy and eat your breakfast.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I did as she said. You don’t disobey Amelia MacGregor.

I was thirty-six years old and built like a wall, yet I was still afraid of the consequences if I didn’t do as she said.

The funny thing was, she had never spanked me or even really punished me.

Grandma, on the other hand, had been quick with the wooden spoon.

“When you are finished, take out the trash, please. Do you have any plans with your little friends this weekend?”

“My little friends?” I assumed she meant the people from the bar.

“You mean West, Tyler, and Spark?”

“Yeah. You know how much I like them.” I loved my mom, and she was the only one who would call the adults I hung out with my ‘little friends’.

“I work all weekend, Mom.” She sighed. “You need to get out. I’d love to see you with a partner.”

My mother worried about my happiness, and it was sweet.

The reality was, I agreed with her. I really did want someone in my life.

The problem was, I could find plenty of men to have sex with, but someone who understood who I was and accepted my past proved to be difficult.

I was also picky about who I brought into my world.

A few weeks with Dr. Mars could be fun, but I already knew it wouldn’t be more than that, and I wanted more.

I took my plate to the sink. “Just leave it there, Honey. I’ll wash everything after I make some muffins for you to take to the bar with you.”

“You don’t need to feed my friends, Mom.”

She beamed at me. “They are family, Angus, plus they love my treats.”

Mom wasn’t wrong. Several times a week, I would take something she made to work with me.

They always devoured her offerings and sent my mother notes of thanks.

It was adorable to watch her preen as she read each one.

A few times a month, she would come into The Dapper Duck, and every member of staff would treat her like the queen she was.

It didn’t matter if she was there for work or a date; they would give her the full VIP treatment.

I knew how much she enjoyed it, and that made my heart happy.

“Don’t forget the trash.”

I laughed. Her reminder was the same as it had been when it became my chore—I was ten.

I think she had assigned it because she knew my bandit friends were in the shed.

I’d cared for families of raccoons in our storage building for as long as I could remember.

It started before I was responsible for the trash.

And when I lived in town, I would come feed them and clean up their beds a few times a week.

One of the things I had always made sure of was never being far from this house, and one reason was my furry friends.

I had seen the female I called Storm wandering around a few days ago, and she had been very pregnant.

Many litters of kits had been raised out there, and I knew that she would have her babies any day now.

I shoved the bags into the bins. Ramsey danced near the wooden boxes I had made into nests.

When I looked inside, there were four eyes that looked at me expectantly.

“Oh, your mama must be moving you in.” They were cute little buggers.

It hadn’t been more than a day since I was out here last, so I was guessing Storm had the babies somewhere else and moved the family inside, which was safer than a den in the woods.

“Okay, you two. I’m sure your mama will be back soon, so stay out of trouble.

” Ramsey continued to bounce around but never got too close to the kits. He knew better.

I didn’t have to be at the bar until 4:00 p.m., which meant I had time to work on my hobby. As I walked back into the house, my mom smiled. “Going to the study for a bit?”

“Yeah. I’m on a critical part.”

“Can’t wait to see it. Join me for a late lunch before you head to work?”

“Sure, Mom, I’d like that.” She was the best person I knew.

I watched her stay strong through my father’s entire illness, never complaining.

They had loved each other until his very last day.

After he passed, she was a mess and forgot about me.

Even though I knew she had to be in pain, it was still hard to be so alone.

Years later, when her mom was sick and went into a nursing home, she would drive an hour every day to spend time with her.

Always the rock, but you could see she was tired and lonely.

I hated that the lines around her eyes got deeper every month.

Losing my dad had destroyed her, so after I left for college, she thought moving to the city would heal her. It didn’t help as much as she thought it would.

Once I got myself moving forward, it was easy to see how she still struggled.

I moved back to the house, then invited her to move in after I finished the remodeling.

Convincing her to move home was what she needed, and I had seen her finally release the pain and start living again.

The woman was my hero. She never stopped her successful career or stopped managing the family trust, but she had been sad.

It was good to see that burden lifted. She had even gone out on a few dates, which weirded me out a little.

She should be meeting men—she was in her fifties—but she was still my mom.

When I entered the ‘my study’, I smiled.

The house originally had eight bedrooms plus a library, formal dining room, and whatever else mansions in the 1800’s offered.

When I bought it, I turned the library into my study, but that was a misnomer.

I created a LEGO room. My current project was one of the bigger sets.

The shelves of the old library were lined with different finished items. In the middle was my pet project, a diorama that started from under the sea to outer space and everything in between.

Ramsey curled up in one of the overstuffed chairs while I sat at the worktable putting plastic bricks in their proper locations.

Several hours later, I had lunch with my mom, then went to check on the raccoons in the shed.

It had been about four hours since I had last seen them, and I hoped Storm had come back.

My heart sank when I looked, and they were still alone.

The nest hadn’t been built up at all, which meant she hadn’t been around since I looked this morning.

They were twins like Weston—my boss—and his twin, Easton.

In my head, I named them North and South just to be a smart ass—nobody would know.

Back in the house, I searched for my mom.

“Have you seen the mama raccoon around the shed today?”

“No. She usually comes around before sundown.”

She was right. I’d have to check when I got home. I was sure North and South would be reunited with their mom by the time I got off shift. “I’m getting ready for work, then heading out.”

“Okay. I have a date tonight. Don’t worry if I’m not home.”

“You will not be out all night until I meet this guy. Do you understand me?”

She turned and looked at me, her eyes narrowing.

Without a word, she waited for me to take back what I said and change my tone.

I wasn’t going to back down on this one, so I glared right back at her.

“Fine.” She huffed, and I did a victory dance in my head.

“You are off on Sunday. You’ll be having dinner with Tom and me.

Then I can get your approval and maybe get laid. ”

“Mother! You can not say things like that.”

“I will. Since you insist on treating me like a teenager, I will talk like one. Now go get ready for work.” She shooed me toward my room. “Don’t forget to take the muffins.”

Ramsey watched me from the bed as I got dressed.

Our uniform was pretty simple: black jeans, black boots, and a black, dark burgundy, or dark green long-sleeve button-down.

Since I was my team's lead and the owner’s best friend, I could make a few changes to my attire.

I placed the corset on the bed and made sure the lacing was where I wanted it.

I pulled it on and, as I hooked it together in the front, I enjoyed how tight it was from my chest to my waist.

When I looked in the mirror, I loved what I saw.

I knew my body was chiseled. My muscles had been built with hard work, leaving me with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and solid abs, including an eight-pack with a V-line to match, and my jaw was sharp with a tightly groomed beard.

Men saw all that and hit on me all the time, but I never understood what they saw until I put on a corset vest and cinched it tight—only then did I see what they did.

I looked in the mirror. The binder I chose today—I had a dozen or more—was dark purple filigree, with a black background and gold lining.

It looked sharp, and I looked good. Turning back and forth, I made sure everything was in place, pulled on my blazer, took one more look, and headed to work with the muffins my mom had made.