The Last Tailored Suit
By Nicolette Pierce
Published by Nicolette Pierce at Smashwords.
The Last Tailored Suit is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Nicolette Pierce
Cover design by Lan Gao
All rights reserved.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedication
To my sister, Katie, who reads my books then asks when the next will be out.
You’re quite awesome.
You must get that from your older sister.
Whoever that might be.
Oh, right. That’s me.
Love you!
Acknowledgements
I want to thank the many talented writers at Moraine Writers Guild. They’ve helped me transition from first-person to third-person writing. I survived every informative critique without a single bruise. I hope this novel reflects how much I’ve gained from their knowledge. A special thank you to Bob Chesney, Lisa J. Lickel, Jane Osypowski, and David J. Rank.
To Amber Barry, who has to make sure I actually switched from first to third, thank you! You’re so good I know you’ll catch all of the slip-ups, plus the horrendous hacks I inflict on the English language.
Judy Hanson. What can I say? You’re my mom, and I always give you a deadline worse than my own. You’re stuck with me and my demands. Thank you for not trying to ground me or cut me out of the will. I value your opinions and your help. Thank you!
And, most importantly, to my readers! Thank you for taking a chance on me.
Books by Nicolette Pierce
Mars Cannon Novels
Deadly Dancing
Predator Patrol
Security Squad
Biker Brigade
Nadia Wolf Novels
The Big Blind
High Stakes
Cashing Out
Squeeze Play
Nadia Wolf Character Novels
The Last Tailored Suit
My Traitor
Please visit Nicolette on her website at:
www.nicolettepierce.com
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Books by the Author
Visit the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 1
“Have you heard that she’s engaged?” Remy asked warily, taking a swig of beer.
Greyson barely nodded. “Yeah. I heard.” He stretched his tired legs in front of him, staring out at his disheveled landscape baking under the midday Las Vegas sun. His backyard was in a constant state of change. It had started with a shovel and a sleepless night and was now on its way to becoming a garden filled with surprises — surprises that had been designed with Nadia in mind.
And now she’s engaged to Caleb.
If he didn’t actually like the man, he’d have let his temper take control, flown to Paris or wherever the hell they were now, and punched him. But, as it was, he did like Caleb. And he wanted the best for Nadia. If that meant the two of them sharing a life, then he would accept it. Grudgingly.
Dammit!
It was going to take another sleepless night of gardening to get her out of his mind . . . again. Not that she had ever been completely out to begin with.
“You okay?” Remy asked. He sucked down the rest of the beer and waited.
Greyson had to chuckle — a sound he hadn’t made for weeks. Remy looked thoroughly uncomfortable about the prospect of talking. “I’m fine,” Greyson finally said, letting Remy off the hook.
Remy grunted.
“What?” Greyson asked.
“That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard. You have a grizzly beard, and there are dark, saggy bags under your eyes. You look like shit.”
Greyson smiled ruefully. Remy wasn’t one to mince words. He was brutally honest. “Would you believe I’m better?”
“I might believe that,” Remy said with a small shrug. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Is that why you’re here?” Greyson asked. “Are you checking up on me?”
Remy’s large hand slid over his shaved head. “I heard the news and thought you might be wallowing in your garden.”
“I don’t wallow.”
“No, but I know you,” Remy said.
“That still doesn’t mean I wallow.”
“No, but you might wrap yourself up in a project and forget about life around you. Don’t forget the many years I worked for you. There were times when you were so focused on the job at hand, I couldn’t even reach you.”
Greyson didn’t need the reminder. He relived those days over and over again. Shovel after shovel, he remembered. Remy had been his right-hand man then. If he couldn’t break through, how could Nadia have?
“I haven’t forgotten anything,” Greyson said. “In fact, my project has grown. I plan to bring life here.”
“I’m not talking about flowers,” Remy stated with a frown, as though flora was the bane of man’s existence.
“I don’t mean flowers,” Greyson said. “I’m turning the house into a bed and breakfast.”
Greyson had come up with the plan last week. The “house” was actually a sprawling three-story mansion that he’d come to hate. Well, perhaps hate was too strong a word. But he’d never loved the house, not in the sense that it was his home. It had always been just an address, and then it became a reminder of Nadia and his past life wearing suits. Suits he no longer wore. His CEO days were behind him.
It was time to move on.
He would create a luxury retreat. A haven for those needing an escape from the realities of life for a day, a week, however long they wanted to stay. Once it was operational, he would sell it for a tidy profit. Not that he needed the money, but it would free him to start over again somewhere else.
That was the plan.
And if not for the empty pit in his stomach, he’d be excited.
“A bed and breakfast?” Remy cocked a brow.
“Yes. I’ve hired a manager to deal with the start-up.” It was something he’d had to do. Greyson had every skill to open the bed and breakfast on his own, but he didn’t want any part of office work anymore. That was how his life fell apart
the first time. The new manager could handle the paperwork, and Greyson would focus on finishing the extensive ten-acre garden. “She’s starting today. In fact, I expect her any minute.”
Remy’s mouth twitched.
“What?” Greyson asked.
Remy held up his hands as his smile grew. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about the last two managers you hired. They both tried to kill you.”
“I admit I’ve recently had bad luck when it comes to hiring,” Greyson said dryly. “But this time I had someone else do it for me.”
When Greyson had sought out the recruiter, he had the same fear. He didn’t want a repeat of his last experiences. It was no wonder Nadia didn’t want him. He brought her nothing but problems. Between his own off-kilter employees and his brothers’ antics, no woman was safe around him.
And to be honest, he didn’t care who the manager was as long as the job got done. He had no intention of sticking around anyway. Let the new owner deal with staff.
Remy stood to leave. “David has been begging to go out and grab a drink.”
“I heard,” Greyson replied with a smile only a mischievous brother could have. “Mya’s in the process of turning one of the guestrooms into a nursery.”
“It’s turned into a giant production. Even Frankie and Mark are involved. We should probably be nice and let the guy out for a night.”
“I think he should suffer just a few more nights,” Greyson said, having no qualms about leaving his brother hanging.
“That’s cruel, man,” Remy said with a deep chuckle.
“I’m not so cruel as to leave him hanging indefinitely. Why don’t we meet up on Friday night? That’s only a few nights away.”
Remy agreed and headed for the door. “Are you going to call him and let him know?”
“He can stew for another day,” Greyson said, following Remy outside.
Remy shook his head. “I’m glad I’m not your brother. I’ll leave it up to you to tell him. But put the poor man out of his misery soon.”
David was anything but a “poor man,” and he certainly wasn’t miserable. David had a beautiful wife who he loved to the ends of the earth. She returned that love equally. And, he was going to be a dad for the first time. David was anything but a poor, miserable man.
As Greyson watched Remy angle into his car, a dark, older-model SUV stopped at the closed gate. Greyson didn’t bother to walk to the panel. He knew Remy would drive out and open it for the person. Or, should he say, Jenna Newman, his new manager.
* * *
Jenna had packed her few belongings and tossed them into her decade-old SUV. The recruiter had told her that she could live on-site at the bed and breakfast located on the outskirts of Las Vegas. It fit her plan perfectly. In truth, she had nowhere else to go, and if she disappeared from the world for a while, all the better.
Before she’d set out onto the road, Jenna had quickly changed into her best skirt suit and knotted her long, auburn hair into a tight, professional bun at the nape of her neck. She wanted to make a good first impression since it would be her first day on the job with a boss she had never met. She’d thought for sure she’d at least meet him before he officially hired her. But it had never happened.
It was odd.
But it didn’t bother her at all. She had heard of Greyson Miller. So she knew he was a powerhouse in the business world. To work for him would be a boon to her résumé. In fact, she was surprised he’d hired her at all, considering her lack of qualifications. Sure, she had a degree, and she had worked for a small start-up, but Mr. Miller could have hired anyone. Why her?
It made Jenna determined to make a good impression. If she was going to succeed, she had to put her business face on and work as hard as she could. She wasn’t going to let Mr. Miller’s blind faith in her go unfulfilled.
And now, as she drove up a long stretch of driveway, she had the first glimpse of her new home . . . and it was magnificent. The three-story mansion spread massively across the wide yard.
A muscular man with olive skin and a heavy brow opened the gate for her and drove past. He gave her a curious glance but kept driving. Perhaps he was part of the staff. She wondered who else worked here.
As she parked near the front door, she noticed a gardener standing and waiting. She was definitely going to have to issue uniforms right away. The man looked nearly homeless and quite dirty.
“Hello,” the gardener said, walking over to help her with her bags. “I assume you’re Jenna Newman.”
“Yes,” Jenna said. “Did Mr. Miller tell you that I was starting today?”
The gardener looked at her as if confused. A lock of dark hair curled toward his gray eyes.
“I’m the new manager,” she explained. “If you’ll let him know I’m here, I can begin right away. I’m sure there’s much to be done.”
He looked at her with that same confused expression. “I . . .”
“Oh, never mind,” Jenna said, becoming irritated with the slow man. She had work to do. She had to succeed. If not, she’d have to go back to being Jenna Newman, the unemployed. And homeless. “Just show me to my office. I’m sure Mr. Miller will catch up with me when he has time.”
The gardener’s gray eyes flashed at her, but then he let out a slow breath, shrugged, and carried her bags inside. She followed. She had never seen anything more impressive . . . not the gardener. The marble entryway . . . the cathedral ceilings . . . the grand staircase. It was amazing.
She followed him to a study off the main entrance. It was a masculine room with dark bookcases and a massive sturdy desk. Leather furniture was arranged in front of a fireplace. There was a scent that made her pulse quicken. She couldn’t quite place the scent, but it was as masculine and warm as the room.
This wouldn’t work, she thought. Beyond the intriguing scent, she felt as if she needed a cigar and tumbler of brandy to work in here.
“I don’t suppose there is another office I could use,” Jenna asked.
“You don’t like it?” he questioned.
“It’s not that. It’s just a little too . . . much.” But she had a feeling Mr. Miller would be quite at home here. Her hands were sweaty just thinking about meeting him. She really didn’t want to screw this up.
“The laptop is yours to use,” he said, pointing to the computer on the desk. “Feel free to explore and find a room you like. I’ll put your bags in your room. It’s on the third floor, second door on your right. I think you’ll like it.”
“Thank you. I’m sure you have work to do, so I’ll let you get to it,” Jenna said, dismissing the gardener and picking up her laptop.
When he left, she realized she’d never asked his name. That was rude of me, she thought. She’d never have a good footing with the staff if she didn’t take the time to find out their names and a little about them.
It was the thought of meeting Mr. Miller that had her strung a little too tight. She would make it a point to find the gardener later and apologize for her oversight. But right now, she was going to find a new spot to work . . . and then track down Mr. Miller.
Chapter 2
Greyson shook his head as he walked up the stairs with Jenna’s bags. How had he managed to hire another unstable person? He had been sure the recruiter would do a better job than he had done himself. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Greyson was half tempted to throw the pint-size, overbearing manager out the door. However, he didn’t think she would let him. She’d end up ordering him to go back to the garden where he belonged.
A small, defeated laugh escaped.
He knew he was a little unkept and dirty. That was the nice thing about gardening. The plants didn’t care if you wore battered jeans and a scruffy beard. Ms. Newman probably expected Greyson Miller CEO to be dressed in one of his expensive tailored suits. She’d be waiting a long time before she saw that Greyson Miller. He was gone. Gone for good, if he had anything to say about it. Which is why he didn’t set the record straight right away. He should have, he
knew, but it wasn’t like he could get a word in while she was ordering him around.
Greyson took a breath and deposited her bags into her room. Perhaps he should have thought twice about letting an employee live on the grounds — especially the little drill sergeant. But what’s done is done. In a couple of months . . . maybe a little longer, she’d become someone else’s problem.
Thank God for that.
Until then, he had some gardening to do. He had just started the daunting task of building the hedge maze this morning. It was yet another reminder of Nadia, and one more reason he didn’t care who the manager was as long as she got the job done.
They’d just have to keep out of each other’s way.
* * *
Jenna explored the entire first floor while wearing a wide-eyed expression. The mansion was breathtaking and furnished to perfection. Every room had its own lavish style. There were rich colors and bold lines in some rooms, and others were bright and airy. Every corner turned was a new experience. She had never been in love with a house before, but this house . . . mansion . . . had her swooning.
Now, if she could only find the owner. The gardener hadn’t said Mr. Miller was off-site, so he must be here somewhere.
Jenna plunked her laptop down on the kitchen table and sat down in a chair. It wasn’t the office she was hoping for, but there was something nice about the worn table near the large window. It looked as if it was the only thing in the mansion that was actually used. It had a homey feel to it. And the view out the window was spectacular. The sweeping landscape looked as if it went on for miles. Although . . . it was in rough shape. There were piles of dirt and a giant cluster of wooly hedges not even planted.
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