Yeah, Jane had heard all the bullshit.
She blamed Cassie for it. Kelsey blamed Cassie for it. But neither of them were in a position to do anything about it except support their father as much as they could and not let Cassie make his life miserable.
Which was why Jane helped Kelsey with her chores. It kept Cassie from complaining to Jack about having Kelsey living with her. The last thing Jack needed was any kind of stress. Stress and worry made his neurological symptoms worse, and the fact he couldn’t be there for his family made things emotionally harder for him.
Kelsey and Jane doing those things to make Cassie’s life easier also just kept the peace. Sort of. Mostly. At least, it was better than it would have been if, God forbid, Cassie had to scrub something or run out for more eggs.
Jane didn’t know if Cassie would do anything truly horrible to Kelsey or Jack, or even what that would be exactly, but Cassie was a selfish bitch, so she wasn’t going to take any chances.
And then there was Aspen. Cassie’s daughter. She was only a year younger than Kelsey, and she was truly the epitome of a spoiled brat. She did nothing around the house and not only delighted in having Kelsey essentially be her servant, but made a point of making the biggest messes she could and always needing stupid crap from the store when Jane or Kelsey had just gotten home.
Aspen was a nightmare.
But it was only two more years. Two more years until Kelsey went off to college and could spend her breaks at Jane’s, and neither of them had to ever see Cassie or Aspen again.
Okay, that probably wasn’t realistic in Appleby. But they sure as hell wouldn’t have to be friendly when they did.
Except that would probably stress Jack out.
Jane sighed. Hiding this from him was really the hardest part. It was in his best interest to believe his girls got along famously and were doing fine even though he couldn’t be there.
Good God, she was probably going to have to keep having Christmases with Cassie and Aspen for years. And pretending to be happy about it.
With that depressing thought, Jane turned around the corner that would take her to where she was meeting Dax this morning. Yeah, she really didn’t need any beanbags and gummy bears in her life. She had progressive neurological disorders, toilet bowls, and a stepfamily she disliked intensely—not necessarily in that order—to worry about. Dax was… a lot. She so didn’t need a lot.
“No, that one’s a white mocha. Here, this one’s chocolate.”
She came up short as she came to the end of the hall where everyone gathered for their quick morning meeting around the time clocks.
Dax was already there. And in the middle of the cluster of people, seemingly holding court.
He saw her immediately. “Hey, Jane.” He plucked a wrapped square from the cardboard cupholder, Jim, one of her coworkers, was holding and passed it to her. “I was going to get you coffee, too, but Josie told me not to bother, that this was what got you going in the morning.”
Jane knew immediately what it was as she took it from him. A strawberry cream cheese bar. Her second favorite thing in the Buttered Up bakery.
Josie had given Dax ammunition. He thought she’d do anything for a dozen cake pops. That wasn’t true. There were some restrictions.
There were no such limitations on what she would do for one of Zoe’s strawberry-cream cheese bars.
She thought, for about a second and a half, about thrusting it back at him and refusing it. But she was simply not strong enough for that even on a good day. This was really not an especially good day.
“Thanks.” She even said it sincerely. Because so what if he knew she loved these damn things and kept bringing them to her? How could that possibly be a bad thing?
She immediately unwrapped and bit into it. Why would she wait? She closed her eyes as the first bit of creamy strawberry goodness caressed her taste buds like a long-lost lover intent on bringing her to orgasm. And honestly? As far as she remembered, the wave of pleasure that went through her and the moan she couldn’t hold back were very close to that.
It had been a while.
She opened her eyes as she swallowed. Dax was staring at her.
She licked her bottom lip and watched as his gaze followed her tongue.
“I want one of those tomorrow,” Sarah, one of her favorite coworkers, said. Sarah looked around the little crowd. “Seriously. Someone bring me one of those.”
“I’ve totally got you covered,” Bryan, one of their main bakers—or one of the Master Bakers as they liked to refer to themselves—said with a nod. He looked from Jane to Sarah. “Just promise I get to watch you eat it.”
Sarah and Bryan had been sleeping together on and off for about two years. Everyone knew it and everyone was completely cool with it. Including Sarah and Bryan. They were truly the poster children for friends with benefits. It was pretty awesome.
Jane’s gaze went back to Dax. Who was still watching her. She took another bite. As unapologetic as she’d been at the cake-pop table the first night they’d met.
So what if he thought bringing her these bars would lead to her taking her panties off? He could think that.
And hell, it might be true. Taking her panties off with Dax might not be the worst idea she’d ever had. As long as his beanbags and gummy bears stayed in his office across town, he could be in her bedroom a couple of times.
She chewed and watched Dax and wondered what he thought about friends-with-benefits casual sex.
“Well, Boss, you ready for this today?” Max asked Dax.
Jane almost swallowed her bite of strawberry bar down the wrong pipe. She coughed hard and swore silently. First of all, sucking that thing into her lungs would have been a huge waste of Zoe’s magic. Jane’s stomach needed every bite. Second of all—and this probably should have been first of all—Dax was her boss. Dammit. How had she forgotten that? She shouldn’t take her panties off with him. Regardless of his beanbag and gummy candy situation.
Wow, she could not forget that. And honestly, that probably meant not having him bring her any more strawberry cream bars. Those things made her stupid. Clearly.
She finished hers off—no sense letting this one go to waste—and brushed her hands off on her pants. “Yeah, let’s get things going,” she said as if she hadn’t just been thinking about getting naked with Dax and a strawberry cream bar.
Seriously, she’d really want that bar there too.
Everyone, besides Dax, Max, and Jane, moved off, getting ready for their day, heading to their stations.
“I’m ready.” Dax tucked the cardboard coffee tray he’d been holding into the recycling bin behind him.
It occurred to Jane that he’d apparently brought coffee in this morning. For everyone on this shift. That was nearly eighty people.
Then she decided she did not want to know how he’d pulled that off. Dax gave off a vibe of just making things happen, and while that could be a very admirable trait, she suspected some of the things he pulled off were, well, ridiculous.
“And for what it’s worth,” Dax said to Max, turning around and rubbing his hands together, “Jane’s the boss today. Totally in charge of me.”
“Is that right?” Max shot her a look with one arched brow.
She didn’t give him any kind of reaction. Max didn’t need a reaction. He already knew about the cake pops from Dax. Giving him anything more would be a very bad idea. Plus it wasn’t true that she was the boss. Exactly. Dax was the boss. Dax was the boss. That was her mantra for the day. Hell, probably for the whole time he was here.
“Here’s your shirt. I’ll get you a couple more for the rest of the week, but I assume you can do laundry so you don’t need five?”
She tossed Dax the Hot Cakes shirt she’d grabbed for him. Everyone wore the black shirts with the pink and white Hot Cakes logo on them. There were also polos, but no one on the floor wore those. In fact, most of the employees in this area—where the treats were all mixed and baked—wore aprons, hair
nets, gloves, and covers over their shoes, so it didn’t much matter what they wore. But the company supplied the t-shirts, so most employees wore them to work under their outer protective gear.
“Hey, thanks.” He actually looked thrilled by the shirt. “Are you asking if I can do laundry as in, do I have facilities available or as in, am I capable?” He shot her a grin.
She tipped her head. “I guess… both.”
He chuckled. “Well, the answer is yes. To both.”
He loosened the tie he was wearing—it featured Rosie the Riveter and said “We Can Do It” which, she had to admit, was kind of funny considering this was his first day in a factory—and pulled it from his collar. He rolled it up and tucked it in his pocket. Then he started to unbutton the shirt he was wearing. It was a pale-blue button-down he’d rolled up to his elbows, and for a second, Jane was mesmerized by his fingers working the buttons and the slow reveal of skin and dark chest hair.
It wasn’t until it was completely unbuttoned and he started to shrug it off, his pec, shoulder, and ab muscles flexing tantalizingly with the movements, that she snapped out of it.
Actually, it wasn’t until Max shifted to the side, clearly to get a better view himself, that she snapped out of it.
What the hell? He was just undressing right here like that?
“There’s a locker room literally five steps away,” she said.
“Shh… honey…” Max said, waving a hand in her direction.
She frowned at her friend. But he had just stuck his hand out with a, “Here, let me hold that.”
“Thanks.” Dax handed his button-down shirt to Max then shook out the t-shirt and held it up to study the front.
All the while, of course, he was half-naked, his muscles and tanned skin—and no, there was no farmer’s tan on this guy—all rippling and tempting and ogle-worthy.
She blamed the strawberry bar.
Dax grinned and moved to pull the t-shirt over his head. While his face was covered, Max lifted the button-down to his nose and breathed in.
“Oh my God!” she hissed, swatting him.
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Not sorry.”
She was totally jealous of that little whiff Max had just taken.
She shook her head and looked at Dax again. Yes, she’d noticed Max and Dax rhymed. That could not be a good sign. Max was a bit of a handful. Not usually for her, but he had every potential to be. Like getting her into trouble by encouraging her to lust after her boss. And Dax was definitely a handful. She didn’t even know him very well and it was already very clear.
“You okay?” she asked as Dax slowly pulled the shirt down his body. “Does it fit?” He was taking a very long time putting that shirt on.
Was it hot in here?
“Yeah, fine.” He finally pulled the bottom down over his stomach and smoothed a hand over his chest. “What do you think?”
“Looks great,” Max told him without pause.
It did. It really freaking did. The guy was good looking. That was just a fact. In his shirts and ties and everything, he was definitely a guy who made woman look twice. But in that black t-shirt? The soft cotton molding to his pecs and shoulders, emphasizing his flat stomach, wrapping around those biceps? She wanted to strip it right back off of him.
She literally saw dozens of men in those shirts every single day, and she’d never had that reaction before.
“I should get you a baggier one,” she decided.
Max gave her a frown. “Don’t be crazy.” He turned back to Dax with a smile. “Wouldn’t want it getting caught in the machinery. The fit of this one is perfect.”
Dax stretched his arms overhead, the bottom of the shirt inching up on his stomach. His flat, hard, tanned stomach with the very start of the trail of hair that would lead…
Jane blinked. Somehow. “What are you doing?”
“Checking the fit.” Dax bent side to side and then twisted right to left. “What do you think?”
“Yep. Absolutely perfect,” Max said appreciatively.
In much the same tone Jane would use to praise Zoe about her strawberry pie.
She watched Dax twist and turn and bend for another twenty seconds. Then asked, “Are you going to be done anytime soon?”
“You get a good look?” Dax asked Max.
Max shrugged. “I mean. Yeah. I looked. But I’m not going to say there’s really a time limit on something like that.”
Jane crossed her arms. “What are you doing?” she asked Dax.
“Well, I figured I needed him to take a full inventory of my assets,” Dax said, finally dropping his arms.
“You wanted Max looking at your abs?” she asked. She frowned and looked back and forth between the two men. “I’m missing something.” Like the fact that Dax swung in Max’s direction, possibly.
She’d like to say she’d be happy for her very good friend, but she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to pull that off, honestly.
“I figured Max was going to be talking to you about me later, and I wanted to be sure he had plenty to gush about,” Dax said, tucking his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “I mean, I intend to dazzle him with my wit and charm and intelligence, of course, but if I’m lucky enough to have him also appreciate my abs, then I’m not above using that too.”
Max nodded. Then looked at Jane. Then back to Dax. “I’m fully on board with this.”
Jane sighed. Of course he was. Yeah, she’d been completely right about them each being a handful and together being way too much for her.
“Maybe Max will just talk to his guy buddies about you,” she said, noting that not only had Dax clearly figured Max out right away, but he was obviously not threatened by Max’s sexuality at all. She liked that about him, she had to admit.
“Hey, you say whatever you want to your guys, but be sure you go on and on about me to her too, okay?” Dax asked, pointing at Max.
Max eyed Dax’s bicep. “You got it. Not a problem.”
“And be sure to check out my ass later too.” He shot Jane a smirk. “Elliot says that’s my best feature.”
Max nodded. “Can do.” Then he paused. “Elliot?”
“Best programmer I know,” Dax said. “Not bad at Ping-Pong either. But don’t tell him. There’s not room enough in my office for both of our egos as it is.”
Max thought about that for a moment. “Is Ping-Pong a euphemism? I’ve never heard that one before.”
Dax shook his head. “Just Ping-Pong. Actually Ping-Pong.” He mimed swinging with a Ping-Pong paddle.
Jane sighed.
“So Elliot says your ass is your best feature,” Max clarified.
“Right.”
“And he’s seen your abs?”
“He has,” Dax confirmed as if they were discussing what he was having for lunch rather than what other men thought of his body. “But tattoos are really his thing.” He looked pointedly at the tattoo wrapping around Max’s right biceps and the one that extended down his left forearm.
“Yeah?” Max looked very interested. “Is Elliot single, and is he coming to visit you any time while you’re in Appleby?”
Dax nodded. “Yes and yes. But I should warn you, Elliot is only twenty-three and is definitely looking for a… daddy.”
Max, with a little gray at his temples and in his beard, slapped a hand over his heart. “Stop it.”
“Seriously.”
“This is going to be a good day,” Max declared.
Jane rolled her eyes. “Max, you realize he’s just kissing up to you to get to me,” Jane said. Not that she thought Max would care. Dax was obviously heterosexual. But if he was cool talking about this all openly and didn’t have a bit of discomfort when Max checked him out, then Max wasn’t going to pass up the chance.
“I’m okay with that,” Max said.
She blew out a breath and shook her head, looking at the two of them. Dax was grinning at her as if he’d just won some kind of victory. And maybe he had. Max would definite
ly talk her ear off about Dax. He was, actually, kind of Max’s type. Muscled, short beard, funny, confident, comfortable in his own skin, friendly, and charming. Max was a bit older and gruffer, had a lot more tattoos and probably more piercings—she sure hadn’t seen a nipple piercing on Dax, and she had definitely studied his naked torso thoroughly in the few seconds she’d been given—but he was also funny and didn’t have many personal boundaries and loved to have a good time.
“The good-looking ones who know they’re good looking are such pains in the ass,” she finally said.
“Are we?” the two men said in unison.
Then they laughed.
Jane groaned. “This is such a bad idea.” She pivoted and started walking away. Really, that was her only choice.
Dax and Max could bond all day. Max would tell her all about it. She’d think Dax was great and be even more attracted to him. Fine.
But none of that changed the fact he was her boss. And had a candy station in his office.
“Hey, where are you going? Don’t we have work to do?” Dax called.
“We do. And I’m late. So I need to get going.”
“Don’t you work here?”
She turned around but kept walking backward. “I work for Hot Cakes. But not in this area. You want to get to know how the factory works and really see the place in action, then you need to see how all the areas work. There are several. We figured we’d take you through the process from mixing and baking”—she gestured toward Max—“to decorating and packaging to shipping.”
“Where do you work?”
“At the end of the line. In the distribution and shipping center.”
“So I’ll be there…”
“Not for several days.” She grinned at his narrowed eyes. He’d just realized she was going to be able to avoid him all week.
“She drives a forklift,” Max offered.
That made Dax perk up though. He looked impressed. “No way.”
“Yep,” Max confirmed.
“That’s awesome.”
She laughed, in spite of herself. “I don’t know about that. And I don’t drive one all day or anything.”
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