Taming The Boss (Billionaires In The City Book 7)

by Crowe, Mallory

  “Paranoid and right.” She tapped him on the arm. “Now scoot.”

  He nodded in concession before he moved away and headed to the driver’s side. By the time he was there, Cali was in her seat and clicking in the seat belt.

  “Did you want to go back to Mary’s now or did you have anything else in mind?” he asked.

  Her lips tightened and he could see her raking over the options: go back to Mary’s where she was safe and secure, or use their time alone to talk to him about going back to New York. “We can drive around for a bit. I’m sure the water looks pretty at night.”

  Good. That would buy him a bit longer before he broke the news about her sleeping arrangements for the night. He pulled out of the restaurant and onto Main Street. “So I heard your car is going to be ready tomorrow.”

  “Finally. You’d think two flats would be a quick fix, but when insurance is involved, nothing is quick, you know? If I’d known it would’ve been this much of a hassle, I probably would’ve paid for everything without telling the rental company. Think they would’ve noticed two new tires?”

  “If it were my car, I would’ve. But I’m not sure how much attention those employees pay. You have enough extra cash lying around to cover something like that? New York isn’t cheap and I’m not betting on you getting two million any time soon.”

  Even though it was dark, he could still tell she rolled her eyes. “Your brothers paid me a very generous salary. I have a bit in savings.”

  “Paid? Past tense?”

  He could feel the tension increase and knew he struck a nerve. “After I bring you back, I won’t really need a full-time job for a bit. I’m going to take a break and reassess what I want.”

  “You don’t want to be an assistant for the rest of your life?”

  “I went into business because that was my only option. I grew up with nothing and I saw that as a steady, secure major that could take care of me. It was never a passion. I didn’t have the option to work on houses for the rest of my life.”

  He was taken aback by the undertones of bitterness. And this was why no one in West Bath knew who he really was. Because once people found out he had money, that was suddenly his defining characteristic. “So is that what you’d do if you got the two million? Work on fixing up houses?”

  Cali shrugged. “I’ve been so laser focused on doing well at DevX that I never stopped to think about what I’d do if I didn’t go down that track.”

  Of course she wouldn’t. She was the kind who would put her mind to something and get it done, no matter the consequences. It was one of the things he liked about her.

  And he did like her. He didn’t want to. It would be a hell of a lot more convenient if she was some brainless corporate drone. Not Cali. Not only did she have a solid head on her shoulders, but she had a body that wouldn’t get out of his fantasies and a work ethic that he could respect.

  It was a shame that this was one job she wasn’t getting done.

  “Do you want to see my current project?” he asked.

  “Like, the current place you’re fixing up?”

  “Yeah. It’s about twenty minutes outside of town. It’s in rough shape still, but you seemed interested at dinner.”

  “That sounds nice.”

  He smiled to himself, a bit too proud to be showing off his work, but he couldn’t help it. It was damn sexy that she was so interested in it.

  “Luke is really a nice guy,” said Cali, finally bringing up the issue that stood between them. “I don’t know exactly what happened with this girl, but considering that neither of you are with her now, was it really that big of a deal?”

  “She told me she was pregnant.” Silence hung in the air and he tried to read Cali’s reaction, but she stayed quiet, waiting for him to go on. “She told me she was pregnant and tried to get me to marry her. I promised I’d do anything for the baby and I’d be there as a father, but I wasn’t going to marry her out of obligation. So she went to Luke and told him he was the father. He proposed to her on the spot.”

  “But they never got married.”

  “Because it was a lie. I don’t know what her plan was to keep the charade going. Maybe she was trying to get pregnant or lying about birth control and hoping it would happen. Once Luke saw through her, the engagement was off and I haven’t heard from her since.”

  Cali nodded as she absorbed the information. “Don’t get me wrong, I can see how that’s bad. But to not talk to him for over a decade?”

  “He brought her to the funeral.”

  “Oh,” said Cali simply.

  There was nothing she could really say. The scene was burned into his mind. The worst day of his life, compounded by seeing Luke step out of the car with Lisa at his side. It was like being kicked when he was already down. Not only had he lost his parents, but the rest of his family had chosen sides.

  “What about Emma?” asked Cali. “She didn’t have anything to do with that.”

  “You know how it is with my family. You’re either all in or not in at all. Michael and Emma have always been loyal to Luke.”

  Cali sputtered. “Please! This isn’t a war where sides need to be drawn. They can be loyal to him and to you.”

  “I’m a different man than I was then. They don’t even know me.”

  “That’s the great thing about having a good family! They don’t care who you were or who you become. They’ll be there for you no matter what. That’s more than my family ever did for me.”

  “And what makes you so different from her? You’re just using me and my family to get our money.”

  “I’m being honest with you! Do you think I don’t know what it’s like to be used? My last boyfriend lied about everything. Every interaction we had was carefully orchestrated so he could find out more about your brother. And I bought it hook, line, and sinker. I gave him information. I gave him my body. I was completely fooled. So I understand, Rourke. But get over yourself and grow up.”

  Rourke slammed his foot on the brake and the truck came to a screeching halt on the deserted highway. “Who’s the guy?”

  “What?”

  “The guy who used you. What’s his name?”

  “That hardly matters now.”

  “It matters to me. Who is he?”

  Cali snorted as she turned to stare out the window. Rourke couldn’t tell whether she was crying and the idea of this guy upsetting her that much made his fingers dig into the steering wheel.

  “What does it matter to you?” she asked.

  “You matter to me.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I know enough.”

  “Then come to New York with me.”

  “No.”

  “Then there’s nothing more to say, is there?” She turned back to look him in the eye.

  “Fine,” he bit out as he pushed his foot down on the gas harder than intended. It shouldn’t bother him. She was right. Cali was nothing to him. He’d only met her a few days ago. What would he do if he found out who this son of a bitch trying to get the inside scoop on DevX Tech was? If he got involved in any way, that would just get him more invested in Luke’s life, and that was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

  He was silent as they finished the drive to his renovation property, not sure whether he was more pissed at Cali for not telling him who this guy was that made her life hell or at himself for caring so much.

  Rourke forced himself to calm down by the time they got to the house. There was nothing he could do about it now. “Here we are,” he said, wincing at how gruff the words sounded.

  He hopped out of the truck, but Cali was already opening her door and on the driveway by the time he was at her side.

  She looked up at the house and he tried to read her face to get her impression. Somehow her opinion was suddenly the most important thing.

  “This place is huge.”

  That didn’t really tell him one way or another what she thought. “It is big. The planning was horrible, t
hough. The bushes put in by the landscaper got too overgrown, but the owners never trimmed them back. Over the winters, snow would collect between the bushes and the wood siding. As the heat from the house would melt it and it would refreeze, it caused extensive damage on the entire outside of the house. The old owners bought it at the top of the market and were in the middle of massive renovations on the inside of the place when they found out about all the rot happening on the outside and walked away instead of finishing any of the renovations or fixing anything.”

  “They must’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” breathed Cali.

  “They weren’t smart about it. They bought the place for too much to begin with and after all the damages, they would’ve been out a bunch of money anyway. They probably had enough in investments and trusts that even if they foreclosed, the hit to their credit wouldn’t even make a dent. This wasn’t a personal loss. Just a business decision.”

  Cali wasn’t wrong about the place being huge. It was over ten thousand square feet and had over ten bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Even at the foreclosure price, it had cost him a big chunk. The outside didn’t look all that bad, but the moisture that had gotten into the walls was devastating and the mold damage was extensive. A lot of the work wasn’t anything he could do himself, but he had good relationships with the local contractors, so he knew he wouldn’t get ripped off and would get good deals.

  A cold breeze whipped through the trees that surrounded the property. There were so many, it was almost as if he and Cali stood in the middle of the forest. It would be a great sales feature when the house was put on the market. “Let’s get inside before you freeze to death.” He set a hand on the small of her back and had to hold back a satisfied grin when she didn’t swat him away.

  Unfortunately, he had to let her go when they reached the door and he fished the key out of his back pocket. He held the door open for her as she entered the dark entryway. “Hold up,” he said as soon as she was inside. “Let me get the lights.” He flipped the switch and the few bulbs still wired in lit up.

  “Oh wow. You weren’t kidding about the renovations.”

  Cali’s eyes traveled around the work in progress. The wall that separated the entryway from the first sitting area was torn down, just studs in its place. They could see straight through to the back of the house where there was a mixture of high-end finishes and barebones structures.

  But the real selling feature of the house was the lake view. He was looking into the cost benefit of adding a dock feature in the water, but even with only the view, it was breathtaking.

  The house was three stories tall, and the main living area was open for all three stories, allowing for a giant wall of windows. Each of the panes was around six feet tall, and the view of the bay was completely unobstructed by trees. The dim lights in the house combined with the moonlight reflecting off the water and gave the entire house a soft glow.

  “Are you sure you’re not going to move in here instead?”

  Rourke shook his head. “Nah. This place is pretty, but there’s nothing like your first.”

  Cali let out a sigh. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to leave. This place is beautiful.”

  He looked at the woman next to him, her face illuminated by the moonlight, and he had to keep himself from telling her that she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She ran her hands up and down her arms and he realized that she must be freezing. “Let me start up the fire.” He went to the wall opposite of the windows, where the gas fireplace was.

  “You don’t have to do that,” said Cali.

  “Well, do you have anywhere better to be?”

  “You know I don’t.”

  “Then I might as well make us comfortable here.”

  “Are we staying for a while?”

  “Until I manage to piss you off again.” He shot her a cocky grin over his shoulder.

  “So sooner rather than later?”

  The fire roared to life, the flickering glow licking over the large room. “Or, you know, later. Hold on.” Rourke stood. “I’ll be right back.” He ran out to his truck and pulled his emergency blanket out of the spot behind the driver’s seat before he ran back inside, where Cali was looking out at the water again. “There’s no furniture, but at least this way you can sit on the floor without worrying about a stray nail or anything. Construction isn’t the cleanest process.”

  “Well, aren’t you romantic.” Even so, once he set the blanket on the ground, she tugged on the corners closest to her to make it as straight as possible. “This is sounding more and more like a real date by the second.”

  “Can’t remember the last time I said no to someone this much on a date.”

  Cali bent down to take off her shoes before she sat on the blanket, wincing as she sat. “Not the most comfortable.”

  Rourke sat next to her on the blanket over the original hardwood in the house. “No complaining about the floors. These are one of the saving graces of the house.”

  “Not the view?”

  “That and the view.” He held out his arm to her. “Come here.” He half expected her to say no or move away, but instead she scooched closer and rested her head on his shoulder as they looked at the fire.

  Not that she was completely complacent. “Would be nice if it was wood-burning.”

  “I’m not replacing the fireplace.” Even though he agreed with her, the cost benefit of the renovation just didn’t make it worth it. Having a fireplace increased the value of homes by thousands of dollars, but switching from one type to another made almost no difference in price.

  “What are we doing here?” she asked quietly even as she snuggled closer.

  He leaned in and took a deep inhale, the smell of her shampoo somehow being the sexiest thing imaginable to him at the moment. “We are...” He trailed off. He didn’t know what to tell her. “Hanging out,” he finally supplied.

  She let out a snort. “My college boyfriend and I used to ‘hang out.’ Don’t think I don’t know what that means.”

  “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it.”

  “I see through your nefarious plan. Take me out to a romantic spot on the most uncomfortable seat in town to get me buttered up. Very smooth, Devereaux.”

  “We can leave if you want.”

  “Now I didn’t say that, did I?” she said softly.

  “Why didn’t you?” He didn’t know what he was doing, but she’d seemed pretty damn sure of herself from the second she’d pounded on his door. Why wasn’t she slapping him in the face and demanding he take her home?

  “I don’t know,” she said carefully. “I suppose because you feel good and I’m trying to take a bit of a mental vacation?”

  “That sounds like a bad reason.”

  “Do you think I should leave?”

  “Haven’t I been telling you that since you showed up in town?”

  “I mean right now. Do you think I should leave?”

  “I think...if you stay, I’ll show you a good time.”

  “A good time? How can a girl pass that up?” Even though the words sounded joking, she said it in a serious, almost somber tone.

  “There’s something between us,” said Rourke.

  “That doesn’t mean we need to be stupid about this. I mean—”

  But Cali never finished the thought. Because then Rourke was kissing her.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Cali tilted her head back and let Rourke kiss her. Thousands of thoughts rushed into her mind. Namely, the thousands of reasons she should stop this kiss and order him to take her back.

  But damn it, he felt good. He felt warm and secure and safe. But was safe a good enough reason to risk her entire reason for coming here? Just because she knew he wasn’t an asshole was no reason to climb into bed with someone. Or onto the floor with them, in this case.

  He tilted his head and kissed her deeper. Roughly.

  No. This wasn’t just about safety. She sure as hell didn’t f
eel like this when Easson kissed her. When anyone kissed her, for that matter. This was something deeper, more unique. Even if things couldn’t really go further between them, she wasn’t going to give this up.

  So, spurred on by a boost of confidence she’d never felt before, Cali cupped the back of Rourke’s neck and pulled him in close. Rourke felt the change and he became bolder with his kiss, his tongue teasing the seam of her lips as his hand traced the curve of her body until it came to a rest on her hip.

  His kisses trailed down, and she tilted her head back to give him better access to her throat as she ran her fingers over the sexy stubble along his jaw. Every touch of his hands or mouth sent sparks of pleasure shooting through her, and when Rourke nipped at the sensitive skin where neck met shoulder, she couldn’t hold in a little moan.

  The hand on her hip moved lower until he caught the hem of her skirt and pushed up. When his fingers hit the edge of her panties, he let out a little growl. One more reminder of just how wild the man in her arms was. Heat pooled low in her belly at the thought.

  Rourke pulled back and ripped his shirt off in one quick motion, setting it on top of the blanket before he gently pushed her back until she lay in front of him. He knelt on his heels toward her feet and Cali took the moment to fully appreciate the view. Rourke had finely tuned muscles from the manual labor he did; it obviously worked well for him.

  He set his palms on her ankles and widened her legs so he could fit between them. For the first time since they started kissing, a flash of worry shot through her. “What are you doing?” she asked nervously.

  Those dark eyes met hers, and he looked so confident that all of her concerns melted away. More than confident, he looked hungry. Hungry for her, and that was the hottest thing she’d ever seen.

  “Trust me.” His hands now snaked slowly up her legs.

  She leaned back as he pushed the skirt of her dress up higher and higher. And when his fingers hooked in the waistband of her panties, she lifted her hips, allowing him to pull them inch by delicious inch down her legs.

  Until they were completely off.

  Even though it was only one piece of clothing, she might as well be completely naked with how vulnerable she felt.