Chapter 11
11
I had a shower in our pool house after my training session this morning, because the last thing I wanted to do was walk by Ava and glimpse her again through the open door of my guest room, hair fanned out, a sea of fire. Her lips were puffy, legs toned, freckled arms clung to my mom’s old blanket. I insisted she stay, just in case she had a delayed reaction, like my dad told me. She was still sleeping when I left. I crept like a goddamn jewel thief around her this morning, stealing glances at her beauty, hoping she wouldn’t wake and notice I took the sight of her with me.
I can still see her now. I can still feel her on the pads of my fingers as if she’s made new prints.
Of course I noticed how gorgeous she was the moment she came to Monarch Hills. But some sort of wall broke down between us last night. Physically, mentally… now I can’t unsee or unfeel her. And moreover, her confession about how she feels about GhostEye seems to have closed the distance I’m working hard to maintain.
But maybe I don’t need to. Maybe she has pure intentions?
Now in our family offices above our gym, I sit down heavily into a work chair that’s not nearly as comfortable as the one in my home office, and it reminds me to stay alert.
Maybe she does have pure intentions, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ava Scott doesn’t really exist anywhere that I can see. I haven’t even found a birth record now that I’ve dug deeper. I’m so sure I won’t find one, I told Debbie to stop chasing both of us for documents.
I can’t pay Ava from the company without documentation so I’ll do it from my private accounts. I hope she proves to be the asset she wants to be. For some reason, GhostEye means a lot to her. Someone with as much talent as she has and a deeper motivation to boot is the kind of employee I should be vying for. This, I seem to constantly remind myself, is the reason I’m being patient, giving her a chance… wanting her to be as pure as she seems on the surface.
Santi interrupts my haze. “What are you doing out of your dungeon?”
He walks into the office with Brandon, his stable manager and lead trainer. They approach Santi’s desk and sit.
I left a note for Ava to come here and for us to work together as some sort of olive branch.
“I’m working with Ava here today.”
We all have a desk up here in the offices on the ranch, but nobody really uses this space but Santi. Where it’s close to the stable yard, it’s handy for him. It’s handy for me, too, but I prefer the quiet of my home and the clean floors. My eyes track down to the carpet. It doesn’t get very muddy in California, not like during Starlight Canyon winters and spring. Santi keeps it pretty nice in here to be fair.
Then I guess he needs to keep it clean since he has meetings with high-net-worth individuals looking to train their horses here. Training is a new revenue stream Santi can offer alongside his stud business now that he has Bran. Brandon is not a simple stable manager, he is a world-class trainer, with an impressive list of clients. Santi hired him not too long ago to diversify the business and offer training and rehabilitation facilities for racing thoroughbreds in addition to the breeding. I like Bran all right, he’s been helpful with Julia in offering to stop in and help with her needs and he’s taken to Echo Valley as if he’s been here for years.
He seems like a good guy.
Until he and my brother start talking about Ava.
“That Ava…” Santi says, typing something and gazing at his computer screen. “After last night, I realize she’s even more special. Isn’t she? What a winner.”
I dart my eyes from my laptop and catch a glimpse of Bran’s eyebrow rising. I’m no longer a fan. What does he know about Ava apart from that she’s gorgeous?
I type an email and hope that by not fueling the conversation I can douse it.
Santi sits back, swiping his mug off his desk casually. “She’s a stunner, too.”
A growl forms low in my throat. “She’s our employee, Santi. Don’t forget that.”
“She’s your employee.” He sips. “Anyway, it’s not like we can’t find someone attractive because they work with us. ”
I don’t glance up. “ For us.”
“See it how you like. Personally, I deliberately left out a no-fraternizing policy in my contracts.”
I want to call him a pig but I don’t. Not in front of Bran. If our parents taught us one thing growing up, it’s never let anyone see a crack in our family.
But Santi is determined to talk about her, and now it’s becoming clear he’s goading me.
“I was talking to one of the guards this morning, and they asked if she’ll be allowed guests on site. I figure it won’t be long before all of Echo Valley’s eligible bachelor population is lining up at the gates for a chance with her. Not often you get a total package. Pretty. Smart. Witty. And she’s a real sweetie, too.”
My brother better not even think about getting in said line.
Bran pipes up. “You won’t even have to open the gates. There’s plenty of talk at the stables.”
“Keep those guys away from her.” The words slip from my lips before I think about how they sound.
I don’t even have to look at Santi to know he’s wearing one of his smug grins. “And why’s that?”
“She’s…” I try to focus on my email, but the screen is blurry. “She’s here to work.”
“She lives here, too, Zo. She needs time to play. Not everyone is you. She’s young.”
He had to remind me. She’s not only my employee but far too young for me to be getting protective over. Because I am. I don’t like these two talking about how pretty she is and how the men are lining up for her. I already know it and don’t need it said out loud. I saw how she turned heads with the stable hands who were at Town Hall. I saw even how Santi and my dad were enamored within seconds .
My reasoning is strong, even if it isn’t exactly the whole truth. “If I get that level of talent through the door at GhostEye and she leaves because of heartache, heads will fucking roll.”
Ava isn’t na?ve, but I wouldn’t exactly call her street smart either. She didn’t even know she had a nut allergy, for God’s sake.
I add for emphasis, “I get the impression she’s not been away from home on her own before. I’m not sure she’d know how to handle some of the men in these parts.”
Santi puts his mug down and picks up a manila folder, opens it, and flips through a few pages. “Something tells me that woman can handle herself just fine. Anyway, I told the guards she can put anyone on the list as long as they have ID.”
I tap one of my keys harder than I intend, and both the guys glance over at me.
“Now that I think about it, she is your type, Enzo,” Santi teases.
“I don’t have a type.”
I’ve barely dated enough in the last years to zone in on one particular kind of woman. And I don’t know what he’s talking about anyway. My last girlfriend was almost two years ago and she was nothing like Ava.
He laughs. “I guess if a super-sexy computer geek isn’t your type, I suppose you don’t have one because those are the exact boxes I would have ticked for you. I also remember you telling me you have a thing for redheads and freckles.”
I ignore him. And I’m glad I do because in that very small pause in the conversation about Ava, she comes through the door.
“Hey,” she greets us, and there are two thermal travel mugs in her hands. She has the laptop backpack I had delivered with her desk and supplies slung over her shoulder and, because it’s going to be a scorcher again, her long legs are bare and enticing. But as usual, she has on her boots. And that hoodie of hers hangs off her shoulders, prepared for the air-con.
“Well, good morning to you, sunshine,” Santi says in his cool, casual tone. I loathe that he’s offered her a nickname even though he does it for just about everyone.
He gestures to Bran. “You remember Brandon from last night? He was a little busy with Julia, but you might have met?”
Her face says she doesn’t remember him. But his says he remembers her plenty.
She waves. “Nice to meet you. Sorry if we already met, but I got through a lot of names last night.” She glances over at me nervously.
“That’s okay,” Bran is gracious. “I was new to Echo Valley not long ago myself.”
“Oh really? Where are you from?”
“I was living in Dubai.” Brandon is an expert self-publicist and, of course, Ava takes the clickbait.
“Wow,” she says, impressed as Bran intended. “What did you do there?”
“I trained some of the princes’ horses and jockeys.”
“That must have been incredible. Sounds fancy.”
“It was, but I’m kind of over my nomadic, ex-pat days and just want to settle down. Call me boring.”
She comes next to me on my side of the meeting table and places the mugs down. “I doubt there’s ever a boring day when you work with horses.”
He chuckles in agreement, stands, and grabs one of the manila envelopes. Santi stands, too.
Bran taps the edge of the folder in his hand. “You know what, why don’t you come round the stables on Friday after work? I can show you some of the horses?”
I guess this means Bran is first in line. Everything in my body goes taut.
I’m going to have to figure out a way to uncoil my muscles every time some guy takes an interest in Ava. It’s not my place to be jealous. I don’t want Ava leaving the company because Santi gets mixed up with her, so that goes for me, too.
“Really?” She glances at me as though she needs permission but answers because she doesn’t. “I’d love that.”
“Also…” Santi darts his gaze over to me, too; his invitation is for Ava, but he really wants to see how I’ll respond. “We’re having an Indian Summer pool party that night with stable workers and jockeys. We’ll have a barbecue over at the pool house. Dad will be there. If you want to invite Penelope and Callum, feel free. It might be the last barbecue of the year.” They make their way to the door. “Zo, you know you’re invited, too, but I’m guessing you’re too busy.”
I don’t answer, but he doesn’t wait for one either and heads out followed by Bran.
But then Bran turns around, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a business card. He hands it to Ava along with a debonair dimple. “Here’s my cell. Text me when you’re off Friday, and I’ll meet you before the party.”
She takes the card but not as enthusiastically as she does most things. Maybe she’s more worldly than I thought because this man is making a move and she seems to know it.
She lifts the card. “See you Friday.”
I thought they’d never leave.
I click over to a document I drew up. “I had some thoughts on another project you could help with this morning.”
“Me, too, actually…”
She offers a shy smile, and I know she’s still thinking about last night. So am I, especially now that so much of the skin on her thighs is on show and they look creamy and absolutely fucking delicious. I’m thinking all of that and more but I’m sure it will soon fade.
She sits on the table right next to me, her toned legs only a foot or two away from me and very much at my eyeline, making the shape of them and the enticing way they disappear into her shorts impossible to ignore.
“Your dad stopped by to check on me this morning and brought me these peppermint teas. He said it’s a natural antihistamine.” She thrusts one of the mugs in my direction. “He brought one for you, too.”
I take it from her and have a sip, letting the warm liquid soothe my throat. It’s been gearing up to blow fire since she walked in with those lean pins and I had to share the view with Bran and Santi. I put the mug down.
Dad didn’t know Ava would be coming to work with me here today. I only left her a note to meet me here this morning. That means Dad brought two teas to make sure she’d come and find me. I should have known he’d eventually try to set one of us up with Ava. It didn’t take long.
She runs her finger around the rim of the mug, slowly, pensively, then offers me one of those laughs that compensates for nerves. “He told me the cream was his idea. He said he didn’t want me to think you’re some perverted, opportunistic boss or something.” She takes a sip.
My dad is about as discreet as Ava is.
She puts down the mug and gives a morning stretch to the air. Her t-shirt rises just enough to expose her soft belly and have my fingertips tingling for another touch.
“I don’t think that by the way,” she says, almost as if yawning. “If anything, I was worried you’d think I was weird going to you.”
Weird is not the word that came to mind. Not last night. Not this morning when I was still thinking about how her breasts were delicate mounds and the seam of her shorts hugged her hips. I wish I did think it was weird. On the contrary, it felt really good and natural to touch her, and I’m happier than I should be to see her again.
I clear my throat. “Are you feeling better?”
“Yeah. Mostly. Still a tiny bit itchy on my back but the burn is gone. My throat is back to normal.”
“So…” I move my finger around on my touchpad as if focusing on my laptop even though when she leans forward and grips the edge of the table her legs spread open and her loose tank top makes a shadow I’d like to dive into. I clear my throat again. Ain’t enough tea in the world to soothe the fire building there.
“How is it that you didn’t know you had a nut allergy?”
She glances over at a painting on the wall, pretending to examine it to avoid eye contact. “I guess my uncle just didn’t have nuts around. It never came up.”
“You weren’t around nuts in twenty-five years?” I’m skeptical and I let her know that. Maybe it’s time she starts telling me more.
She shrugs. “I didn’t get out much as a kid. Or an adult. My uncle was really protective.”
“Was?”
“ Is. ”
My senses are going off. What kind of man protects his child to that degree? And she’s a woman now anyway. “He should have told you before you left home. I’m shocked you never had any problems before now. You’re lucky.”
She gives me a shy smile. “Lucky I had you.”
My stomach falls into my feet.
The corner of her mouth quirks. “Thank you. You’re a good guy under that tough act of yours.”
“I’m not acting.”
She teases. “Oh, you’re just tough, are you?”
“That’s not what I meant.” I just about catch a smile escaping from my lips.
This is getting too cozy. We need to focus on work. I decided to let Ava into more restricted areas. See what she can do. Learn more about her capabilities and build some professional trust if that’s what she wants. At the end of the day, that’s what I technically wanted the contest to bring me.
But we can’t build a professional partnership when I’m thinking about crashing my mouth against hers and sliding my hand up her bare thigh. If she knew what I wanted to do to her, she probably wouldn’t want to tell me why there’s no birth certificate with her name on it either.
I lay awake for a long time last night thinking about how to handle this woman. I know she’s hiding something. She knows I know that. Simple words and me pummeling her with questions won’t get us anywhere, though I intend to try again. I can’t expect her to lay out her life story just as I haven’t mine.
And so, we’ll build on that honesty through work. By me offering her a taste of the problem we have here and see how she handles it.
“About last night. I want to offer you more responsibility, but it’s going to have to be little by little. Neither of us can sit here and pretend anything about this situation is normal, but if I give you a project and you complete it, we can start to build a bridge.”
“Enzo, I’m a good girl, you know.”
Shiiit. I know she didn’t mean it that way, but it doesn’t escape me what a good girl I’m sure she’d be.
This woman just has an attractive way about her. She’s a mixture of accidental flirtation, charm, and genuine enthusiasm. The gaze from under her wispy eyelashes swirling warmly around my body has me feeling unusual. Normally, I’d stop talking here. Normally, I’d take the opportunity for silence, with nothing but work to pass between us. But there’s nothing about Ava that’s normally .
I need to know more about her because I’ve started to hope what I find is above board. I’d be disappointed now if she ended up otherwise. She comes across very sincere. And my dad could use a friend around here.
But it’s time to stop the games and be direct.
“You haven’t been able to get a state-issued ID yet. I’m happy to help with that.” I take my glasses off and set them on the table next to me, staring at her earnestly, trying to make my words sound like an invitation rather than a threat. “Or, you can tell me why you can’t get one and maybe I can help with that, too. Do you have a criminal record? I couldn’t find one but…” Shit. I’m going for the jugular again. But I can’t help it.
“No,” she blurts, almost disgusted I’d suggest it. She chews her lip. Her eyebrows furrow, and she stares at the floor for an answer. “I just don’t have an online presence.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” I’m not as good at sounding warm as Santi or my dad but I try. I don’t want to scare her off. My intuition keeps telling me she’s a good person.
Maybe she’s hiding who she is not from me, but from someone else. And that makes my blood boil. If someone is after her, they sure as hell won’t get to her under my watch.
I won’t give up. This would be so much easier if she’d just tell me what’s going on. “Why can’t I find a thing about you?”
“I’m very private.”
I come out and say it. “I know you want to work at GhostEye and stay in Echo Valley… unless that was just the late night talking.”
“No. It was a thousand percent true.”
“Well, then I need to shake this…” I search for the nice way of putting it.
“Suspicion?” she answers for me.
My gaze confirms it all.
“I promise you, Enzo…”
“Never promise anything…”
She tilts her head to the side, considering my words as if they’re more than flippant. They are. I mean them. Nobody can ever guarantee anything. I can’t. Neither should she.
She searches my face for something and seems to find it because she softens, almost as if knowing why I don’t make promises anymore. It’s impossible she could understand, but that’s the thing about Ava’s face. It contains so much empathy. So much… humanity.
“Enzo. You obviously have your reasons for why GhostEye is important to you. And all I can say is that I have mine, too. And in both cases, the reasons are noble. I don’t have a bad bone in my body.” She drops her gaze to her laptop bag on the floor and mutters, “I wish I did.”
What’s that supposed to mean? There’s only one translation in my mind. It means someone has done her wrong and she’s too good to seek revenge .
She places her laptop on the table and opens it. “Can we make a deal?”
“Depends on the terms.”
“I have a three-month contract here and I’m smart enough to know you want me to see that out, given how I earned it.”
I tap a pen on my lip, listening. Yet again admiring her confidence.
“You get Debbie off my back, pay me cash, and… give me the benefit of the doubt.”
She doesn’t even know I’ve already done that.
I cross my arms and lean back. “What’s the exchange?”
“I’ll make myself indispensable here. I know you held the contest in order to have someone who can protect this company. I’ll show you that person is me.”