by Lexi Aurora
Chapter Three- Julie
Meeting Darlene at the mansion broke her number one rule, but I couldn’t tell the woman no twice. She was already likely to be a little pissed when she realized that I’d changed out his birthday present.
With the gift and Graham Porter’s dry cleaning in my back seat, I drove my squealing coupe up to the intimating rod-iron gates and pushed the button. They’d probably never seen a car like mine. The damn thing was three different colors, but then I’d spent less than a grand on it.
I got what I paid for.
“Are you lost?”
Snorting at the indignant voice on the other end, I rolled my eyes. “No, sir. My name is Julie Dennings. I’m here to see Darleen Mason.”
To my surprise, the interrogation went no further, and the gates opened with a loud creak. I eased my foot off the brakes and my car protested loudly but rolled through the mighty entrance.
I didn’t have much experience with wealthy homes. Graham Porter was absurdly wealthy whereas Jonathan Bright and his family had only been moderately wealthy. Their multi-million-dollar home was the pride of small-town Connecticut, but here in Los Pameros, you could spit a watermelon seed and hit a billionaire. Why all the wealthy flocked to the desert was beyond me.
The long drive was covered in lush cypress trees, and the rest of the grounds were just as meticulously kept. When I passed a small lake with a spurting fountain, I nearly laughed. Graham Porter didn’t strike me as the fishing type, so God only knows what he’d want with a lake in his backyard. Maybe he enjoyed spawning west nile virus-ridden mosquitoes.
I parked my car at the entrance of the huge brick home and lugged my things out. My shorts rode up my thigh, and I cursed my bad luck. I really needed to do some clothing shopping if for no other reason than the clothes that had fit me five years ago were now just a little too tight. It wasn’t that I was gaining weight. In fact, since I was saving up to get a more permanent apartment for Tyler and me, I hadn’t been eating much and was losing weight. The problem was I didn’t have time to hang my clothes dry, and the dryer was shrinking them faster than shrinky dink toys.
By the time I’d situated myself and had gathered my things, I had an audience. An elderly man in a suit stared at me disapprovingly. Jonathan had a butler. It seemed like the only way someone rich could prove that they were rich was by hiring an old man to be a butler.
“Ms. Dennings,” he said in a low voice. I was almost disappointed that he didn’t have a British accent. “If you’ll follow me.”
I noticed that he didn’t offer to help me with my things, but he also looked like he might fall over at any minute. He did, at the very least, hold open the large mahogany doors.
“If you’ll wait in the lounge here, someone will be right with you.”
“I’m waiting for Ms. Mason,” I reminded him helpfully in case he’d forgotten. My arms were straining from the awkward angle I’d been carrying everything, so I practically dropped the clothes on the floor before carefully sitting the gift box on the coffee table. I was still fluffing the bow when I heard the door open.
“Oh God.” The words flew out of my mouth, and I flushed. It wasn’t Darleen walking towards me with anger in her eyes but Graham Porter himself. My mouth instantly dried as I took my first good look at the man. Pictures didn’t do him justice. From the clean-cut square jaw to the grey-tints of his gorgeous green eyes, everything about him screamed power. His thick, dark hair curled at the nape of his neck, and he was built like a wet dream. If his sensuous mouth hadn’t been pressed into a hard line, I might have swooned on the spot.
Might have. My swooning days were over.
“Mr. Porter,” I said nervously. “There’s a very good explanation for this. Have you seen Darleen?” I was going to lose my job, and then how would I get my son out of the Sunny Side Motel? He was a smart kid. Sooner or later he’d start asking why some of our neighbors had different men over every hour.
“I’m afraid that Darlene is out sick,” he said softly. God, his voice was smooth as butter. “I didn’t expect you to be southern.”
“Funny, I didn’t think you’d expect me at all,” I said as I cleared my throat. “The accent only returns when I’m nervous or angry.”
“And what do you have to be angry about?” He walked around me slowly, appraising me.
I was not some horse that needed examining. Enough was enough. I stepped back until I was flush against the couch. At least now he’d have to stop circling me. “Not angry. Just nervous. I was given the impression that I’d never be meeting the boss’s boss. You should know that I signed an NDA, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”
“Darleen signed one of those too. I guess she was hoping to keep you her dirty little secret.” His gaze fell to the clothes on the floor. “It looks like you don’t do the job much better than she does.”
“The gift is fragile,” I said hurriedly as I bent to pick them up. “Your clothes are not.” I held them out for him to take, but he just stared at me until I carefully laid them on the arm of the couch.
Was the room sealed off? The more Graham Porter stood there and eyed me, the harder it was for me to breathe. The seconds ticked by, and for the life of me, I couldn’t think of a damn thing to say. Finally, I thrust the gift box at him. “Look, Mr. Porter, obviously there’s something going on here that shouldn’t be. I’m not trying to start trouble. I just needed a job, and Darleen provided that for me. I mostly just ran some errands for her. Like this birthday present. She needed a present for you, and I picked one out.”
His eyebrows lifted, and I realized my mistake. “Picked it out or picked it up?”
I didn’t lie. “Look, the point is that you are obviously not happy about me, so I’ll just be on my way.” Without my last payment, and damn it, I needed groceries. Tyler couldn’t live on Pop-Tarts forever.
“You did more than run errands,” he said silkily as he took the box and slid his fingers across the wrapping paper. The tape came off cleanly, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Graham did everything else as neatly as he was unwrapping this box. “You typed up important financial information.”
The palms of my hands began to sweat. Just how much trouble was I in? My thoughts darted back to my conversation with Crystal yesterday morning. Maybe I was better off with a mobster or drug kingpin. “It was just a few numbers. I didn’t keep any of the information on my computer.”
Reaching in, Graham pulled out the ship. For a second, he just stared at it. When he did speak, his voice was rough. “I sure as shit know that Darleen didn’t pick this out for me. Why don’t you just tell me who you work for, and we can come to some sort of arrangement. I’m a rich man. I’ll double your salary.”
What the hell was he talking about? “I work for Darleen. She pays me minimum wage.”
“Minimum wage?” he choked out. “Ten dollars an hour?”
“No,” I said slowly. “I make eight dollars an hour.” I knew I should have negotiated more. Now I felt like an idiot.
He lowered the ship and sighed. “I did a background check on you. You haven’t been in California long. Before that, you’ve lived in four different states in four years. Your last permanent address was in Connecticut. You’ve got no ties with any of the industries here in California, and no ties with the press. Why did you take this job?”
“Darleen seemed like a lovely woman to work for.” Okay, maybe I could lie if the situation really warranted it.
He barked with laughter, and, to my relief, didn’t ask me any more questions about my past. I’m sure a background search would show that I had a son, but since his father wasn’t listed on the birth certificate, and our engagement never reached the press, I had hoped that Jonathan Bright would still be my secret.
“As it is, I’m looking for a new assistant. The only reason that I kept Darleen on was because she seemed so efficient at the job, but it would seem that honor goes to you. I’ll pay you salary, and I can promise you that it�
��s a good deal above eight dollars an hour. You already know what the job entails, but you’ll be doing it here. My life is very private, and I intend to keep it that way.”
His voice was clipped and professional, and I longed to jump at the offer. “Darleen paid me cash,” I said in a strangled voice. My cheeks heated at the fact that I even had to ask. “I need to keep that arrangement.”
“Why?” he said sharply. “Your background check didn’t raise any red flags, but I won’t have any illegal work at this house.”
“It’s not that,” I assured him quickly. I gave him the same lie that I gave Darleen. “I owe the government some tax money, and they seized my bank accounts. I need the cash so I can still keep a living wage and pay them off as best I can.”
Great. Now that was twice that I had lied to him. Things weren’t really off to a great start.
“Fine. You can start tomorrow morning.” He seemed almost angry as he walked towards the door, but he stopped and looked back at me. “The present is beautiful. Thank you.”
“Darlene’s credit card paid for it,” I said stupidly, but he had already left the room.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. I had no business agreeing to work for a man like Graham Porter, but all I could think about was that apartment I could get for Tyler. He’d have air conditioning. Some friends to play with. A playground that wouldn’t give him tetanus, and walls that didn’t shake whenever the hooker next door over-did the fake orgasm.
I just needed to find an owner willing to sublease for cash, but for the right price, that wouldn’t be an issue.
The real problem would come when it was time to enroll Tyler in school. Even the threat of Jonathan Bright wouldn’t allow me to deny my brilliant son the education that he deserved.
But that was tomorrow’s problem, and there was still a pile of today’s problems that I needed to handle. I’d cross that bridge when we got there.
Chapter Four- Graham
I’ve dated women who have graced the cover of Maxim’s issue of Top 100 Hottest Women. I’ve fucked A-list celebrities and lingerie models. Hell, I’ve even seduced a goddamn princess, but not the first one of them affected me as much as the strawberry-blonde woman in old cut-offs and plaid. I could see every freckle on her unpainted face, and I could see about four different tan lines as the shirt fell off her shoulder once again. Her hair was wrapped up in a knot on the top of her head, and her nails were clipped short, but my cock was harder than ever as she bent over the desk to sign the new agreement that I’d set out in front of her.
Ever since I saw that damn model ship, I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes off her.
I should have been disgusted. There was nothing I hated more than a woman who couldn’t manage her money, and seized bank accounts had gold-digger written all over it, but she wasn’t doing anything to get my attention. If I’d seen her on the streets, I’d probably never even look twice at her.
Of course, maybe she was just trying to be the exact opposite of Darleen Mason.
“You’re all set,” I muttered almost angrily as she signed the last paper. She was now my employee, and I did not mix business with pleasure. I should not have been wondering if her bottom lip tasted as sweet as it looked or if she’d moan or squeal if I sank my fingers in her heated center. “I’ve already ordered you a new computer. You’ll need to transfer the data from Darleen’s so I can finally throw that glittery monstrosity into a fire.”
“If it makes you feel better, I don’t think I’ve played with glitter since I was twelve,” she admitted as she gingerly took the computer. “I wanted to apologize for my outfit. We lost a bunch of luggage in the move, and I haven’t been able to replace it, but I promise that I’ll have something suitable to wear next week.”
I didn’t buy that lie for a minute, and I wanted to tell her that the less she wore, the better. Get a hold of yourself, Graham. “I never enforced a dress code with Darleen, and I won’t with you,” I said instead. “She enjoyed wearing dresses to work. The more low-cut the better.”
As soon as I saw the look of alarm in her face, I knew that I’d messed up. “All I’m saying is that you should wear what you’re comfortable with.” I kept my face relaxed as I waited to see what she would do next. Julie bit her lower lip and nodded, and it took all of my self-control not to lean over the desk and taste that bottom lip for myself.
Normally I’d let Daniel, my butler for lack of a better term, give her a tour of the house, but I wanted to stay near her. When I rose and extended my arm, she looked like I might bite her. It was the complete opposite of how most women reacted to me, and it only made me hotter for her. I’d never met a woman that I couldn’t have, and part of me, that masculine asshole part of me, wanted to see how long that might last. Not that I wanted to break my no-employees rule with her, but I was confident that I could break through that rough Texas exterior and make her melt.
If I wanted to.
“This will be your office, but you’ll have full use of the whole downstairs. There’s even a guest room downstairs for if you stay too late one night and need to spend the night.”
“That won’t happen,” she said immediately.
It sounded like a challenge to me, but I let it drop. “Most of the bedrooms are on the second floor, and there’s a media center up there. My office is on the third floor, but it’s off-limits to everyone. If you need me, you can use the iPads throughout the house to get in touch with me.”
“Fancy.”
“I can see that you’re impressed,” I said dryly. “This is just the main house. My cousin spends most of his time in New York, but when he is here, he stays in the East wing of the house. When he is here, I would advise that you steer clear of him. He’s incorrigible.” And I would have to remind Miles to keep his hands off Julie. He’d take one look at that sexy mouth and decide to have her.
“The West wing is reserved for servants. There are several guesthouses on the grounds as well as a full-sized pool, tennis quarts, a trail through the gardens, and a lake. There is also a fully equipped gym at your disposal.”
“Do you even use any of that?” she asked suddenly.
Her question threw me off-guard, and I stopped. “What?”
“You’ve no wife or children, and it seems like your cousin isn’t around much. I’m asking if you get enough use out a full-sized pool and a lake and gardens to make the upkeep worth it? Or is it just for show?”
She was judging me. Even as she looked at me with those big, innocent eyes, I knew that she was judging me because I had money. It wasn’t the first time that it had happened. Everywhere I went, there were people who hated me simply because I had money, but for some reason, it bothered me that she would judge me. This woman couldn’t get her own financial life straight. She had to be paid in cash so she could survive, and she was going to make me feel bad?
“This house has been in my family for generations,” I told her coldly. “And I enjoy every single inch of it.”
Julie flushed, and when she spoke, her voice once again had that Texan drawl. “I didn’t mean to offend you,” she said rapidly. “I just thought that it was a mighty big place for one person.”
Fuck, she wasn’t judging me. Maybe Ms. Julie really did see something she liked. Hoping to set her straight, I pushed her hard against the wall and tilted her chin up. It happened so fast that she didn’t even have time to gasp, and before I knew what I was doing, I dipped my head down and tasted her.
She opened immediately for me, and I swept my tongue over it. Hot. Wet. Inviting. That bottom lip that she nibbled on so insistently tasted every good as I imagined, and before I knew it, I was kissing her like a man possessed. Deep and urgent. It wasn’t until I slid my fingers over the bare skin of her thigh that she gasped and pushed me away.
“No!” she hissed.
“No?” I grinned at her. “A minute ago you were telling me that my place was too big for me. I thought you were offering to warm my bed.”
“The hell I
was,” she said hotly. “You can’t just push women up against a wall and kiss them like that! You’re my boss, and that is inappropriate. I don’t want to warm your bed, Mr. Porter. I just want to do a job and get paid. Are we going to have a problem with that?”
Her chest heaved with every breath, and her lips were still swollen from where I’d kissed her. “We won’t have a problem as long as you keep your opinions about my life to yourself, Julie.”
Walking away from her while I still could, I paused just long enough to look over my shoulder, and I wished to hell that I hadn’t. Her fingers were still tracing her lips as though she could still feel me the way that I could still feel her. “I suggest you get started on transferring that data. You have a lot of work ahead of you.”
In less than twenty-four hours, she’d nearly made me lose control. Julie Dennings was a dangerous woman to be around, and if I knew what was good for me, I’d stay as far away from her as possible.
Chapter Five - Julie
“So he just hired you?”
I leaned back in the chair and popped another greasy potato chip in my mouth. The evening brought some cooler temperatures, so Crystal and I drove Tyler to the nearest park to play. I was hesitant about staying out past dark, but Tyler had been cooped up in the motel for nearly four days straight, and although he never complained, I knew that he needed to get out and run around.
We chased him around for about an hour before collapsing on the bench to watch him play in the sandbox. “Not at first. He thought I was some sort of spy. He even did a background check on me.”
Crystal’s eyes widened. “Did he find out about your ex?”
“No. I guess he didn’t dig far enough. Anyway, he’s paying me Darleen’s salary and paying in cash, so I’ll be able to get an apartment soon.”
“That means your name will be on a lease.”
