Fit for the Job (9 page)

Sassy offered him a disinterested wave, her eyes back on the zombie movie.

Jay left her room and made his way quietly back downstairs. He passed a tall, muscular black man in the hallway, but the man merely nodded at him, so he continued on.

When he rounded the corner leading to the large kitchen, he saw Bodie, and stopped. Bodie leaned against the island at the center of the kitchen, his upper body hunched over, face resting in his palms. Jay couldn’t help staring at the tight white tee shirt stretched taut over his muscular back. His phone was set down on the island in front of him.

Bodie straightened and looked over his shoulder, clearly sensing someone there. “Oh, hey,” he said softly.

Jay stepped into the room. “Well this doesn’t look good,” he said. “Conversation with Eben didn’t go well, I take it?”

Bodie chuckled. “Actually, he agreed to let you take Sassy out three times a week.”

Jay’s eyes widened in surprise. “He did?”

“Yeah,” Bodie said. “But it took some doing, and it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. I think telling him you made her smile was the clincher, pushed him over to your side. How’s Sassy?”

“Actually, she’s not bad. She’s agreed not to try and take off if we get permission to go off the property with her.”

Bodie scowled. “She said that?”

Jay nodded.

“Is she still upset?” Bodie asked.

Jay shrugged, tilting his hand in a so-so gesture. “She was all right, actually. I mean, she’s weird. And she did mention wanting to flee from her parents. But she was...all right. She laughed a lot.”

Bodie’s brows shot up. “She
laughed
?”

Jay chuckled at the expression on his face. “Yeah. She laughed.”

Bodie scratched his beard stubble, eyes on Jay. “That’s good news. Ah, since you were alone with her, I need to...”

“Pat me down,” Jay said.

Bodie nodded.

Jay raised his arms out to his sides. “Is there going to come a point where you trust me, you think?”

Bodie leaned in and slid his hands down Jay’s torso. “It’s not a matter of trust. It’s the job. This is what Eben asked me to do. I think he suspects Sassy might try to slip you something.”

Jay shivered as Bodie’s hands moved lower, gliding over his pockets, close enough to his groin to make his cock twitch. The situation didn’t improve any when Bodie moved on to his thighs. In an attempt to distract himself, Jay made conversation. “What is Eben afraid she’s gonna give me? Jewelry?”

Stopping at Jay’s ankles, Bodie looked up at him. “Jewelry? Did she try to give you jewelry?”

Jay nodded. “She wanted me to hock it for her. I said no, of course.”

Bodie sighed and shook his head. He stood and moved behind Jay, lifting his hair behind his neck, then gliding his palms down his back. “I think Eben’s thinking something more like a flash drive.”

Jay remained silent as Bodie patted around his belt area. His thoughts were in a tailspin, as was his body. He thought about Sassy’s comment regarding Bodie’s sexual orientation. Struggling to push that thought aside, he pondered the meaning behind Eben’s fear of Sassy slipping him a flash drive. The blackmail thing had left a bad taste in his mouth, and his curiosity made it worse. But he had a more immediate problem.

A raging boner.

“Okay,” Bodie said. “I’ll drive you home now.”

Jay scooted past him so Bodie would be at his back, praying the thing tenting his jeans would go down before he got in the vehicle. He headed out the front door and made his way to the garage, Bodie’s steady footfalls behind him. When he reached the passenger side door, he remained there, standing alongside it while he waited for Bodie.

Bodie reached the SUV and glanced over at him. “Everything all right?”

“Yeah. Fine.”

“Here’s your phone.”

Bodie tossed it over to him, and Jay caught it. The hardness in his pants had ebbed somewhat, but not completely. After climbing in and shutting the door, he used the phone as a prop, holding it in both hands as he rested his arms discreetly over his thighs to cover his crotch.

Bodie started the engine, then fished a hair tie out of the console and maneuvered his brown locks back into a short ponytail.

As they made the trek back to his condo, Jay stole glances at Bodie, his handsome face more visible now with the hair tied back.

But he looked one too many times, because as they approached his driveway, Bodie glanced his way, catching his eye. “What?”

Jay shook his head. “What, what?”

“You were looking at me funny.”

“Was I?” Jay forced a chuckle as Bodie pulled into the driveway and parked.

“You were.” Raising his brow, Bodie looked at him expectantly. So Jay thought up a lie and thought it up quick.

“I was just wondering,” he said, “what you did for work before Eben.”

To his surprise, Bodie laughed. “I bet you were.”

“What does that mean?” Jay said, hiding his discomfort with a laugh of his own.

Hands still on the steering wheel, Bodie turned his head and met Jay’s eyes. “You keep looking at me in that quizzical way. Like you’re trying to read a map.”

“Oh God, am I?” Jay winced. “I’m sorry. I just like your hair. And your piercing. You have an...interesting look. I’m sorry. I was just curious about you.”

Bodie faced front, grinning. “Yeah. My
look
. Such things were frowned upon in my last job, so I kind of went to the opposite extreme when I left it.” He glanced at Jay. “Homeland Security. Chemical and biological weapons. I was in the army, part of a counter terrorism unit.”

Jay’s jaw fell open. “Cut the shit.”

Bodie shrugged.

“You didn’t like it?”

“I did at first. Then I didn’t.”

“Huh.” Jay stole another long look at Bodie’s profile. “Guess it’s a big difference, working for Eben.”

Bodie offered him a tight lipped smile. “Some days, it feels about the same.”

Jay laughed. “Yeah. All right, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“You’re signing the contract?” Bodie asked, facing Jay fully now.

Jay nodded. “I am.”

He got another of Bodie’s rare smiles in response. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As soon as Jay got in the house, he popped a beer from the fridge, feeling rattled by the day’s events. Sitting down at the dining room table, he sipped his beer, staring down at the contract. He didn’t feel so hesitant anymore. In fact part of him was looking forward to the job. Despite the obvious challenges, he liked Sassy.

And you definitely like Bodie
.

Yeah, there was that, too. Was Bodie gay, as Sassy had suggested? Not that it was a necessarily a green light if he was. Jay made no assumptions that Bodie would end up sharing his interest. But then they
would
be spending a lot of time together...so anything could happen.

There was definitely something about that man that made Jay’s pulse race, a reaction he’d been seeking to find in someone for a long time. It was exciting and unexpected and just...wow. It was true. Bodie definitely had the
wow factor
.

Damn it all to hell. He hated when his mother was right.

Chapter Four

It was noon when Jay, armed with two suitcases, unlocked the door to the guest house and stepped inside. He paused, hearing a vacuum coming from somewhere in the cottage. Setting his bags down, he closed the door behind him and looked around. He stood in a spacious living area, pristine and smelling like carpet cleaner. A woodstove stood in the corner. Comfortable furniture and knickknacks decorated the place, giving it a cozy feel. He moved through the living room, exploring further.

The kitchen was medium sized with yellow walls, quaint, with ceramic figurines of cats on the window sill. A set of canisters on the counter were also cats, blue with comically wide eyes and sharply painted whiskers. Jay smiled. The place reminded him of the summer vacation cottages his family had rented when he was a child.

Following the sound of the vacuum, he moved gingerly down a hallway, past a green tiled bathroom, finally stopping before an open wooden door. Inside he saw a large bedroom with a queen sized bed and two white dressers. A thin woman with bright red hair tied back in a clip was bent over, vacuuming one of the throw rugs that populated the dark wood floor.

“Hello,” he called.

Whooping, she jolted upright and spun around, pale eyes wide against fair skin.

“I’m sorry,” Jay said, wincing.

Patting her chest, the woman shut off the vacuum, taking several deep breaths. She looked about forty, with a thin face and longish nose. She wore green cargo pants with white sneakers, an Aztec print tee shirt hanging loosely off her narrow shoulders.

“Oh my God!” she said, still patting her chest. Then she smiled. “You scared the
shit
out of me!” she said, whispering the word ‘shit’.

“I’m so sorry,” Jay said, laughing. He stepped into the room. “I’m Jay Capello, I’m going to be staying here for a while.”

She leaned in and gave his hand a quick shake. “I’m Libby, nice to meet you. I got the message that the guest house had to be cleaned, but I thought I had until one o’clock. I’ll be out of your way in a minute.”

“No problem, take your time,” he said. “I’m a little early.”

“Thank you, I’m almost finished here,” she said. “You want some coffee? I can make some.”

Jay recognized a distinct Rhode Island accent from the way she pronounced it
cawfee
. “No, thanks, I’m fine, you do your thing. Sorry to interrupt.”

“Are you here to visit Eben?” she asked, swatting a rogue strand of red hair off her face.

“I’m working for him actually,” Jay said. “I’m a fitness instructor.”

“Oh.” She grinned. “I should have known; you California boys are all so handsome.”

Jay laughed. “Actually, no. I’m from Providence. Local boy.”

“Oh, me too!” Her eyes brightened and she tapped her chest. “I live in Providence.”

“Ah, yeah?” Jay nodded. “I guess we’re the local hires.”

Libby cackled loudly as if he’d said something hilarious, then snorted. He recalled Sassy’s assessment of the woman now. ‘
Libby’s weird, but all right
.’ That was fine with Jay. He usually got along better with people deemed weird.

“I think I’m gonna head on over to the house while you finish up,” Jay said. “Let them know I’m here.”

“Okay, Jay. You sure you don’t want me to make you some coffee?”

“I’m sure,” he said. “I’ll see you later, Libby. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you!
Homie
,” she said, falling into snorting snickers again.

Jay nodded, giving her a wave. “Right. Homie.”

He left the bedroom, chuckling. Back in the living room, he dug the now signed contract out of one of the bags, then headed for the door.

He heard the vacuum start up again as he left the guest house. Stopping on the wooden front porch, he looked up at the sky. Heavy clouds darkened the day. He’d neglected to check the weather forecast, and hoped it wouldn’t rain on his rollerblading date with Sassy.

Down a set of stone steps that descended from the cottage into the yard, he turned up a path to the right which led to the main house, then rang the bell at the side door, as his contract had instructed.

The tall black man he’d seen yesterday came to the door. Jay heard shouting coming from inside the house even before the door opened.

Meeting Jay on the stoop, the man frowned down at him. “Jay, right?”

Jay nodded. “Hey. I’m gonna be working with Sassy?” He tapped the contract in his hand. “Is Bodie around?”

The man nodded, looking grim, as Jay heard a deep male voice shouting inside.

“Tate,” he said, offering his hand, which Jay shook. “Things are a bit...chaotic inside at the moment. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to Bodie.”

Once inside the house, Jay recognized Sassy’s shrill voice in the distance.

‘
I don’t give a fuck! You’re not my father anymore so stop trying to act like you are!
’

‘
I don’t care what you think of me, Sassy!
’ a male voice shouted back, which Jay now assumed was Eben. ‘
You need to start acting your age. Look at this mess! What is
wrong
with you? You’re like an animal!
”

The voices were growing louder the farther in they got, but then Tate gently grasped Jay’s elbow and shifted them down a corridor to the right. “This way,” he said softly.

Tate opened a door and escorted Jay into a fancy sitting room he hadn’t seen before. Inside, slumped in antique looking chairs, were Bodie and a pretty blonde woman with a pixie cut. It took Jay a moment to recognize her as Evelyn. She looked different, more petite fully clothed than she had in her workout gear.

‘
I hate you! I wish I was never born! You—
’

Sassy’s voice was muffled out as Tate closed the door behind them. Jay looked over at Bodie, who smiled at him. Slumped back, his hips shifted toward the front of the chair so he was more lying in it than sitting, Bodie was even sexier than Jay remembered. His hair was tied back in a tousled ponytail, and he was wearing the jeans with the rip at the knee again. The maroon tee shirt he wore wasn’t quite as tight as the others Jay had seen him in, but he was no less gorgeous in it. “Hey Jay,” he said.

Jay nodded, then looked toward the window as thunder rumbled overhead.

Evelyn’s head fell back as she let out a laugh. “Welcome, Jay,” she said, looking up at him. “To the eye of the storm.”

Jay followed Tate’s lead and took a seat across from them, next to a gleaming piano. “What is going on out there?” Jay asked.

Bodie made a ‘come hither’ gesture to Jay with his fingers. It took Jay a moment to realize Bodie was asking for the contract he held. And not asking Jay to come sit on his lap or something. “Oh, here.” Jay stood and crossed the space between them, catching a whiff of Bodie’s cologne as he handed him the contract.

Bodie flipped through to the last page, nodding. “You signed,” he said, then looked up at Jay. “Good.”

Evelyn got up suddenly and went to the door, pressing her ear against it. “I think they stopped,” she said. “I don’t hear anything.”