by Lacey Wolfe
“Nonsense. He’ll come along.”
Yeah, when I’m fifty. “I know. I just have to be patient.”
“Oh, it’s time for my show. I need to go. Come see me soon.”
Eve smiled. Nothing could ever keep her away from Grams. “I will. Promise. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
The call disconnected. Eve held the phone tightly before placing it close to her heart as though she was hugging it.
Her parents had been killed when she was young, so all she’d ever had were her grandmother and grandfather. He’d passed away a few years ago. There was an aunt and a few cousins, but they’d never had much to do with Eve. They were busy with their lives, while she kept waiting for hers to start. With all the loss she’d experienced, she had trust issues. It took a lot for her to let someone in.
Eve sighed and finally set the phone down. She didn’t want to be sad. Today was a happy day. Her birthday wish had come true. Now to decide what big thing to buy herself.
Her stomach growled. She’d had a busy day at work, so she’d skipped lunch and didn’t feel much like cooking. It was off to a drive-thru.
After grabbing her things, she went outside, locked the door, and then walked toward her car. While opening her car door, she noticed her trash can was knocked over again.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Eve climbed into her vehicle. Brad really needed to get a hold of that dog.
As she started the car, she laid on the horn. After a few more beeps, Brad’s door opened and he stepped onto his porch with a fire in his step. She rolled down the window and yelled out, “Clean up the mess your dog made.”
Rolling the window up, she backed out of her driveway. The first thing she was going to do with her money was to buy a fence for that dog. Maybe even call in a trainer.
Chapter Three
Eve sat behind her desk staring at the chart on her computer screen. Sales were down. She needed to get together with her team and figure out a way to boost sales again on this particular cereal. People didn’t care to buy name brands anymore when store brands were that much cheaper.
She rolled the chair away from the desk and pulled her new tablet from her bag. She’d wanted one of these for quite some time, but never could bring herself to simply buy one. But now, that had changed. It was hard not to go a little wild with all the money. Hell, she was debating selling her house and buying a larger one, but she had no one to fill it with her. So what was the point?
As she unlocked the screen, a tap sounded on the glass window to her office. An intern stood in the doorway. “Mr. Jackson wants to see you.”
Her boss. This wasn’t good. “Okay. I’ll be right there.”
Sliding the tablet back into her bag, she stood then straightened her black pencil shirt. Mr. Jackson had been unhappy with her lately. His wife had left him for their cabana boy, and he was taking his anger out on everyone in the office. Just last week he’d told her if sales weren’t up, she was gone. And according to the chart, sales weren’t up.
Eve left her office and could only concentrate on the clicking of her heels on the tile floor. Her heart pounded in her chest and her palms moistened. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on his door.
From the desk, the balding man waved her in. “Close the door.”
Eve nodded and shut it before taking a seat directly in front of him. She rubbed her hands across the tops of her thighs, waiting for Mr. Jackson to glance up. When he did, she wanted him to look away. His expression wasn’t happy at all. She’d be leaving here soon with her belongings.
“I’ve been going over sales all morning, and I’m not happy. I don’t understand. You just set up a new commercial and yet, sales are down. Any ideas why?”
If she knew, she’d fix it. “No, sir. I’m sorry. I’m gonna call a meeting today with my team and see what we can do. Maybe a sweepstakes or something like that will help.” She cleared her throat. “Also, the commercial just might need more time to air. It’s only been a week.”
Mr. Jackson chuckled, but in an irritated way. “You have no money for a sweepstakes. This cereal is a sinking ship. It might be time to cut ties with that company and tell them to hire another marketing firm.”
Their client list had been cut in half over the last year. Each time one went downhill, Mr. Jackson let them go. Then he blamed her. She was apparently doing something wrong. Only, she was positive Mr. Jackson needed a reminder of today’s economy. Most people couldn’t afford a cabana boy, unlike him.
“Let me just meet—”
“No.” He stared at her. “No more meetings. You, Ms. Parker, are the problem. I’ve got to start making changes in the company, or else this company is going to go under.”
Her heart pounded again. She’d never been fired. She couldn’t imagine what the walk of shame was going to be like as she left the building with the white box full of her desk things. Sure, she could afford to not have this stupid job, but just the humiliation alone…
“Please.” Now she’d resorted to begging. “I can turn this around.”
He shook his head. “I’ve given you all the chances I’m going to. I’m sorry. I’m going to have to let you go. You have until your lunch hour to collect your things.”
Fired. She’d just been fired. Oh holy hell! Her eyes grew moist and begged to release the tears, but then it dawned on her. She didn’t need this job. And she no longer had to deal with him. She could find a new job. One she liked and enjoyed and only required her part-time.
“I understand.” She stood.
“Don’t worry, I’ll give you a good recommendation at your next job. It’s just not working here.”
She’d love to tell him off the way everyone says they will if they ever win the lottery. Tell him how fucked up he was and if he wasn’t so greedy, maybe his wife would still be with him. But at that very moment, she didn’t feel the need to, because to be honest, this company was a sinking ship—to borrow his quote—all on its own. He wasn’t willing to stick it out with clients when the going got tough for them. Eventually, if it hadn’t already, this marketing firm would have a bad rep, and she would no longer to be associated with it.
“Thank you for that.” She spun on her three-inch heel then went toward her office to collect her things.
She could feel co-workers staring at her, but she didn’t care. Not anymore. With her box in hand, she’d take that walk of shame proudly. Tomorrow morning, she’d enjoy not having to wake up at the crack of dawn.
***
Brad sat on his front porch after his run. He was off from the gym today, which was rare. As a personal trainer, he usually worked seven days a week to be there for his clients whenever they needed him, and to keep his wallet filled. Times were tight, but thinking about it irritated him more.
When Evelyn pulled into her driveway, he glanced up. Trying not to be obvious, he watched from the corner of his eye. She sat in her car a moment, gripping the steering wheel, before she pushed open the door. She then walked around the car and opened the trunk to remove a white box. If he didn’t know better, it looked like the type of box one always saw in movies after a person had been fired. Surely that hadn’t happened to her.
Curiosity got the best of him. He got up from the rocking chair and headed her way. “Eve.”
After closing the trunk, she set the box on top and turned toward him. “Dog missing again?”
“Ha-ha.” He rolled his eyes. Couldn’t they have one conversation that didn’t result in an argument? “Everything okay? You’re not usually home this early.”
“Do you pay that much attention to me?” She sounded irritated.
Yes. Especially when she wore such a form fitting top. “No.”
Tossing her hair behind her shoulders, she said, “If you must know, I was let go from my job today.”
Wow, so she’d really been fired. He couldn’t believe people actually got boxes for their things. Had she been escorted out by security guards? However, it was
probably best not to ask that. “I’m sorry.”
She shrugged, sending her blonde curls bouncing. “It’s fine.”
“You don’t seem too upset about it.” If he’d been fired from his job, he’d worry how the hell he was going to pay his bills. Maybe she had a lot of money in her savings. Not everyone lived paycheck to paycheck the way he did.
“Things have a way of working out. I’ll be okay.” She pushed something down in the box then looked at him again.
“If you need anything until you get back on your feet, let me know.” What did she do, anyway? “What field were you in? Maybe I can help.”
She smiled and his gaze was drawn to her parting red lips. They looked soft for kissing. “I don’t plan to return to that field. I think I might start my own business.”
Was she on drugs? She’d just lost her job and now she wanted to start a company? “Let me know if I can be of any help. I have a lot of clients in all sorts of fields of employment.”
“Thank you for the offer, though. If you don’t mind, I’m going to go inside and eat. I’m starving.” She picked up the box and turned away.
Being the man he was, he checked out her firm, round ass in the form-fitting skirt. Damn, a lot of women he trained would kill to have a butt like Evelyn’s. That image alone as she climbed the steps made him need a cold shower.
***
Brad and Bo rounded the corner toward their house. He debated taking the dog off the leash and racing him home. However, the dog would leave him in his dust and Brad would be left winded. Though, he had to admit, the walk was nice in this fall weather.
As he got closer to home, he noticed a bright red sports car in Evelyn’s driveway. Maybe she had a date. For some reason, that thought irritated him. Like he cared who his neighbor was seeing. Then again, she’d been happy lately. Maybe she was getting some. Lord knew he could go for some wild sex.
He walked at a leisurely pace, staring at what looked like a brand-new Mustang. There was no license plate on the back, just the sticker that had the date the vehicle needed a tag by. Wow, this guy had gone all out for their date.
“What do you think?” Evelyn asked.
Brad had been so busy studying the car, he hadn’t noticed she now stood next to it. His gaze traveled from the car to her. Hot damn, she wore a pair of jeans so tight they looked like a second skin, along with a red top that almost matched the color of the car. “It’s nice. Boyfriend’s?”
She grinned proudly as she ran her hands along the hood. “It’s mine.”
Hers? She’d just lost her job. How the hell could she afford that? Her old sedan still sat in the driveway, so it wasn’t like she’d traded it in. “That’s yours?”
“Yup. Want to go for a ride?” She jingled the keys.
Hell yeah, he did. “Let me put Bo up.”
A few minutes later, he crossed his lawn to hers as she started the car. The engine fired right up with a slight roar. He hated having to ride shotgun, especially when he’d much rather being driving this baby. Perhaps if he cut that stupid tree down, she’d let him drive.
He climbed into a black leather seat. The inside of the car was decked out with every available option. This is a manual transmission. Evelyn’s no sissy. “You drive stick?”
She nodded. “Of course. There’s no other way to drive a sports car.”
As she backed out of the driveway, he buckled his seat belt. Her fingers gripped the black leather knob of the shifter, sending dirty images to his mind of her palming another knob with those pink nails.
“You okay?” she asked as she rounded the corner.
Glancing away and out the window, he answered, “Fine. Just impressed.”
“Why?”
“You don’t drive bad.” Yikes, that didn’t come out the way I intended.
“What, because I’m a woman, you think I’m an awful driver?” At least she sounded slightly amused.
“Uh…”
He expected her to put up a fight, but instead she laughed and kept driving. The ride was nice as they explored the back roads around town. They didn’t really talk; what did they have to discuss? The only things they ever chatted—or more or less argued—about was Bo and the tree.
When she pulled back into her driveway, Brad was surprised to find he was disappointed the ride was over. He’d enjoyed the time with her. It was nice being neighborly. Perhaps they could have more times like these.
“Hope I wasn’t too bad a driver.” She winked and tossed her hair behind her shoulder, giving him the weirdest urge to reach out and wrap a blonde strand around his fingers.
“Nope.” He unbuckled quickly and climbed out of the car.
She joined him in her driveway. Brad found himself wanting to press her up against the car and kiss her, and he didn’t like it. He clenched his fists to keep from wrapping his arm around her and tugging her curvy body tightly against his.
He cleared his throat. “I take it you found another job.”
Eve leaned against the hood. “Not yet.”
“Oh.” And she’d bought this car? “Do you think it was wise to add a car payment?”
She raised an eyebrow. “What do you care?”
“It’s irresponsible. You shouldn’t live beyond your means.” His ex-wife had never grasped that concept.
Eve held a hand up. “Whoa, buddy. I know my financial situation. I got this under control.”
He shook his head. “You women are all alike.”
She stared hard at him. “Excuse me? You women?”
“Yeah. Y’all just shop without thinking. You lost your job. You should be saving every penny you can. Not going out and buying a car you really don’t need.”
“You’re an asshole.” Evelyn turned and headed toward her house, but then added, “And here I thought we might have the start of a friendship.”
Damn it! He stole a glance at her ass in those jeans once more then marched home. He hadn’t meant to tell her what to do or give her his thoughts. But it was irresponsible of her to go car shopping. How did she know she’d find a job right away? Or that she wouldn’t be jobless for a short while? Not to mention, she wanted to start a new business.
Something wasn’t right with that woman. Either she had a lot of money—which he doubted—or she was just like his ex.
Chapter Four
“Yes, that’s right. I want you to go measure my neighbor’s yard and charge me for the fence.” Eve chewed on the end of her pen, wondering why it was so hard for the person on the other end of the line to grasp what she wanted.
“Will you be meeting the service guy over there?” the lady asked.
“I suppose. Does my neighbor need to be home?”
“Ma’am, we can’t go on his property without his permission.” The woman was beginning to sound irritated.
Eve sighed. “Okay. How about I give you his number and you can schedule a time with him?”
“We don’t usually do things that way.” The woman sighed. “But this is an odd request, so sure, why not?”
Happy she was getting her way, Eve smiled. She rambled off Brad’s telephone number, and after the lady confirmed it, she ended the call.
Now on to a harder task—deciding what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. So far, her plan of getting married and having several babies hadn’t happened. But now that she had money, maybe she could buy her happiness, or even a man. Would it be so wrong to pay someone to marry her?
Tossing the pen onto the counter, she rolled her eyes. Buying a man wasn’t going to work. Perhaps she should just buy the best vibrator money could buy. A lot less hassle and heartache. And besides, having a kid, now, at her age? Heck, she’d never be a grandmother if her child was a stubborn as she was.
“I’m seriously depressing myself.” She picked up her glass of sweet tea and left the kitchen.
She was bored already. A girl could only drive around the block so many times before even that was no longer fun. She could go outside and do yar
d work. With the leaves starting to fall, she needed to get that under control or else dry, brown leaves would take over her yard the way they did every year.
She walked out to her porch and spotted Brad by the walnut tree, picking up the fallen nuts that drove her insane. Normally she’d speak to him, but instead, she slowly backed toward the door. She had a hard time breaking her gaze from his biceps. Staring at his ass, she darted her tongue out to moisten her lips. He slowly squatted, his shirt lifting in the back, and she caught a glimpse of the top of his boxers.
A shiver went through her as her nipples hardened. Oh no, no, no, no. She was not getting turned on by this guy. She hadn’t spoken a word to him since he’d gone all weird on her that evening after their drive. She couldn’t figure out why he’d acted like that, getting pissy about how she spent her money.
As she took the next step back, her foot hit something round and wobbly. She flailed out her arms to grab a hold of something, but all her hands found was air and her butt hit the hard, wooden porch with a loud thud. Her cheeks burned, and she was pretty certain a curse word flew out.
“You okay?” Brad called.
Well, there went her sneaking back in without him knowing she’d come out. “Yup.”
The crunching of leaves and sticks let her know he approached. She glanced up, and her mouth dropped open. Damn, when did he get so smokin’ hot? A tight black T-shirt hugged his chest and thick biceps. And was that a tattoo peeking out of his shirt sleeve? Next time he was outside shirtless, she’d have to pay more attention.
Was she drooling?
He brushed his dark hair from his eyes. “Need help?”
Yes, she’d lost her mind. The man who drove her insane was now driving her insane a different way. “I just tripped.”
He climbed the steps and offered a hand. She took it, and with no effort, he pulled her up to her feet. “I’m keeping my word and picking up the nuts.”
