Taming The Boss (Billionaires In The City Book 7) (10 page)

“I’m going to kill you.” Cali stared at her neatly packed bag sitting on his porch.

“Just listen...”

“No. I tried listening, but all the words coming out of your mouth were too stupid for me to comprehend.” She couldn’t believe this entire time he’d been playing Mr. Charming on their date, he’d been scheming to move her out of Mary’s and into his place. “You must’ve been so fucking proud of yourself,” she muttered.

“It wasn’t like that.”

She turned around to face him, her arms crossed over her chest. “Well, make up your mind! Do you want to fuck me, carry me out of your town, or force me to move in with you? Because right now I’m so dizzy from watching you flip-flop back and forth that I can’t keep my head straight.”

He winced at her barb, but she’d been throwing him so many insults since he told her about his crazy deception, they were pretty much rolling off his back at this point. Which obviously meant she needed to think of better ones.

“Why don’t we go inside and talk about this?”

“Going to bring in your nice little sex blanket to calm me down?”

“You don’t have to sleep in the same room as me.”

“Pshhh...who needs a room? Got a fireplace?”

“This isn’t a sex thing.”

“No. This is you protecting me by somehow taking away my ability to, you know, make decisions for myself. If I can’t decide where is safest to sleep, why should I decide who to sleep with?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

She raised a brow at that statement.

“Someone tried to kill you!”

She rolled her eyes. “That wasn’t a big deal.”

“The guy was parked in the woods for hours waiting for you.”

“It could’ve just been some random redneck having fun with a tourist. You know that.” As confident as Cali tried to sound, she couldn’t help but think of the well-trained man who happened to have it out for her.

“Until we can verify that, I’m not going to let you out of my sight as long as I can help it. Besides, this way I can make sure you don’t cause me anymore trouble and people will firmly believe I didn’t dump you like the bastard you made me out to be.”

“You kidnapped me like the bastard I made you out to be.”

He pushed open the door. “Hey, you can leave any time you want. You just have to leave the entire town when you go.”

“Whatever,” she muttered as she moved past him and into the house he’d thrown her out of that first day here. Well, she hadn’t gotten far enough to be thrown out. Carried away from the house was more like it.

The house was mostly dark except for a light on in the kitchen. Instead of waiting for him to bring in her stuff, she walked straight to the back of the house.

“Are there any places in this town that don’t have a water view?” she asked bitterly.

“Plenty. I’ve just shown you the pretty ones.”

“Fine.” She circled the house. This was an older style that had originally consisted of a lot of closed-off rooms, but she was willing to bet Rourke had taken down a few walls. And, of course, it was beautiful.

Rourke said he got his kicks restoring houses, but he had a knack for decorating too. Each room was clean and modern looking, with one or two cottage touches. The main sitting area had two couches and a chair, making a U-shape with the seating, and even though none of the pieces were in a set, the entire room flowed together seamlessly.

“Do I need to take a couch or are there bedrooms upstairs?”

“There are five bedrooms upstairs. You can take your pick.”

Five bedrooms. Of course there were. Why would the house become any less charming now? She thought about asking him which one was his, but that didn’t seem like a safe topic of conversation at the moment. Instead, she headed up the wooden staircase. There were no pictures of anything on the walls, she noticed. Figured that a guy with no family wouldn’t have any mementos.

Upstairs was a thin hallway with multiple doorways. She’d have to just take her chances that she wouldn’t stumble into his room. She opened the first door on her right and let out a sigh of relief when she didn’t see any personal items to signal it was his bedroom. The bedroom was extremely charming. The quilt on the bed was a baby blue with delicate purple flowers around the border. Blue curtains tied in with the bed and complemented the light-colored hardwood floors and the cream-colored walls.

There was a chance this was even more charming than her room at Mary’s. Either way, she was going to work her damndest to make sure that she wasn’t staying here any longer than necessary.

“Does everything look all right?” asked Rourke from behind her.

She stiffened as she turned to see him leaning against the doorjamb. Even if something did look wrong, she wouldn’t feel comfortable telling him. The blood crept to her face as she thought of just how comfortable she’d been only an hour ago. She trusted him when she knew she shouldn’t. She opened herself up, taking a chance on the electric attraction between them.

And now he’d never come back with her to New York. The balance of power had shifted out of her control now. He had her backed into a corner, and she didn’t have any tricks up her sleeve to wiggle her way out of this one.

Not that she was giving up yet. They were at an impasse for the night, but she’d take this time to regroup and reassess. Tomorrow she’d be fresh and willing to put this embarrassment behind her. But she was becoming more and more convinced that she’d never get Rourke to reconcile with Luke.

She crossed to the doorway and met Rourke’s dark, questioning gaze. She could tell he was trying to see where he stood with her at the moment.

To answer, she shut the door in his face.

The next morning, Cali’s decision to retreat was solidified with seven simple words by Rourke. “Do you know who Easson Harper is?”

Any trace of sleep washed away from her face. It felt as though a bucket of cold water poured down on her. “Umm...who?” she stuttered out, hoping he would think her reaction had more to do with her just getting up than recognition.

“I think he’s the guy who shot at you. I found some shells in the woods off the highway and had the sheriff run prints on them and he’s the one who came up. Does the name sound familiar?”

Easson was here? Shooting at her? Why wouldn’t he kill her? Why wouldn’t he approach? “I’m assuming this isn’t some redneck local that you knew about already?”

“Never heard of him before.”

That would change. If the sheriff had run Easson’s prints, it wouldn’t be long until the FBI was here looking for him. Which meant Rourke would find out the truth about what Easson had been to her. Find out how stupid she’d been.

“Are you coming back to New York with me or not?” she blurted out. She needed an answer. There were no more games. No more trying to convince him to see reason. If Easson was here, she needed to leave. The longer he was here, the more people were in danger. People she wanted to keep safe, like Mary. And, even to some annoying extent, Rourke.

“You know I’m not going to do that.”

She nodded as he confirmed what she already knew. The two million dollars had been a nice thought, but it had just been a dream. Nothing that good came without hard work. At least not in her experience. No reason for that to change now.

So it was back to the original plan. She wasn’t going back to Luke. Especially not after sleeping with his brother. She’d have to update her resume and start shopping it around. She had a few connections in high places. Maybe she could make some phone calls too.

She looked Rourke over, trying to memorize every handsome plane of his face, because she doubted she’d ever see him again. He was shirtless, of course, wearing only a pair of gray pajama pants slung low on his hips. Not a bad last image to have. Even if she was pissed at him, it didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the view.

She’d already been down the road of trying to act as if she wasn’t much too attracted to him. Of course, he didn’t have to do anything to turn into the man of her dreams. On the other hand, she’d rebelled and refused to put on makeup that morning. If he wanted her here, he was getting her full, blemished glory.

But judging from the way his eyes had raked over her when she walked down, her passive-aggressive plan hadn’t worked all that well.

She tried to think of a way to tell him to go screw himself. To let him know she was done with his games. That he’d never have a chance to mess with her again.

Somehow the idea of admitting defeat out loud was so much harder than saying it to herself. She shook her head and turned around, heading back upstairs. She tried not to look out her bedroom window at the bright sun reflecting off the bay with the border of red and gold leaves making the scene even more picturesque.

She hadn’t unpacked, so gathering all her things took only a few minutes. Rourke must’ve had some idea of what was happening, because when she made it back to the kitchen, he was dressed in his normal jeans, paint stains and all, and a flannel shirt.

“Did you want some breakfast? I have some cereal or eggs. Or both if you want to be crazy.”

She knew if she ate with him, the lines would be blurred again. He’d make her laugh at something stupid, and she’d be transported right back to where they were the night before, sitting in front of that fire and forgetting the reasons they shouldn’t have done what they did.

“I think I’d like you to take me to get my car.” Immediately, she second-guessed her words. She should’ve been more assertive. Ordered him to take her to the shop to pick up her car. It was as though all of her skills in dealing with people—people in a male-dominated business no less—slipped away when she was with him.

He took a deep breath. “Cali, I—”

“Unless you’re about to tell me that you’re coming with me to New York, I really don’t want to hear it.” Her voice was steel, and she was proud of herself for finally coming together instead of acting like a smitten schoolgirl. “I’ll be outside.”

As she passed, he reached out to take her bags, but she pulled them closer toward her. “I’ve got it,” she insisted. No more playing the gentleman. No more acting as if there could ever be a friendly relationship between them.

The truck was locked when she reached it, but she didn’t mind waiting. She leaned against the old truck and crossed her arms over her chest. The truck was probably dirty, and her sweater was dry-clean only, but she just couldn’t bring herself to be that concerned about it.

Instead, she focused on all the things she’d have to do. She’d have to call Evelyn and let her know Easson had followed her to Maine. She’d have to try to think of the best way to make her “assistant” title seem attractive on her resume.

The front door slammed shut and Cali jumped at the sound. She looked to Rourke as he strode to the truck, and she tried to figure out whether he was upset or whether he’d accidentally slammed the door.

Though she had a feeling Rourke didn’t do many things accidentally.

She didn’t ask him about it as he climbed in the truck and unlocked her door. He’d given up on helping her with her bag. She threw it into the back of the cab and took her seat, pulling on the seat belt as Rourke backed out of the driveway.

“How did you convince Mary to turn on me anyway?”

“She’s a romantic. You got it into her head that this was true love and you’d come to track me down. It wasn’t a struggle to convince her that I wanted to surprise you with a romantic gesture of asking you to stay with me. Especially after she thought you’d been so rejected.”

“She’s seen too many romantic comedies,” grumbled Cali.

“She just wanted a happy ending.”

Cali bit back her retort. She wasn’t feeling too cheery at the moment. She felt like a pawn in a game she couldn’t hope to win. As if she’d just been sent back to Go and told not to collect her two million dollars.

They reached the auto shop in what seemed like record time. She didn’t know whether that made her happy or sad. As much as she wanted to be away from Rourke, it hurt her to think she’d never see him again. There was something so...magnetic about him. It was intoxicating, even if it wasn’t good for her in any way. Mainly mentally and economically.

Physically, being close to Rourke was fantastic for her. But she tried not to think about that.

“Thanks for the ride.” She added a bit of bite to the polite good-bye.

“Cali, I’m sorry,” he said as her hand was on the door.

A rush of emotion filled her. She wasn’t sure what emotion exactly, just a hell of a lot of it. Sadness. Anger. Bitterness.

She couldn’t turn to face him. She didn’t want to start crying and knew that if she had to see that frustratingly handsome face one more time, she’d completely break down. “If you were really sorry, you’d be coming back with me. But your anger at things that happened years ago is getting in the way of you ever feeling sorry for anyone but yourself. So why don’t you let me know when you decide to get out of your own way.”

“Last night wasn’t a game for me,” he said softly. “That was real.”

“I know.” And as much as she tried to convince herself that he was an evil mastermind conniving to get her naked, she was unable to think of their time in his renovation house like that. He’d just been too...selfless. Making sure she enjoyed herself. Making sure that she didn’t have to lie on the hard floor.

But even if he hadn’t crossed a line by moving her out of the inn without asking her, knowing that Easson was nearby made the idea of staying in town impossible.

“Good-bye, Rourke,” was all she could manage as she hopped out of the car and grabbed her bag. It was time to go back to New York and tell Luke about her failure.

~~~~~

Rourke stayed in the parking lot until Cali had her car and drove away. Even then, he had to clench his fists on the steering wheel to keep from going after her. He’d known she’d be upset about the sleeping arrangements, but he never expected this.

He thought she would hound him until she got him to go back with him, even if it took years. But she’d seemed so...defeated when she left. He wanted to pull her aside and tell her that last night had been mind-blowing and she could stay with him as long as she wanted.

Except she’d been right. He wasn’t sorry for what he’d done. For the same reason he wanted her to stay with him, he wanted her safe. If that meant taking away some of her free choices, he’d do it.

First step was to find out who the hell Easson Harper was. Had Rourke managed to piss him off somehow without realizing it? Or maybe he was after Cali and she didn’t know she was in danger.

He thought about it on his entire drive back and went to his favorite source of information: the Internet. He started out with a basic search for Easson’s name. It was unique enough that he was hoping he’d get some reasonable hits.

But the second he put Easson Harper’s name into the computer, the recent news articles just kept coming. Every single one had to do with Luke.