by Tia Siren
I looked down and noticed that I was still lying on top of her, so I pulled myself to my feet and reached down, taking her hand. She stood up and dusted herself off before walking over and picking up her helmet and clipboard. She turned back to me and looked from side to side, making sure no one had seen what had just happened between the two of us. The last thing we needed was for someone to have walked over and caught us lying on the ground staring into each other’s eyes. There would be little either of us could say to make any sense out of it.
“That was close,” I said. “I’m glad I was out here with you.”
“Me too,” she said, wiping dirt from her pants. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” I smiled. “Just another day on the site, building houses and saving damsels in distress.”
“Right.” She laughed. “I hope that isn’t a normal occurrence here.”
“Not many damsels,” I said. “So, I was wondering, what do you think your dad would do if he found out we had slept together? Would it be as bad as I’m thinking?”
“Probably worse,” she said. “He would probably skin you alive. I am his only child and a girl, so he is on, like, protective overload when it comes to me. I had to go stag to prom because he wouldn’t let me go on a date.”
“Seriously? Skin me alive?”
She chuckled. “Yep.”
“Who knew I was that forbidden,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m touched by it though. I can tell he really sees me as someone important.”
“For some reason, I don’t think it’s love for you.” She laughed.
“Oh, that’s right. I’m the roughneck, and you are the princess,” I said. “For a second, I felt really important.”
She laughed and shrugged her shoulders, looking over at Bill coming out of the trailer. She turned back to me and held up the clipboard, letting me know she had to get back to work. I wasn’t ready to let the conversation go though. I felt kind of insulted by the fact that her father would do anything he could to keep her away from a guy like me. As if I was the worst she could end up with. In my book, being with some stuffed-shirt douchebag who was all about money and cheated on women would be much more of an insult to her virtue, but I guessed when you were rich, you wanted rich to stay in the family. I felt up for the challenge, though, and I wanted to go out of my way to prove everyone wrong, just like with my business goals. No one thought I would ever own a hardware store, which was half the reason I worked so hard at it. This felt like the same kind of thing, only the prize at the end was a beautiful woman.
I may have grown up poor, without the newest clothes, the newest gadgets, or the best car, but I knew how to treat a woman. If my mother taught me anything, it was that. She never let me think that settling was okay, and she ground into me that I was capable of anything I set my heart on. My heart, this time, was set on Cassie, and there was no one in this world that was going to sit there and tell me I wasn’t good enough for her because my bank account didn’t read in the millions of dollars. If Cassie wanted to be with me, and I wanted to be with her, there was nothing I was going to let stand in our way of that, especially not when it came to some corporate rich-guy mentality and whether I was high enough in society for their liking.
“Hey,” I said before Cassie could walk away. “I’ll see you at the bar on Friday night.”
“You will?”
“Yeah, I will,” I said in an commanding tone. “You’ll be there at seven to meet me.”
“Right,” she said with a smile.
She turned and walked toward the office trailer, looking back at me and shaking her head. She liked it when I took control, and I liked the way she made me feel when she bit her lip and looked at me that way. I went back to work, busting through the rest of the day and heading home to get cleaned up. Afterward, I met Landon at the bar for drinks.
“Hey, man,” he said, shaking my hand. “Good to see you in one piece and all cleaned up.”
“Yeah, for me too,” I said, thinking about the crane from earlier.
“So, what’s up? You look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” he said and laughed.
“Mostly the same old thing except I met a girl. Her name is Cassie,” I said, leaving out the fact that she was my boss’s daughter. “We, uh, met at the bar Friday night, had some mind-blowing sex, amazing conversation, and, yeah, a change of pace for me I guess.”
“Dude, that is awesome,” he said. “It’s about damn time you got laid. You seriously were in the most epic drought of all time, and to make it worse, you were doing it to yourself.”
“Yeah, well, I hadn’t met anyone who really peaked my interest enough to take home. These girls are all looking for a husband, and I have other things going on.”
“Well, either way, maybe now you can loosen up a little bit and stop being so serious all the damn time.” He chuckled. “I was starting to think you had lost your touch.”
“Nah. I’ve still got it,” I said.
“I can see that, dude.” He smiled and nodded his head. “So, tell me about this chick. Is she hot?”
“Holy shit, dude,” I said, shaking my head. “She has these curves that could kill, and her eyes are this magnificent green color. Her body moved like nothing I have ever seen before. Seriously, she was fucking captivating. It’s no joke. And she is funny as hell and appreciates my sense of humor, which is a first for girls in this town. She’s a rich girl, though, so I guess she really isn’t from the town. She’s here at home on her summer break, and it was completely unexpected. I didn’t see it coming at all. One minute we were talking, and the next minute we were at my house having fucking hot, mind-blowing sex everywhere.”
“Wow,” he said, looking at me strangely. “She sounds like the kind of girl I want to meet.”
“Yeah, except your bullshit lines would never work on her,” I said, laughing. “She’s too smart for that.”
“Hey, my lines are sweet,” he said. “They have rarely failed me—at least in the short term.”
“The long term is when you get the black eye.”
“Not this time. This time I ducked, and let me tell you, that redhead, she has a mean streak in her like nothing I’ve ever seen. Afterward is the best, though, because make-up sex with a crazy fire-hair is out of this fucking world,” he said. “But, man, I am happy you met this girl. It sounds like you are really into her. I mean, I haven’t heard you talk about anyone like that the entire time I have known you.”
“Huh?” I said, looking over at him. “No, man, it’s not like that. I’m just having some fun with a chick who’s looking for the same thing; that’s all. You have to remember, I have my eyes on the prize. I have goals I’m trying to reach, and I am not going to let any girl distract me from them. I can’t be the guy who raises a generation of construction workers. It’s just not for me. I’m going to make this shit happen, and no one is going to turn me from that.”
“I don’t know,” he said, sipping his beer. “From the way you’re talking, it sounds like she already has.”
Chapter 10
Cassie
When I first got back home and started working at the company, the days flew by. I was excited about learning everything I could about the business and thinking about my future working there. Lately, though, the days felt like they were going by at a glacial pace, especially when I had something to look forward to on the weekend. Scott had pretty much told me I was going out with him on Friday night, and though normally that show of masculinity would make me cringe, with him it was sexy, and I couldn’t resist it. Until then, I had to make my way through the backward-spinning clock that was mounted in my father’s office.
I was starting to feel like I was going out of my mind. The normal draw of my parents’ huge house, the pool, the maids, and the shopping was not interesting me anymore. I would go home, eat dinner, and then hide away in my room, pretending like I was exhausted from a day at work. In reality, I was lying there staring at the ceiling, thinking about Scott and the
time we had spent together. I didn’t want a distraction, but it looked like I had walked straight into one without any thought on the matter at all. And worst of all, I wasn’t regretting it in the least, not one little bit. In fact, I found myself wishing it was even more available.
I wanted to spend more time with Scott, to have the freedom to have him around me whenever I wanted. I wanted to take the summer and spend it with him instead of that dusty worksite. But that wasn’t an option both because I had to finish my internship and because he had to go to work. He didn’t have the luxury of being a financially free college student like I had for several years. He didn’t know what it was like not to worry about bills or having anything he wanted or needed, but I did, and it kind of made me feel bad. I hadn’t ever thought about it until I met him, but my eyes were starting to open, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
I had never dated anyone seriously, and the few guys I went out with did not make me want to go out with them again. I spent my whole life around pompous rich guys. The last thing I wanted to do was date one, but that seemed to be the only kind of guy to pay me any attention, except Scott. I was really turned on by the fact that we had this secret little fling going on. Everything that happened was between the two of us, and no one else had any say in it, at least for the time being. It was completely between us, and the sneaking around felt naughty but in a good way, a way that made me hot in places I didn’t know could get that way.
At the same time, though, I was under a lot of pressure to be the woman my father expected me to be. His expectations were tough, and they included finding a man who was of the same caliber as him in both stature and financial stability. There was no crazy arranged marriage or anything, but for my father to be okay with me dating someone, they would have to pass a lot of rigorous checkpoints in my father’s mind—checkpoints that a man like Scott couldn’t stand up to. That wasn’t fair, but it was the way it was. I was scared about what might happen if my father found out I was seeing Scott. Chances were he would not be too happy about it.
“You ready for the meeting?” my father said, poking his head into his office door. “We’re all ready to go.”
“Yeah,” I said, gathering my things and heading out to the conference room.
I sat down in the chair next to my father and pulled out my notebook, figuring I would try to look interested in what was going on. Sitting in that meeting was miserable, though. Everyone in the room was the typical corporate asshole I was starting to hate more and more every day. I had never noticed it before I met Scott, but I was surrounded by men like that, and I would have to sit through meetings with them the entire summer during my internship with the company. My dad wanted me to attend every meeting they had, especially the ones involving the engineers. He wanted me to understand every aspect of the company. When I graduated college, I would be working with the engineers since that was what my degree was in. When my father finally retired, I would end up being the owner and CEO of the company.
The main purpose of my internship was for the engineering side of things, but my father thought it would be the perfect time to see the whole of the company. That was why he put me with a foreman and not with the engineers. I still did some stuff with them, but he was hell-bent on making sure I could handle and understand every aspect of the company. My mind, though, was nowhere near where it needed to be to meet his expectations. The engineers at the meeting started discussing future plans for the company, and I completely blanked out. Instead of focusing on what they were saying, my mind was completely devoted to Scott.
I was meeting him at the bar the next night, but I was hoping we would do something other than just getting hammered. Of course I was interested in going back to his place, but part of me wanted to spend some normal time with him too. My mind went through all the possible things we could end up doing, and I was so focused on those thoughts that I hadn’t even heard my father asking me a question in the middle of the meeting.
“Cassie,” he said, smiling at the others awkwardly.
“What? Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, snapping out of my trance.
“It looks like someone has been working a little too hard out there on the site.” He laughed, everyone else joining in. “That’s what we do here, though; we work until our brains shut down.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “What did you ask?”
“I asked how the plans were coming along and if we had made up any of the time we lost last week?”
“Things are looking really good out there,” I said. “All the safety regulations are up to par. There are few blind spots on the site, but we are still at zero for the number of injuries for this project. As far as the timeline, thanks to the allotted overtime and a couple extra-hard-working guys out there, we have managed to get back the whole day we were behind. Right now, we are sitting even-keeled going into the second half of the second month of the project.”
“Excellent,” my father said.
He went on with the meeting, and I made sure I paid attention for the rest of it. The worst thing I could do was make my father look bad, especially when everyone knew I was the future of the company. I needed to get through the day and use my off time for daydreaming, which was easier said than done. When everyone left the conference room, my dad walked over and put his hand on my shoulder, looking at me with concern.
“You all right?” he said. “You were incredibly distracted during the meeting.”
“Yeah,” I said, letting out a deep breath. “I didn’t sleep well last night for some reason. My head has been foggy all day, and I can’t seem to kick it.”
“We all have days like those,” he said. “You aren’t used to putting in these long days in the hot sun. I’m sure this weekend you can go relax by the pool, get some good rest, and come back Monday refreshed and ready to go.”
“I’m sure that will do the trick.” I smiled, thinking about Scott.
“How about you and I go grab some lunch before you head out to the site?”
“That sounds great,” I said. “I’m starving.”
We headed out to the restaurant, taking my father’s limo. I sat across from him in the car, staring out the window as he took a phone call. My mind went directly back to Scott, and it stayed there until we pulled up in front of the restaurant. We went inside and had a seat at my father’s usual table. I ordered a water and a salad for lunch, and my father did the same, only his drink of choice was a glass of whiskey. I was half-tempted to order one too, but I wasn’t sure how he would react, so I stuck with the water. It probably wouldn’t have been a good idea to drink before going onto the site anyway. During lunch, my father took several phone calls like usual. There were a couple from the residential site and the others from projects that were currently in the planning stages.
“I agree,” he said pleasantly. “Bill, you are doing a fantastic job, and I trust your judgment when it comes to the crew. If they aren’t pulling their weight, and you have given them ample chances to, which knowing you, you have gone above and beyond, then let them go.”
I smiled at my dad, thankful he was having a good conversation with Bill. He liked that man and he trusted him, which was more than I could say for most of the people my father worked with. He kept most everyone in the company at arm’s length and took care of most issues personally.
“Great, Bill,” he said. “Hey, I’ll give you a call later on. I have a call coming in from the New Brunswick project.”
“Hello?” he said, switching lines. “Tell me you have the signature. What do you fucking mean you didn’t get it? What did I hire you to do? Not sit around on your ass and let things slip through your fingers.”
I looked around the room, slightly embarrassed by my father’s tone. After all these years, though, I was used to him blowing up on people over the phone. If you weren’t someone inside his inner circle and you screwed up, you were going to get it, and get it good. No matter how used to it I was, though, I couldn’t help bu
t wonder what kind of reaction my father would have if he found out about Scott and me. Scott would not handle this side of my father very well, and it wouldn’t be fair to him to have to handle that. My father was a difficult man at times, and the only reason I saw the softer side more than not was because I was his little girl. He had more patience with me than the entire company combined, but that didn’t mean it would transfer over to Scott if he found out we were seeing each other.
I sat there holding my hands tightly in my lap, listening to my father lose it on the guy on the other line. I couldn’t let that happen to Scott. I already cared too much about him and what we had. Maybe the best thing I could do was not show up at the bar Friday night. It might just save his job and his future.
Chapter 11
Scott
I had been nervous all day about the bar that night, barely even able to focus on my work, unlike the days before where I was pushing through at record speed. I didn’t see Cassie but in passing and decided not to ask about whether she would be there or not. I got there early and took a shot, trying to calm my nerves. As I sat there sipping my beer, I watched the clock hands tick down. She knew I would be here, and she knew when I would be here, but still, she wasn’t anywhere in sight. Maybe I was stupid for thinking something like this could work. I had given her too much time between telling her when to meet and the actual meet-up. It looked like she was going to stand me up, and that was a blow to my ego and my heart. I had taken a chance and put it out there, feeling there was a reason I’d met this girl. There was a reason she was there around every corner, and there was a reason she was stuck in my brain everywhere I went. Apparently, though, I misread those signs and found myself sitting alone drinking on a Friday night, feeling more than sheepish.
I turned back toward the bar and drank my beer, figuring maybe it was all for the best. Things were starting to get intense, and knowing who her father was, I was playing with fire. Everything could come crumbling down on us in the blink of an eye if I didn’t stop being so reckless. Still, I was willing to take that chance for her, to try to make it work and prove I was good enough to be with her. I guessed, since she didn’t show up, she didn’t feel the same way. The risk was too high for her, and I had to try to understand that. Besides, she knew her father better than anyone. She knew exactly what he was capable of, and I figured if I were her, I might make the same decision. She had things to lose too, like her family, her internship, and her relationship with her father. She was in line to take the company one day, and that was not something she should gamble with.
