Tragically Flawed

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  “Please trust me. There’s one thing I want you to think about. Share your story with them. Show them your strength. You may be the one inspiration that pushes them on.”

  Riviera thought about it. If she could do that for just one person, group therapy would be totally worth it.

  *****

  It was six fifty-five in the morning and Riviera’s phone rang as she pulled into the driveway of her current project. She looked to see who was calling.

  Marsha Sue

  “Hi, Marsha Sue.” Riviera wished she could’ve started her day on a better note.

  “Where the hell are you?”

  “I’m walking in the door of the Arrowhead house.”

  “What the hell are you doing there?”

  Riviera huffed. “I’m here because it’s plainly written on my schedule, the one that you, may I remind you, made up for me.”

  “Don’t you dare get impertinent with me!”

  “Well, damn it, Marsha Sue, what do you expect?”

  “I’ll tell you what I expect. I expect you to do your damn job and you’re not doing it at the moment. You’re supposed to be doing the stenciling at the big house in Bachelor Gulch.”

  “No, that’s not on my schedule.”

  “Well, put it on your fucking schedule now!”

  “You put it on my fucking schedule, Marsha Sue! You’re the one who makes it up!” Riviera wanted to throw her phone out the window.

  “How dare you speak to me like that!”

  “Oh, I dare. And I dare even more than that. Listen to this, Marsha Sue. I quit!” Riviera screamed into her phone.

  “You can’t quit! I forbid you to quit.”

  “Excuse me? You don’t own me. You can’t forbid me to do anything!”

  “Now you listen to me, you little shit. If you quit, I’ll ruin you. I’ll destroy you. I’ll make ground meat out of you.”

  “It’s minced meat, Marsha Sue. And go ahead and try. Everyone in the whole damn county knows you’re nothing but a mean, spiteful cow. You can’t retain employees. It’s common knowledge. Go on and try to ruin me. I can’t begin to tell you how many job offers I’ve had in the last month. So just try.”

  Marsha Sue sputtered into the phone, not making a bit of sense. Riviera hung up on her.

  Her hands were shaking, she was so angry. Right now she needed to find Shan, but she didn’t know how. Why hadn’t she thought to get his mobile number from him? The only thing she knew to do was to drive around to all the houses with Shandon Homes signs and ask his men how to get in touch with him. It took her half the morning, but she finally found someone willing to help.

  “Lady, he’s gonna give me a huge butt-chewing, so as soon as he starts, I’m handing my phone to you.”

  “Fine. And thanks. I really appreciate it.”

  The guy was right. Riviera could tell immediately that Shan was pissed off about being interrupted. He held out his phone and she held it to her ear, hearing all sorts of crap. Then she started laughing.

  “Jeez, someone really must’ve gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. You sound almost as bad as Marsha Sue. I got the worst ass-chewing of my life from her this morning.”

  “Riviera? What’s going on?” Shan asked, confused.

  “I needed to chat with you, but I didn’t have your number. You wouldn’t believe what I’ve had to do to find you.”

  “Is everything okay?” Riviera sensed he was really concerned.

  “Shan, I’m fine. I just quit working for Marsha Sue, so I was trying to find you because I’m looking for a job.”

  Shan started laughing. “Well, all you need is a master key and go do your thing.”

  “Um, Shan, I’m gonna need a little more direction than that.”

  “Why?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes! Listen, I don’t have time for this right now. Where are you? Never mind, you’re with Phil so I know where you are. Why don’t you do a walk-through on that house and I’ll meet you at the diner in an hour? How’s that?”

  “Perfect.”

  “Then we can go over everything. But I need to warn you, Riviera. I’m hands-off. When I tell you to do something, you need to do it, and not ask me something every five minutes. If you think it’ll look good, go with it. See you in an hour.”

  She looked at Phil as she handed him the phone.

  “Is he hard to work for?” She needed to know.

  “Not if you know your shit, lady. If you don’t, you’re screwed. And you better be prepared ’cuz he’s a damn perfectionist if I ever saw one.”

  *****

  Riviera sat in a booth and admired Shan as he walked toward the diner door. He looked oh so fine in his snug jeans and tight black shirt. Her belly did a flip-flop as she watched him head her way. She was looking forward to seeing him in the summer months when he’d be tanned and wearing short sleeved T-shirts. He had some great ink that she sometimes found her eyes getting way too tangled up with.

  “Hey,” he said as he slid in across from her.

  “Thanks for meeting me.”

  “You might not be thanking me in a month or so.” He grinned and she swallowed. Every time she saw him, the attraction between them got thicker, denser, almost tactile.

  “Shan, you can’t just say, ‘Do what you want.’ I’ll need themes from the owners. If Marsha Sue is doing the design, then you’ll need to tell her all the painting will be handled by me. You understand why, don’t you?”

  “Of course. I didn’t think of that. So just tell me what I need to do with her, and it’ll be done. I’ll have my admin send the letter with everything spelled out for her.”

  “Excellent.”

  “What precipitated this?”

  “She accused me of being at the wrong place and not following my schedule. I follow the schedule she sets up. She put the blame on me. Ugly words were exchanged and I quit.”

  He gave her an admiring grin. “Good girl. I hated that you worked for her. But I’ll admit, I can be an ass too.”

  “Yes, but are you Lucifer?”

  “I’ve been called worse.”

  Riviera laughed.

  “There’s something I’d like for you to do for me. Prioritize your homes, so I know which ones I need to bust it on.”

  “Fair enough. You know where my office is, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll call Janet, my admin, and let her know you’re on the way. She knows which ones are high priority. The two of you can work together and get everything straight, just the way you want. Riviera, I’m going to have some very pleased homeowners.”

  She grinned and he jerked in his pants. His eyes widened at the uncommon reaction. Their eyes caught each other’s and his body instantly heated. His hand inched across the table until it found hers, and he gently lifted it high enough so he could slip his beneath hers. He slid his thumb between her pinky finger and the one next to it and rubbed the soft spot next to her knuckle. Her fingers tightened against his hand and he smiled, but when her thumb rubbed a tiny circle in the underside of his wrist, he nearly came unglued.

  “Riviera,” he breathed.

  “Yeah,” she breathed back.

  “That wasn’t meant to be answered.” He smiled again.

  The waitress walked up with their food, interrupting their exchange.

  Riviera felt confused by her reaction. The heat she was experiencing was so foreign to her. And the way she ached had her crossing and uncrossing her legs.

  “Everything okay over there?” Shan asked.

  “Er, yeah. Why?”

  “You haven’t touched your omelet.”

  The truth of it was her appetite had taken a hike straight on up that mountain behind the diner and had been replaced by a somewhat rather disturbing and fierce need to get laid.

  She stared at his mouth as he spoke and wondered why she’d never noticed before how seductive a man’s mouth could be. Shan�
�s was perfect. His full bottom lip was especially enticing, but his top lip made her want to crawl across the table, sit in his lap, and suck the damn thing. Riviera chastised herself for having such naughty ideas, especially with her new boss at their first business meeting.

  “Yes, I was just thinking about how Marsha Sue was going to take this news,” she blurted out, trying to cover up her thoughts.

  His raised brows let her know he didn’t buy it one bit.

  “Hmm. Thinking about Marsha Sue, huh? Then I must admit, for a minute there, I wanted to be her.”

  Now Riviera was confused. “What do you mean?”

  “I wish I could create a look on your face like Marsha Sue just did.”

  Riviera’s jaw dropped open as her skin colored fuchsia.

  Shan instantly felt like a heel for embarrassing the poor girl. But damn, he thought, he couldn’t help himself. She’d been devouring his lips with her eyes and it took every bit of his self-restraint not to leap across the table and kiss the hell out of her.

  “Please forgive me, Riviera. That remark was unprofessional. Here we are, having a business meeting, and I’m making unprofessional comments like that. What kind of boss does that?”

  She raised her eyes to meet his and saw the twinkle in them, and then started laughing.

  Shan relaxed as he saw her posture ease. “So, speaking of Marsha Sue, what do you think she’ll say?”

  Laughter bubbled from Riviera. Damn, he loved the sound of it.

  Her eyes danced and she rubbed her hands together. “She’s gonna throw a conniption fit.”

  “A conniption fit?”

  “Yeah,” she said excitedly.

  Shan laughed.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I’ve just never heard it put like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “A conniption fit.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Well, a conniption is a fit, so that’s like saying a conniption conniption, or a fit fit.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. It’s repetitive.”

  “Oh my God. I’ve been saying that my whole life. I’m such a moron!” She slapped her palm against her forehead.

  Shan laughed. “I don’t think one error qualifies you as a moron. So you think she’s gonna throw a fit?”

  “Oh yeah! I wish I could witness it too,” she said, her eyes bright.

  “Not me. I can’t stand that woman. That’s the last thing I’d want to see.”

  “Why do you give her so much business, then?”

  Shan swallowed his bite of eggs and answered her. “With Marsha Sue, I know the job’s gonna get done on time. I don’t have to worry about anything. I have way too much on my plate to worry about that crap. I turn it over to her and it’s all taken care of.”

  “Yeah, she is good like that.”

  “You know something, Riviera? You could do the same thing. You could hire a team of workers and do exactly what she does.”

  “I don’t have her eye.”

  “You have some of it. And you could hire a designer for the part you don’t have. You could steal every last drop of her business. She basically works for me. I’d push all my stuff to you.”

  Riviera shook her head. “Uh-uh. I’m so not ready for anything like that. I have too much shit going on …” She almost started talking about her issues before she realized what she was saying.

  “Yeah? Too much of what?”

  “Nothing. Never mind. Anyway, I’m way too new to this to bite something off that huge.”

  “I understand. Perhaps one day. And when that day comes, you let me know.”

  Chapter Eight

  Rattling The Chain

  “So you know about the auction for Shelby’s Shack? Well, Shandon Homes is sweetening the pot even further with an added $10,000,” Amie announced.

  “Wait! What are you talking about? What’s this about Shandon Homes and the auction?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “Know what?”

  Amie looked at Riviera and laughed. “You know, even though you’ve only lived here almost five months, I feel like you’ve been here forever. Here’s the deal. Shandon Homes, your esteemed employer, is donating the brand new home to be auctioned off for the fundraiser.”

  Benjamin Shandon had just moved up about one thousand notches in Riviera’s mind. Her smile spread from ear to ear.

  “Wow, what’s that glowing display of pearly whites all about?”

  “I’m just impressed with my boss, is all.”

  Amie eyed her for a minute. “You know, if I were a betting girl, I’d bet that you were a little more than impressed with him.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that you, my bestie, are moving down the road to recovery!”

  Riviera’s honey-brown eyes hardened and her body curved into itself. “There will never be another man in my life, Amie.”

  “Oh, Riv, please don’t say that. Look at you. You’re a prize. I mean, the very best prize of all. Don’t let what happened to you with one man ruin the rest of your life and a chance at happiness with another.”

  “One man,” she whispered. “I wish that was all it was.”

  “Riv? Talk to me.”

  Riviera walked into her bedroom and shut the door.

  *****

  Putting the finishing touches on an adorable fantasy-world mural in a child’s bedroom, Riviera stood back to check her work.

  “You think you’re really something, don’t you, now that you’re working for Shan?”

  Riviera was startled and turned to see Marsha Sue sneering at her.

  “No, actually, Marsha Sue, all I ever wanted to do was work and make an honest living. But you were impossible.”

  “Huh! You were the impossible one. But don’t you worry. You think you have Shan to protect you, but there are other ways to ruin you. I’ll find a way. I’m quite resourceful, Riviera.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “Hardly. I don’t threaten. I only promise. Remember to watch your back, Riviera. You never know who will be around to stab it.” Marsha Sue spun around and stomped out of the house.

  Riviera leaned against the doorframe to breathe. Marsha Sue had rattled her more than she’d thought possible. Why couldn’t people be kind? Why did they have to be mean and cruel? She would never think of doing anything so ugly to anyone. Why did she seem to end up in these predicaments?

  Sighing, she walked back to her mural and smiled. Whoever was moving in here, she hoped it would bring happiness to that child. Riviera thought about her own childhood and such drastic heaviness filled her heart, she nearly staggered beneath its weight. She covered her ears as voices from buried memories filled her ears. Her breath came in gasps as she fought to rid herself of them. It had been a while since one of those vivid gut-wrenching scenes had forced its way out, but she was determined not to let it succeed.

  But again, she failed miserably. The only thing Riviera had ever wanted was to be loved. She wanted to experience the feeling of knowing someone cared enough for her to protect her from harm. It never happened in her childhood, for her parents were more concerned about their drugs and a free place to live. And it certainly hadn’t happened with Jasper.

  Whenever one of those episodes hit her, she’d curl up into a tight ball until it passed.

  That’s how Shan found her, later that evening. She must’ve fallen asleep. Her car was in the driveway, but the house was dark. Dusk had fallen and he’d been concerned. He’d known she was almost finished with the child’s mural, so he headed directly for that room and found her on the floor, in the fetal position, fast asleep.

  He was conflicted about waking her because she looked so peaceful. The creases usually present in her forehead and around her mouth were absent. Her hand was tucked beneath her neck and her other one was fisted against her chest. He smiled when he noticed her hair. She’d added some more pale blue t
ints to it and had it fixed in random thin braids. Shan thought he’d never seen a lovelier sight.

  Placing a hand on her shoulder, he said, “Riviera? Wake up.”

  He wasn’t prepared for her wild reaction. At first she screamed, and then she started begging. “No, don’t. Please don’t to that to me. I don’t want you to touch me.”

  Shan knew she was trapped in a dream, but she sounded so pitiful, he wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her everything was okay.

  “Riviera, wake up.” He shook her again.

  “Please don’t make me go there, Mommy!” she whined.

  Her whimpering disturbed Shan and made him curious as to what the hell she was dreaming about. “Hey, Riviera, come on, honey. Wake up!” He shook her harder.

  She jerked and opened her eyes. When she saw Shan over her, she immediately sat up. “Good lord, what time is it?”

  “About seven thirty. Looks like someone’s been sleeping on the job,” he joked.

  Laughing, but sounding a bit shaky, she said, “Yeah, I guess.”

  Shan looked at her face and decided to be blunt. “Hey, have you been crying?”

  Riviera took her shirtsleeve and swiped it across her face. “Naw. I’m just tired.”

  “You can talk to me. Please trust me, Riviera.”

  Her head dropped and she asked, “With what?”

  “The truth. With what’s going on. I’m a good listener.”

  “Hey, Shan, so am I. Why do you work like your hair’s on fire?”

  His entire demeanor shifted as his eyes morphed into chips of ice.

  “Fire’s a very bad word in these parts, Riviera,” he said, clipped.

  “Sorry,” she whispered. “Um, thanks for waking me up.” She packed up her supplies and moved to the door. He was blocking her exit and wouldn’t budge.

  “Excuse me.”

  “Why were you crying, Riviera?”

  “Please don’t ask me that.” Her eyes pleaded with him.

  “Fair enough. But someday, you’re going to tell me. And then I’m going to kiss you.”

  “Why do you have to wait for me to tell you before you kiss me?”

  “Because I want to know all of you, Riviera, every single bit. By the way, the mural is phenomenal.”