Chapter 15
Miles
“Miles, do you think you can spare half an hour for a meeting with Gio and Xander this afternoon?” Penny asks from way too damn close to me.
I turn slowly, taking my sweet time looking at her while cold winter air drifts through the open hallway behind us every time someone steps in from outside.
The more time I spend around this woman, the more I feel the need to see her—to memorize her body, her face, her mannerisms.
This morning, when I dropped off her coffee, she wasn’t in her office yet.
And yeah, I hate to admit it, but something like disappointment hit me in the chest.
My gaze drops to her black heels. White residue clings to the intricate embroidery, and I wince. Those shoes look expensive as hell.
“What?” she asks, catching me staring.
The velvety black pants and a soft pink sweater somehow make her look cozy and put together at the same time.
And completely out of my league.
“Nothing.” I nod toward her shoes. “Just thinking those probably cost a pretty penny.”
I snicker at my own joke.
She rolls her eyes with a dramatic huff. “Oh, you mean they’re covered in that disgusting ice melt they keep throwing all over town?”
A couple of the crew guys walk past us carrying blueprints, both throwing glances our way before disappearing toward the conference room.
I’ve never been into high-maintenance women. Don’t have the patience for it.
But Penny Levine somehow makes me want to solve every inconvenience she’s ever had.
“Yeah, these are Manolo Blahnik,” she says.
I blink at her. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”
She laughs softly. “Maybe. I’m pretty sure your sisters own a pair or two.”
Ah yes. My sisters. Both married to rich men.
“No clue,” I admit. “I don’t usually pay attention to what my sisters wear.”
“But you pay attention to what I wear.”
That smug little gotcha smile makes me close my eyes and curse under my breath.
“Not really,” I lie. “I just happened to notice because I was pretty much eye level with them.”
“Mhmm.”
“Anywho,” I cut in before she can keep busting my balls. “What time this afternoon? I need to make sure I don’t have anything urgent on my calendar.”
Penny crosses her arms over her chest, giving me a very distracting view I absolutely should not be looking at while standing in the middle of the office hallway.
Fuck.
“Funny you should mention your calendar.” Her lips twitch. “I checked right before coming to find you.” She waits until my eyes lock with hers. “It’s wide open.”
One eyebrow arches like she’s daring me to keep lying.
Lord, have the tenderest mercy.
I’m done for, and we’re not even fucking on the regular.
“Oh. Good.” I clear my throat. “Then it’s settled.”
I give her a quick nod before turning around to find literally anything else to focus on besides the fact that I’m losing the last scraps of dignity I have left around her.
“He-yo,” I greet my brothers-in-law as I walk into Penny’s office later that afternoon.
Everyone is sitting around Penny’s desk, talking over each other.
“What did I miss?”
“Nothing, we’re just sharing our holiday plans,” Xander fills me in.
I frown. “Are you guys doing something? I thought Rain couldn’t fly being so pregnant.”
Both Gio and Xander look at me like I have no clue what I’m talking about. “Technically she can fly without restrictions until about twenty-eight weeks. But if we fly with her OB, we’re good,” Xander fills me in proudly.
I snap, like I understood everything he just said. “That’s right. Rich people can fly with their doctors. I forgot about that,” I say sarcastically.
“Don’t be an ass, man. You asked a question, I simply answered,” Xander says in an unbothered tone.
“Miles, please take a seat. I don’t want this meeting to drag on forever,” Penny says without even glancing at me.
My jaw tightens. I’m used to shooting the shit with these guys.
“Everything is okay, Penny,” Gio intervenes. “We give each other shit all the time. It’s a MacAllister thing,” he says with a grin.
The tension knotting inside me eases a little, but then Penny looks at me—and that look sends a shiver straight down my spine.
We fall into a staring match, neither of us willing to back down. She wants to remind me she’s technically my boss, and I need her to remember those two idiots are my family.
“Ooo-kaaay,” Xander drags the word out before clapping his hands together.
I blink, realizing I should probably let this go before Penny and I end up arguing in front of Gio and Xander like a divorced couple.
Penny tries to hide her smug smile behind her coffee mug, but I still catch the way her eyes crinkle.
“So,” Gio says in his usual peacekeeper tone, “Penny mentioned you two came up with an idea to keep the project moving through the winter. Is that right?”
“Right,” Penny says, her smile a little too tight.
“When I told the crew about the Christmas bonus,” Penny says, smiling genuinely this time, “after the initial shock and excitement wore off, some of them admitted it didn’t sit right with them to accept something so generous and then not work for a couple of months.”
Gio’s expression falls. “I never wanted anyone to feel bad or like they owe me—or us—anything in return.”
“I know that, man,” I tell him honestly. “But you know how much the people around here respect you.”
He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Stop being so hard on yourself, Gio.” I say firmly.
“Seriously,” Xander adds. “ I wish all billionaires were like you.”
“Hear, hear,” I agree.
“Okay, enough about me,” Gio says after clearing his throat. “What’s the proposal?”
“Right, sorry.” Penny turns her laptop toward us, revealing a full presentation.
Fuck.
When did she even have time to put this together?
She’s amazing.
“The idea is to hire a second crew to finish the roof and the exterior walls,” she explains smoothly.
“Both crews would work eight-hour shifts. Once the building is fully enclosed, we can go back to operating with a single crew while continuing the interior work through winter. If everything goes according to plan, we’d still be on track to open mid to late spring. ”
I’m shamelessly staring at her by the end of it.
Mesmerized by how well she commands a room. The way she speaks with confidence, the way she sells an idea in less than five minutes, the way that fucking smile that lights up her whole face when she’s passionate about something.
“Miles? You with us, man?”
“What?” I blink, realizing I got caught.
Xander’s wearing the most shit-eating grin I’ve seen on a human being.
“I asked if you heard what Gio just said.”
“No. Sorry.” I clear my throat and cover my mouth with one hand while flipping Xander off with the other. “Could you repeat?”
The fucker starts laughing.
“I asked who’d oversee both crews,” Gio says, still amused. “I’m assuming you’d want a seamless transition between shifts, which means someone would need to manage both teams.”
I grin. “You’re looking at him, man. I’ll happily oversee both crews.”
“No way,” Gio and Xander say at the same time.
I frown. “What? Why? You guys think I can’t handle it?”
“Miles,” Gio says patiently, “for starters, you’re our brother-in-law. We care about you. And two, we won’t let you work yourself into the ground just to get this place finished faster.”
Xander nods. “Yeah, man. I want this rink open too, but not at the expense of your health.”
I’m about to argue that it’s not a big deal when Penny speaks.
“I’ll help.”
The room goes quiet.
All three of us turn toward her so fast it feels cartoonish.
“Penny,” Gio says slowly, closing his eyes for a second like he’s trying very hard to stay calm.
“I admire your commitment to this project, but you live in Charlotte. That commute is nearly four hours a day.” He gives her a pointed look.
“We’re talking sixteen-hour workdays. That’d leave you with barely enough time to sleep. ”
“She can stay in my place.”
The words leave my mouth before I fully think them through.
Every head in the room snaps toward me.
Jesus Christ. This conversation feels like a damn tennis match.
“What?” Penny practically squeaks.
“Yeah, why not?” I shrug, trying to sound way more casual than I feel. “I’ve got plenty of space, and let’s be honest, your commute would go from four hours to thirty minutes.
Penny’s staring at me like I’ve completely lost my mind.
Which… fair.
I take advantage of Penny’s temporary speechlessness to keep building my case.
“I promise I’m a good housemate,” I say quickly. “I cook, I clean, and I don’t bring women home.”
I raise a brow, silently challenging her to turn me down after I basically painted myself as the perfect man to live with.
“That’s an idea,” Gio says with a shrug. “Or you could stay with Ruin and me. You know you’re always welcome in our home.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll stay in Miles’s place,” Penny blurts out.
Her answer comes so fast it nearly gives me whiplash.
There’s something mischievous dancing in her eyes, and suddenly my insides feel way too damn tight.
Why the fuck did I offer up my house?
You know why, asshole. You want her.
Xander drags a hand down his face, clearly trying to hide a laugh.
Meanwhile, Gio keeps looking between Penny and me, a knowing expression settling on his face.
“You two are grown adults,” he says resignedly. “I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”
No, of course I don’t fucking know what I’m doing.
But when has common sense ever stopped me from following my gut?
That’s right. Fucking never.
“I’m not going to lie,” Gio adds lightly. “I’m a little hurt about how fast you picked Miles’s house over mine and Ruin’s.”
Everyone bursts out laughing, exactly the tension reliever the room needed.
“Aww, I’m sorry, Gio,” Penny says as she delicately dabs beneath her eyes with a tissue. “But you have to admit, you and Ruin have an eternal lovefest going on, and sometimes it’s too much to watch.”
She visibly cringes after delivering that hard truth.
“You got me there,“ Gio admits, laughing under his breath.
“I can’t fault you for loving my sister, but man, keep it in the bedroom,” I say with fake disgust.
“Miles, shut up,” Xander says as he looks at Gio. “If they stay in their room, they’ll have more babies. They’re three and counting.” Xander laughs.
“I hate you all, no one will stop me from having as many kids as Ruin wants. Which just to be clear it’s none of your fucking business.” Gio twists his face, making his best attempt at a mad face. But the man doesn’t have a bad cell in his body.
“Ohhh. Gio cursed. We’re fucked,” Xander says, clutching his chest like he’s terrified. “Let’s just get out of here before the man removes his investment from the rink.” Xander jokes.
Gio sighs, pretending to be tired of dealing with Xander’s silly ass.
“Penny, go ahead and proceed with the plan. We’ll talk later.”
Gio pushes to his feet and walks over to Penny, giving her a quick hug before throwing a casual, “Bye, losers,” at Xander and me on his way out.
“I think you’ve been spending too much time with Miles, Xander,” Penny says without even looking at either of us. “His silly jokes are rubbing off on you.”
“Silly jokes? Nah, boss.” I lean back in my chair. “I'm a first-class act.”
That earns me an eye roll, which honestly feels like a victory at this point.
“Seriously, though,” Xander says, his tone turning more serious, “thank you both for all of your hard work. This place wouldn’t be possible without you.”
I nod awkwardly, never really knowing what to do when people thank me for doing my job.
“See you both at the cookie exchange, yeah?” he asks as he stands.
Then he stops in front of me and raises a fist.
We bump knuckles, but instead of pulling away, he leans closer and lowers his voice.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, man. Last time I promised myself I was going to focus on my career and nothing else, I met a redhead who completely wrecked my plans.” He smirks. “Next thing I knew, I’d moved to a small town for her and left professional hockey behind.”
I swallow hard.
What Xander had with my sister is completely different from whatever this thing between Penny and me is. I’m not in love. I’m not looking for forever either. But for some reason, I can’t bring myself to say any of that out loud, especially not with Penny sitting right there.
“Don’t worry, bro. I’m just offering her a place to stay,” I say instead.
“Keep telling yourself that,” Xander mutters with a shake of his head as he heads for the door.
The second he’s gone, I look at Penny.
And she’s already staring at me.
Fuck.
The sudden need to cross the room and kiss her until we both forget where we are hit me like a punch to the gut.
Shit.
I’m so screwed.