Finn (Blue-Collar Billionaires #2) (3 page)

I swallow against a wave of nerves and run my hands over my hair again. The unruly red curls tend to have a mind of their own so I’ve pulled them back into a low bun. I can’t screw up this job. This could be the start of a whole new wave of luck for our business. Daphne is the optimist, but secretly I’m starting to agree with her that this new deal is a sign.
 

Our luck is finally changing.
 

After my moment of self-reflection, I walk into the lobby. It’s not as impressive as I imagined it would be. Considering the amount of money we’ve been offered to clean this place, I was expecting solid gold floors and diamond encrusted door handles. But it’s just a plain entryway painted builder white.
 

There’s a man behind the counter. I nod at him and then take a seat on one of the couches in the waiting area. Mr. Stevens is supposed to meet me here and take me up so I can see the property and meet the owner. After about ten minutes, I pull out my cell phone. Where is he?
 

What is it with rich people? They always think everyone else should be on their timetable. It makes me think about Andrew. He’d done this type of thing often. He would rush me along but consistently show up late or not at all when I needed him. The only time he’d really shown emotion was anytime someone mentioned my relationship with Finn.
 

I close my eyes.
 

Even now years later just the thought of him is enough to bring tears to my eyes.
My sweet, Finn
. His family lived in the same trailer park and we’d shared the experience of being the trash from the wrong side of the tracks at our school. He’d been my first kiss, my first love. My first everything. Then after school he’d gone off to the army and things had never been the same.

I’m suddenly pulled from my thoughts by the sound of my name. The man behind the front desk is standing now, peering at me with interest. “Miss Blake?”

“Yes, that’s me.”
 

“Mr. Stevens just called. He told me to let you up immediately.” He stands and walks to the elevator. I follow him on and then watch as he inserts a key from the massive ring in his hand. He twists it and then punches the button for the twelfth floor. I watch in surprise as he steps back out. The doors close behind me and the elevator hurtles upward.
 

The nerves I felt downstairs come back full force when the doors open with a ding. I step out of the elevator and into a hallway. There are doors at the end of the hallway in both directions. I let out a little sigh. It all seems a little rude, to summon me up here but not have anyone waiting to show me where to go.

I look down the hallway to my left. The door to 15B is partially open.
 
That must be it, then.
I walk down the hall, my feet sinking into the deep luxurious carpet. When I push open the door, it doesn’t make a sound.

“Hello?”

I walk inside and then stop in awe. It’s so beautiful. I never even knew that apartments like this existed in Norfolk. The ceilings are much higher than normal. I estimate that they must be at least fifteen feet high. The room I’m standing in has two large, deeply stuffed couches angled to face the windows. To my left is a beautiful gourmet kitchen with tall, cherry cabinets and gleaming stainless steel appliances. There’s a hallway to the side that must lead to the bedrooms.
 

I’m going to be working here?
As I look around in wonder, I have to ask why the owner even hired me. The place looks pristine already.
 

There must be some mistake. Maybe the owner just wanted to meet here so we could talk about the contract before he shows me the apartments in the building that actually need cleaning. But even still, I’m sure the other apartments in the building must be lovely, too.
 

“Hello? Sir?”

It hits me then that I don’t even know the owner’s name. Mr. Stevens has been my contact throughout this entire process and although there was a company name on the contract, I didn’t even think to ask the name of the representative the company would be sending over.
 

“Do you like the view?”

The deep voice comes from the shadows of the hallway. Even though I just called out for someone, it startles me. And all at once, it reminds me that there’s no one else here. When I agreed to this meeting, it was under the assumption that Mr. Stevens would be present as well.
 
But now I’m alone with some man that I’ve never met.
 

A man with a voice that’s both haunting and terrifying.

“I do. This is a beautiful place,” I answer, hoping that he’ll come out from the hallway so I can see what he looks like.
 

I really hope he’s not creepy or some kind of jerk, the way Tara thought. But even if he is, I’ll have to deal with it because we can’t afford to lose this contract.
 

“I bought it just this year. I enjoy surrounding myself with beautiful things.”
 

His words are strangely inappropriate yet I’m enthralled. I should be angling closer to the door so I can get the hell out of here if he does anything weird. But I can’t move. There’s something about his voice. The way he speaks. It’s familiar and heartbreaking all at once.
 

“You pulled your hair back. Hair like yours should never be restrained.”

Even before he steps forward, my traitorous heart skips a beat. How could I ever forget that voice, the voice that promised me that I’d never be alone, that he’d always be there? That we’d be a team. The voice that told me I was everything before I was foolish enough to throw it all away.

“Finn?” My voice comes out as a whisper and I hate myself for the weakness.
 

“Rissa.”

My eyes almost roll into the back of my head hearing him say it. No one has ever been able to make words into a caress the way he does, rolling the letters over his tongue like he wants to make love to every inch of me starting with my name. Against my will, memories of the pleasure I once knew at the mercy of that tongue roll through me. The things he used to do … Heat blossoms and unfurls inside me, spreading through my limbs until I have to grab the back of the couch behind me to keep from collapsing into a heap on the floor.
 

“What are you doing here?”

He steps out from the shadows of the hallway and into the light and I gasp. Without a thought or care, I spring forward my arms outstretched.
 

“Finn? What happened to you? Are you all right?”

He’s walking with a slight limp, relying heavily on the ornately carved cane in his right hand. In my shock, I don’t notice the distaste on his face at least not until he takes a step back.
 

“I’m fine.” His curt reply leaves no room for misinterpretation. Whatever happened to him isn’t something he’ll be sharing with me. The rejection stings but then again, considering our history, why should I have expected anything else?

“Where’s Mr. Stevens? Do you work with him or something?”

Finn walks forward, passing me without comment. Then he settles himself on the couch and rests the cane against the arm next to him. “Mr. Stevens works for me. He’s one of my lawyers. I had him handle procuring a cleaning service on my behalf because I simply don’t have the time or desire to do it myself.”

His words are so impossible that I just stand staring at the back of his head for a minute. His hair is slightly darker than it was when we were in high school, more brown than blond. But he still has the wayward piece in the back that grows in a different direction than all the rest. The sight brings it all home and makes it real. This is Finn.

And he owns this building.

“You’re the client?” He doesn’t acknowledge me but I know instinctively it’s true. I walk around and take a seat on the couch facing him.
 

"He came back, Rissa.”

"Who?" I'm still so shocked that he's here that I'm having trouble following the thread of the conversation.
 

"My father. He's back. And he's wealthy. So now I am, too."
 

This is huge. Growing up, we had so many conversations about our fathers. I've never met mine and Finn's took off when he was small. I know how big of a deal this is for him. But he seems strangely nonchalant about it, like it doesn't even matter. And I don't know him well enough anymore to gauge his mood.
 

“So, why did you hire us?” Moving the conversation back to business seems to be the safest course.
 

“Your business offers cleaning and home management as well, is that correct?”

“Well, yes.”

“That’s why I hired you. I need a cleaning service for this entire building and someone to handle organizing my space as well.”
 

Stunned, I just stare at him. How does he even know that we do all that?
 

When Daphne, Tara and I first started, we envisioned a service that helped people organize their entire lives. From keeping appointments to closet reorganization to cleaning. Everything. Unfortunately in this economy most of our customers don’t have the money to hire us for any extras. Most just want cleaning services and many have scaled back to only monthly cleaning. Weekly or daily clients are hard to come by.
 

Now here is our first client willing to pay for the full-service and it’s someone that I can’t deal with.
 

“So you hired me, even with our history?” Something about this isn’t right. Why would he do that? Unless he’s trying to start something again. The last time we spoke was when I ran into him randomly in town before he was deployed for the last time. I’m the one who broke things off so I wasn’t expecting him to be happy to see me but he hadn’t even been able to look at me then. So why would he seek me out now?

 
I look up and he’s watching me. The same current of heat passes between us and something clenches deep and low in my belly. “You didn’t bring me here thinking that we would … you know.”
 

Finn’s jaw tightens, the only outward evidence that he’s disturbed.

“Why would you think I wanted that from you? Men in my position stay away from gold-diggers if at all possible. You’ve already proven what you’re about.”
 

The pain comes out of nowhere, like a shot in the dark. I close my eyes. He’s so angry. This isn’t like him, not like the Finn I knew. He always had a smile for me. Always knew just what to say to make me feel better when I was sad or tired. He understood the frustration of wanting more and not knowing how to get it. And for a time we were each other’s shield against all the things that would attempt to hurt us. But then I met Andrew and everything changed.
 

He speaks and it’s like he’s reading my mind, as if my thoughts of the past have triggered his own.
 

“How is Andrew, by the way? I hope he’s well.”

His formal tone of speech just makes it clear that he’s mocking me. Finn was never formal with me, or with anyone really. I have no doubt that he already knows that we're not together anymore. He looks too pleased with himself not to have that information already. I'm sure he just wants to rub my nose in it, in how spectacularly wrong I was when I made my choice.

“He's just fine.”

“Of course he is. He has you, so why wouldn’t he be? You two are perfect for each other.”

I have to clench my hands beneath my legs to keep still. He has no idea just how deep his verbal barbs have penetrated. I’m sure he also has no idea just what a sadistic monster hides behind Andrew’s perfect face. If he knew, I don’t think he’d be saying these things. Finn was a jealous type but never evil. And even though he’d feel sorry if he knew the truth, I’ll never tell him just how imperfect things actually were. I don’t need anyone’s pity. I got myself out of that situation on my own and I don’t need anyone looking down on me or crying tears on my behalf.
 

“Anyway, I’d love to catch up but I need to show you around and give you your keys.” He stands, relying heavily on the cane.
 
When he looks up and sees me watching him, his face hardens.
 

“And I need to tell you exactly what I expect from you.”

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I follow behind as Finn shows me the rest of the building. The other apartments aren’t as stunning as his but they’re all newly renovated and spacious.
He owns all this now.
These types of apartments are the kind that we could only dream of living in as kids.
 

We’re standing in the middle of one of the vacant units when his phone rings. He holds up a finger as he answers.
 

I walk away slightly to give him some privacy but I can still overhear part of the conversation. It must be someone who works for him. It’s so odd to hear him talking with such authority. It’s like observing a stranger except this stranger looks like my Finn. Talks like my Finn.

I have to remind myself that he’s not. The boy I loved is gone. The Army took him just as surely as if he’d died overseas. And anything that was left when he came back, I killed when I gave him back his ring.
 

“Are you listening, Marissa?”

He’s watching me and I realize I’ve missed something he said.
 

“I’m sorry. This is a lot to take in. What time do you want your maid to come in the mornings?”

He tilts his head. “I expect you to be there by eight o'clock sharp, just like it says in the contract.”

I’m already shaking my head. Even though I told Daphne and Tara that I would do it, that was before I knew it was him. There’s no way that I can show up here everyday and be around Finn without the past crashing back in on me. I’ve worked so hard to move on and all of this has brought that pain dangerously close to the surface again. I’ll be lucky to get out of here today without breaking down completely. But I won’t let him have that victory.