Checkmate anfh-3

by R. L. Mathewson

  "Can I ask you something?" she said, destroying all his hopes that she'd forgotten about his little act of stupidity.

  "No."

  Of course she ignored him and asked anyway. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked, confusing the hell out of him.

  "What are you talking about?" he asked as he held back a sigh of relief. As long as she didn't talk about the kiss they could have any asinine conversation that she wanted.

  "What do you mean 'what am I talking about'?" she demanded, sounding frustrated. "You took care of me after I fell, held my hand, kept my brothers from making things worse, spent the last couple of days playing nursemaid to me and you really have to ask what I'm talking about?"

  He shook his head as he took a turn onto Slade Road, a normally busy road, but at this time of the morning there were only a few cars on the road. "It wasn't a big deal," he said, wondering why she was latching onto it. Obviously it was bugging the shit out of her if it drove her to break into his house and interrupt his shower.

  "It's a very big deal," she snapped.

  "Why?" he demanded, taking his eyes off the road so that he could look at her.

  "Because you're confusing me!"

  He had to chuckle at that. "You're acting like no one's ever been nice to you before, Rory," he said, only realizing after the words left his mouth that there might be some truth in that. The dark blush that stained her cheeks and the way she averted her eyes confirmed his words.

  "That's bullshit, Rory," he said as he racked his brain, trying to think of someone or something that would prove his words wrong.

  He knew her family loved her, adored her, but they tended to treat her like a weaker brother. The only time they really watched out for her was when some guy stepped over the line and then they simply beat the shit out of the loser. Her father was pretty much the same way. From what he'd seen over the years the man obviously cared for her, but he didn't seem to have a clue about how to show it.

  There was no point in asking about boyfriends since he knew that they either treated her like shit or a buddy they could fuck. He'd never seen anyone act sweet on the woman. Sure they flirted with her and were obviously attracted to her, but they never treated her like any of the other women in town. While other women were treated to romantic dates, jewelry, gifts, adoration and expensive meals, Rory was given sensible gifts, brought out for a beer or a burger and treated like a guy.

  They were all idiots.

  Rory deserved to be pampered, spoiled and worshiped. Any man that was lucky enough to earn her notice should make sure that he did all of those things and more for the woman. He didn't give a damn what she wore, she was still one hundred percent female and should be treated as such. He'd never gone out of his way for any of his ex-girlfriends, but at least he treated them a hell of a lot better than any of Rory’s old boyfriends had treated her.

  He really didn't understand that at all. She was beautiful, well, more like hot, but the guys around her acted like they were doing her a favor by asking her out. They were all fucking idiots. Granted, he knew most of the problem was her overprotective brothers and asking her out was just as good as asking to have your ass kicked, but the woman was more than worth it.

  "Just forget it," Rory said with a heavy sigh as she moved to take a sip of her hot cocoa. He considered taking it, but somehow managed to resist the urge. She'd probably try to smack him upside his head with her broken arm again and he'd be forced to turn the truck around and take her back home. He'd have to take care of her and he really couldn't afford to lose another day.

  They were two days behind and needed to play catch up. He hated taking the time off, especially since they didn't have any time to spare on this project, but he couldn't leave Rory. Yesterday morning he got up at four, shaved, showered and got dressed and headed down to his truck to get his ass to work, figuring that she would call for help if she needed it when he remembered something very important.

  Rory James was a stubborn pain in the ass and would never ask for help.

  While he walked back into his house and headed for his bedroom, he made a quick round of phone calls. Ten minutes later he was chucking off most of his clothes, climbing in bed with her and not a moment too soon. She’d been dealing with a migraine that left her helpless to move. He helped her take her pills and crawled back into bed with her and held her until she fell asleep.

  If she hadn't been able to work today he wouldn't have had a choice in the matter. He had to go to work today, but he fully planned on sending one of her brothers to help her after he had a word with them. He also planned on checking in on her during his lunch break. It was probably a good thing that Rory was stubborn and was coming to work so that he wouldn't have to worry about her. If it became too much for her, she could always curl up on the couch in her office.

  He really didn't think she should be going to work today, but he knew better than to say anything since she'd just ignore whatever he said and did whatever she wanted anyway. Well, at least she couldn't get into too much trouble hanging in the office all day, he reassured himself. He'd have that secretary of hers keep him updated so he could focus on his work where his mind should be.

  This was a big project, the biggest project of his career, and he needed to stay focused. Rory James was out of commission for a few months and probably wouldn't be able to do much once the cast was taken off. She could go around and play supervisor when she felt better. At least that would keep the damn woman safe while he busted his ass to get this project going.

  A few minutes later, he was parking in the makeshift parking lot and preparing himself for the long day ahead. Rory sent him a barely there nod as she climbed out of the truck and headed for her trailer. He followed after her, hoping her secretary was good for something like making a cup of extra strong coffee and keeping his damn eyes off Rory's luscious ass, he thought absently as he watched the body part in question sway slightly from side to side.

  The woman had a great ass.

  He followed her into the trailer and somehow managed to tear his eyes away from that beautiful ass and headed for the coffee cart set up against the wall near the time clock. He ignored the questioning look her secretary sent him and focused his attention on finding some damn caffeine before he lost his mind.

  "They canceled the meeting," he heard Jacob explain softly to Rory.

  As he searched the small cabinets he couldn't help but wonder what meeting her assistant was talking about, but as he shoved box after box of some weird cocoa product out of his way he decided that he really just didn't care. He needed a caffeine fix and all this woman had was cocoa. Oh, they were going to have to change that pretty damn soon or he'd become bitchy.

  "Did they reschedule?" she whispered, sounding nervous.

  Now that had his attention.

  He couldn't remember a time when Rory was nervous about anything. Pissed? Yes, but never nervous. What could make a woman like Rory nervous? he wondered as he reluctantly settled on making a cup of hot cocoa and praying that it had a shit load of caffeine otherwise her secretary was getting a new chore added to his duties.

  "No, I'm sorry, Rory. They sent back the proposal with an apology. They're not interested," Jacob said with true regret lacing his tone.

  He wasn't too surprised when he heard the trailer door slam shut seconds later. Hot cocoa forgotten, he turned around to find her secretary moving to go after her.

  "What has little Rory James in a huff I wonder?" he mused, stopping the secretary dead in his tracks.

  "It's none of your business," Jacob said firmly as he stood his ground.

  Connor couldn't help but chuckle as he moved towards the man. "Did Rory ever tell you what happens when someone comes between us?"

  Chapter 14

  "Please don't fire me," Jacob said as she stepped into the office. She felt her brows damn near shoot to her hairline when her eyes landed on him. It managed to distract her from her current problem of trying to figure out how to make Mc
Gill change his mind.

  "Why are you duct taped to a chair?" she demanded even as the answer dawned on her.

  Connor.

  She wasn't really surprised. Well, actually she kind of was since Connor tended to focus on torturing her these days. Sure, he went after the guys she dated, but that didn't really bother her since they all tended to turn into jerks and really had it coming. She wondered what Jacob could have done as she walked over and started the five minute process of making a double cup of hot cocoa.

  "Are you going to release me?" Jacob asked, sounding unsure which only piqued her curiosity since most of the men that Connor dealt with would usually be pissed and threatening to call the police by now.

  "How long ago did he tie you up?" she asked as her eyes shot to the clock on the wall. She hadn't seen Connor since they came to work so she was going to just go ahead and take a guess about the time.

  "Five hours ago," Jacob muttered pathetically, confirming her suspicions.

  "And what did you do?" she asked casually as she added a spoonful of vanilla and caramel flavored creamer.

  There was a slight telling pause before Jacob said, "It wasn't my fault."

  "What wasn't your fault?" she asked, pouring a dab of cream into her mug.

  "H-he knows."

  "Knows what?"

  "About the plans, meetings, suites, everything," he admitted, making everything in her go still.

  "Where is he?" she asked in a bored tone as panic shot through her.

  She realized that he would have found out about the project sooner or later, but she was kind of hoping on it being later, after she had a signed contract with McGill so that he couldn't interfere and take over. Now she was going to have to hunt him down, kick his ass and make sure that he knew that this was her project and that it was off limits to him. Then she would be right back to trying to figure out how to convince them to let her do this. Maybe she could -

  "I think you and I should have a talk," Connor announced as he stepped into the office, holding a thick light brown folder.

  Thankful that he saved her the time of having to hunt him down to kick his ass, she grabbed her drink and headed for her office, knowing that he'd be right behind her.

  "Hey, what about me?" Jacob asked, but she ignored him. "Seriously, I have to use the bathroom. If you could just make a little tear in the tape I'm pretty sure that I could-"

  Connor closed the door behind him and walked past her to sit in her chair, but she was quicker. She sat down and couldn't quite bite back the smug little smile that came along with besting the man. It seemed as though this meeting was starting off on the right track, she mused seconds before he snatched the hot cocoa out of her hands, placed it on her desk, grabbed her good hand and gave it a yank.

  "Hey!"

  He ignored her as he took her seat and yanked her back onto his lap. Once he had her settled, meaning trapped, he reached around her and picked up her cup of cocoa.

  "Don't even think about it," she warned evenly as she struggled to get off his lap, but the arm he had wrapped around her waist held her right where he wanted her.

  He ignored her and finished off her cocoa as she was forced to sit there, watching as her precious cocoa was stolen. Once he was done he placed the coffee cup back on the desktop with a little more force than she felt was necessary and shifted her on his lap so that she was facing him.

  "Anything you feel like sharing?" he asked as he leaned back in her chair, clearly making himself comfortable as he studied her.

  "You're an ass."

  "Anything else?" he asked in a deceptively calm tone, but there was no missing the anger in his eyes.

  "Yeah, stop touching my cocoa," she said as she tried to climb off his lap, but he didn't release her.

  "No. Anything else you want to tell me, Rory?" he asked, reaching up and pushing a damp strand of hair away from her face.

  "I hate you?" she offered with a sweet smile.

  For a moment he didn't say anything as he studied her, finally he leaned forward and grabbed the folder he'd dropped on the desk and handed it to her.

  "What's this?" she asked as she cautiously opened it, this was from Connor after all.

  "My bargaining chip," he said, sounding arrogant, a little too arrogant for her comfort.

  With a feigned casualness, she opened the envelope and pulled out the crisp white papers inside. She ignored him as he shifted her on his lap and looked over the papers. With one glance she knew that she was looking at a contract and a few seconds later she knew that it was a contract from McGill. When her eyes landed on the third paragraph she felt her brows pull together and her jaw pop.

  "You.....son......of.....a.......bitch!" she bit out with barely controlled rage as she jumped off his lap and whirled on him.

  "Checkmate, sweetheart," Connor said with a wink and that sexy grin of his that had her seeing red.

  "Checkmate?" she repeated in a strangled tone as she fought against the urge to jump him and go for those damn nipples that she was becoming so fond of. "You stole my project, you son of a bitch!"

  "Did I?" he asked in a bored tone as he leaned back in the chair and appeared to think it over. "I think you just might be right about that, Rory," he said with a shrug.

  "You've gone too far this time, Connor," she said, slamming the papers down on top of the desk as she continued to glare at him.

  "Oh, but I'm not even close to being done," he drawled as he reached out, picked up the contract and made a show of looking it over.

  "What are you talking about?" she asked, reminding herself that this was the way the game was played and that she couldn't make her move until he laid all the cards on the table. When he was done, she was grabbing her pliers and going for his balls this time.

  He'd done a lot of horrible things over the years, but stealing her project was by far the worst thing he'd ever done, besides ruining her life that is. How was she supposed to explain to McGill that this was her project and that Connor stole it from her without sounding whinny and creating a lot of drama? There probably wasn't, so she was just going to have to settle for using the pliers until Connor promised to back out of the contract so that she could take it over.

  "You arranged a meeting and tried to go behind my back, altering my project. For that," he paused to meet her glare, "you're going to have to pay."

  "It's my project, Connor. I worked my ass off designing those suites and I had every right to go to McGill and present them. Those are my designs, Connor, and you had no right stealing them!"

  "Do you want to yell some more or are you ready to cut the shit and get down to business?" he asked and god help her, but she considered slapping that smug little smile right off his face.

  "Yes," she grated out.

  "The project is yours, Rory."

  "For what price?" she asked, already knowing that Connor was going to make her work her ass off for it and probably put her through hell and if she didn't want this so badly she would have just shrugged and walked off, but she did. She might have to share Strawberry Manor with the jackass that she'd mistakenly started to like, but those screwed up feelings ended the moment he made a play for her project. This was her baby and hers alone.

  "I'm glad you asked," he said with a content little sigh that had her right eye twitching and her hand inching towards her tool belt.

  "I have a few conditions of course,-"

  "Of course you do," she said dryly.

  "-but once you've completed them to my satisfaction then you can start building your suites, have full use of my men and equipment and Shadow Construction will get full credit for it," he explained as he watched her expectantly.

  Having the use of his men, the ones she hand selected of course, would help as would having the use of his equipment. It would save her time and most importantly, money. This was a good deal and she'd have to be an idiot not to see that. Then again, she didn't know what he wanted from her or if she could even go through with it.

&nbs
p; "And in return, Rory, you're going to be my dotting girlfriend," he announced and just like that he found the deal breaker.

  "I'm not sleeping with you, Connor. I'll find another way to get my project back," she said, shaking her head in disgust as she reached out, snatching the contract away from him and headed for the door. Maybe her lawyer could find a loophole or she could just flat out sue the bastard and get an injunction to stop him from starting work on the suites. It would take time, but hopefully she could get this cleared up before Strawberry Manor's deadline.

  "This has nothing to do with sex, Rory, so relax," he said, making her pause as she reached the door.

  "Then what is the point of this little scheme of yours, Connor?" she asked, not even trying to hide her skepticism or her revulsion. This was a new low even for him.

  He stood up and walked around her desk only to lean back against it as he explained, "I'm sure you've noticed that this little relationship of ours has caused a lot of.....," he pursed his lips up thoughtfully before he said, "problems."

  That was an understatement if she ever heard one. Their relationship, or rather their hatred for one another had caused them to be banned, gawked at, betted on, and blamed admittedly for a lot of damage that they did inadvertently cause and also for things that had absolutely nothing to do with them. She was still pissed about the summer that she was banned from the town pool because someone blamed them for busting the slide. It was broken before she even managed to tackle Connor and pants the jerk.

  "You're going to play my loving, dotting girlfriend and help turn all of that around, Rory," he said with a shrug as if it wasn't a big deal.

  It was a very big deal!

  She was more likely to kill him than dot on him and he damn well knew it.

  "No, sorry, not going to happen," she said, shaking her head emphatically with each word. "Come up with something else."