“So you want this promotion?”
“I . . . ” Did he? “It’s the next step in my career. It’s more money.” That he didn’t need. “A more important title.”
Alex was staring blankly at him. “But is it what you want?”
“I . . . ”
“Yes or no, Posh. I don’t need a fucking thesis on it.”
He looked at her sharply. “That was a little uncalled for, wasn’t it?”
She gritted her teeth and looked away. “Sorry.”
“I wish things were different—”
“No. I don’t. This is good. We’ll leave each other before it turns sour, because long distance will never work.” She turned to him. “I’d love to have one relationship in my life that I didn’t have to steal out of in the middle of the night, okay?”
What the hell was that prickle in his eyes? Shit. He swallowed, but his throat felt tight, his mouth dry. “Yeah, Sprite.”
While looking out the window, she said quietly, “Good luck.” But he wasn’t sure how much she meant it.
He wasn’t sure so much anymore either.
Chapter Fourteen
SPENCER STARED AT his hotel room phone, biting his lip and jiggling his leg. He’d last spoken to his dad almost a year ago at Christmas.
And even then the conversation had been short and filled with awkward silences.
He didn’t know what it was, that today he wanted to hear his father’s voice. Rubbing his chest where the fox tattoo lay beneath his shirt, he remembered as a kid when he’d wanted to do nothing but impress his father. He’d learned his father wasn’t someone who was impressed easily, not even by his only kid.
Spencer didn’t know if he was a painful reminder of the wife his father lost or what, but he’d never been what his father wanted. At least, that’s how he’d been made to feel.
So he’d run away. From everything that had been home to him, and hadn’t he really been running ever since? He’d never found home again.
And it wasn’t until last night, sitting under the stars with Alex in his arms¸ that he had felt like putting down roots. Settling.
He wasn’t sure what that would mean. He was here on an ever-renewing work visa so he had to keep working. He couldn’t up and quit and wander around aimlessly in the United States.
Blowing out a breath, he picked up his phone and dialed the number to his father’s shop. It would be in the afternoon there, probably around one of his father’s dozen smoke breaks.
After a series of clicks, there was finally ringing and Spencer tapped his fingers on the ink blotter of the hotel desk.
“Red Fox Auto,” a gruff voice answered, followed by a loud exhale.
Yep, smoking. “How many fags has it been already today, Pop?”
There was a pause. “Get off my arse.”
Spencer smiled.
“How are you?” his father asked.
“All right. Working. Uh, in a town in Maryland.”
“Where’s that?”
“East Coast.”
His dad grunted. He’d never been to the United States and said he never had the desire to. And Spencer hadn’t been back for a couple of years. He wondered what his father looked like now. If his hair was completely white now. If it was thinning. If that spare tire around his gut had grown. He sighed. “Did you care that I didn’t stay?”
“What are you on about?”
“Did you care that I left? Or did you want me to stay and work at the garage?” He’d always thought his father didn’t care either way.
Another pause, this one longer, punctuated by a series of harsh coughs that made Spencer cringe. “ ’Course I cared.”
“Yeah?”
“Always thought you’d be working beside me, but didn’t want you to do it because you felt like you had to. You were . . . eh . . . smarter.” He drew out the word, with a little bitterness. “Like your mum. Always thought you’d leave and be happier that way.”
“Do you ever . . . wish you had left?”
“No.” The answer came quick and sharp. “I’m lucky. Knew where I belonged right away, and that’s here. Sometimes it takes people their whole lives to figure out where the hell they belong.”
“But you don’t think I belonged there?”
“Not when you were eighteen. Now? Maybe. I don’t think you belong in that fancy city of yours, though, either.” There was a banging sound and his father cursed at someone before speaking to Spencer again. “You think you figured out where you belong yet?”
“I don’t know.”
“This have to do with a woman?”
Spencer hesitated. “It might.”
His dad grunted. “That’ll do it. Bring her ’round sometime. Gotta run.” And then he hung up.
Spencer stared at the phone, then began to laugh. There really was no one like his father. He’d spent a lot of energy when he was younger hating him, but that had been the result of a lot of miscommunication and teenage angst.
He stared at the phone in its cradle, thinking he was glad as hell he called. And he was still laughing when there was a knock at the door of his room.
He opened it and Penny walked past him into the room, wrinkling her nose at the clothes he’d left on the floor. He rolled his eyes, picked them up, and threw them into a chair. “Better?”
“I thought you liked tidy.”
“It’s a hotel room, and we’re checking out soon, right?”
She fiddled with a half-full soda bottle on the desk. “Yes, we are.”
“Why are you acting odd? Is there something wrong?”
Penny sat down on the end of his bed and Spencer frowned, taking a seat in the desk chair. Her shoulders were tense, which was really the only indication she was nervous. Penny tended to face things head-on. She met his gaze. “The team back in New York liked Nick’s proposal.”
Spencer stared at her, frozen.
“It’s a good location, within walking distance of a convenience store. It’s visible and the lot is cheaper.”
Spencer finally got his jaw to unhinge. “Wait, what are you talking about? My report was perfect. I scoured this town—”
“Nick mentioned that your report may have been colored by your . . . personal life.”
Spencer rose so fast that the chair slammed into the desk and Penny jolted. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Tell me he didn’t say that.”
She swallowed, her complexion a little white. Spencer knew he was towering over her, his body radiating fury, but he couldn’t seem to calm himself.
“I didn’t know he was going to do it,” she said. “And for the record, I disagree with him, but this isn’t a dictatorship and—”
He ran a hand through his hair and strode to the window, staring out at the pool below, his mind on overdrive as he tried to sort through the issue while also working to control his temper.
When Penny spoke again, her voice was softer. “The decision isn’t final, but we will be moving forward with inquiries to buy the Payton land. If those are . . . unsuccessful, then we will resort to the location you recommended.”
He closed his eyes and banged his forehead on the window. He knew how persuasive his company’s lawyers could be. They weren’t crooked, but they sure struck a shrewd deal.
He thought about the first time he saw Alex, when she stood in front of the garage, tire iron in her hand, blue eyes bright.
It’d been him who had brought Royalty to this town, who’d told his company to build here. He’d brought this down upon the head of Alex and the only family she’d ever known. He knew for a fact that his relationship with her hadn’t clouded his judgment, but fucking Nick would use anything he could to get his way. “Shit,” Spencer whispered.
A hand landed on his shoulder and he shrugged it off. A heavy sigh came from behind him, but he ignored her, because his chest hurt and all he wanted to do was get in his car and drive far, far away. For a second he thought about leaving without telling Alex, but that would be the co
ward’s way out. He had to do something, even if it cost him everything.
Maybe he could go down to Payton and Sons. Warn Alex. But that seemed ill-advised. What, would she forgive him just because he gave her a heads-up? No, no way. She’d still blame him. She’d still hate him. She’d asked for them to part ways with happy memories, and now they’d be tinged with betrayal.
“Shit,” he said again.
“Look, that shop is old anyway. They’d get money to rebuild and—”
He whirled around and pinned her with a glare. “You don’t know these people.”
“Oh and you do?” she said through narrowed eyes. “You know all about them after sleeping with Alex for a couple of weeks?”
He pointed a finger at her. “That was a little low.”
Color stained her cheeks. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I like Alex too, but this is business.”
He shook his head. She didn’t understand. “I know these people, and they don’t care about a fancy garage or anything like that. That shop has been there for forty years, and it’s going to take an act of God for the patriarch of that family to give it up. And I don’t want him to be pressured and hassled. I want to leave here with them happy and healthy, knowing that a hotel will be built on land that won’t affect them, and that hotel will create much-needed jobs for this town. That’s what they want. And that’s what I want.”
“We don’t always get what we want, Spence,” Penny said softly.
“What does that mean?”
She lifted her chin higher. “There’s no deeper meaning. It’s a fact of life.”
Spencer was done keeping his mouth shut about her husband. “Well, Nick’s not getting this, Penny. He’s not. It’s like he’s spent his whole marriage to you proving he is a better husband to you than I would have been. When’s that going to stop? When’s he going to realize we’re not in competition?”
She pressed her lips together and kept silent.
Spencer wondered why Penny found herself in these relationships with men who couldn’t hold a candle to her. “Penny, I know you love Nick. And I know I’m sticking my nose somewhere that it doesn’t belong, but can you honestly say your marriage is okay? That Nick is the one for you?”
Her top teeth peeked out to nibble on her bottom lip. “When we first met, I thought he was just competitive, but . . . ”
“But what?”
“But now I’m starting to think he’s insecure.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I can’t make any decisions right now.”
Spencer sighed, thinking the similarities between Penny and Alex were more than he had previously thought. Both were strong women who couldn’t seem to find a man who appreciated that. Except him, maybe. His heart ached. “I’m sorry to bring it up.”
“No, it’s okay,” she said softly. “You’ve always been honest with me. I wouldn’t want you to change now.”
Spencer glanced at the door. “Where’s Nick now?”
“He said he was going to the park to go running.”
Spencer glanced outside. It was drizzling. “In this weather?”
Uncertainty crossed Penny’s face.
Spencer’s gut rolled. “Penny?”
“That’s what he said.” Her voice shook a little now.
And that was all he needed. He grabbed his coat and was out the door, Penny at his heels. He’d be damned if Nick got to the Paytons first.
Chapter Fifteen
ALEX WIPED HER forehead, leaned her elbows on the front of the car, and glanced at the clock on the wall of the garage. It was about half an hour from her lunch break, but her stomach was already growling.
She was starting to get a little hangry, evidenced by her complete irritation at Gabe. Which wasn’t fair. He was trying to focus, but the guy had a worse attention span than Violet.
Brent was in his bay, muttering to himself as he replaced a rusted muffler. Jack was in the office eating already and Cal was replacing a serpentine belt.
She was doing an inspection, which wasn’t necessarily hard, but there were steps to follow that Gabe needed to be aware of. Which he wouldn’t be, because right now he was sneaking food to Honeybear, who sat at his feet.
“Brent, I thought I told you not to bring Honeybear to work anymore,” Alex huffed.
He looked up from his task. “Huh? She never bothers anyone.”
“It’s not her, it’s him.” She pointed at Gabe. “He can’t handle having a dog here.”
“Hey!” Gabe protested. “I can handle it!”
Alex raised her eyebrows at him.
He scrunched his lips to the side and in a small voice said, “Okay, maybe not.”
She rolled her eyes. “Ignore the dog so we can get this over with so I can eat, okay? I’m starving.”
“Oh, man!” Gabe’s eyes light up. “Let’s get burritos. I can take the order and pick it up.”
“Gabe,” Brent said sharply. “We’re not paying you to take burrito orders. We’re paying you to learn car shit.”
“I am learning car shit.”
“Then quit talking about burritos!”
“Will you all shut up?” Cal growled.
That did the trick. Alex and Gabe dutifully ducked their heads. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Brent mimicking Cal and tossing him the finger behind his back. She hid her smile.
Ten minutes later, a car pulled into the parking lot and a man got out. He wore slacks and a button-down shirt with a hooded jacket to protect himself from the rain. Alex squinted at him, because he looked familiar. As he drew closer to the office, she recognized Nick, Spencer’s coworker. She couldn’t remember the guy’s last name, but he was the one Cal had warned her about.
She glanced at Cal, who was watching the guy with a steel-eyed glare.
The man ignored them, expensive shades firmly over his eyes. He walked into the office, and even Honeybear was on high alert, her ears swiveling, her body tense.
Cal swallowed and carefully put away his tools, then walked into the office.
She heard Jack’s gravelly voice as the door shut behind Cal.
Brent had stopped his work too, and stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the door, a frown on his face. Brent rarely had a frown on his face, and unease crawled down Alex’s spine.
Did this have something to do with her? And Spencer? Maybe his relationship with her was against the rules of his job. But surely, he would have told her that, right?
“Brent,” she said, but he shook his head and made his way toward the office.
“Cal doesn’t like that guy,” he said. “And he’s a good judge of character. I’m going in there to see what’s going on.”
She dropped her tools, told Gabe to go ahead and get burritos, and then followed Brent into the office.
As soon as he opened the door, Jack’s booming voice hit them like a wall. “I can’t believe you’re standing here in front of me spouting that bullshit. You think I’m dumb?”
Alex peeked from behind Brent to see Nick standing with his hands on his hips in the middle of the office, Jack in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest. Cal stood behind the counter, his gaze darting between the two of them, lips thinned into a white line.
Something brushed her hand, and she looked down to see Honeybear, who’d slipped into the office behind her. She dug her fingers into the dog’s fur, to ground herself, because the air was thick with tension and anger and a whole lot of distaste.
“I think,” Nick said, “you won’t know a good opportunity when you see it, so I wanted to make sure you listen to the whole offer.”
“What’s going on?” Brent asked, widening his stance.
Jack jerked his chin toward Nick. “This asshole wants to buy our land.”
“Our land?”
“Yeah, this land. Right here. Where I’ve worked and sweated and bled for forty years. He thinks we want something fancy, isn’t that right?”
Alex was having trouble keeping up. Buy their
land?
“Buy our land for what?” Brent asked.
Nick’s gaze shifted to him. “For a Royalty Suites. The lot behind this shop is perfect, but we’d also like this land too.”
Alex sucked in a breath. Spencer had told her they were building out by MacMillan Investments. Not here. Had he been lying? She couldn’t move or speak, stung by betrayal so sharp, she wondered why she wasn’t bleeding. She reached in front of her, gripping Brent’s belt, needing as many anchor points as she could get. Because, she wasn’t alone, thank God. Nick was facing off against three Paytons. He didn’t know them. He didn’t know that he’d have better luck ripping down this building with his bare hands than trying to convince a Payton to do something he didn’t want to do.
Brent leaned back a little into her touch, like he knew she needed it, and honed in on the enemy. “You . . . broke bread with us and now you want to buy our land out from under us? Seriously? That doesn’t take balls, man. That takes no brain.”
Nick wasn’t backing down. “You haven’t heard the offer yet,” he insisted. “Royalty Suites lawyers will be in touch soon.”
Alex’s mind spun. Why was Nick here and not Spencer? Why hadn’t Spencer given her a heads-up?
“Fuck your lawyer,” Jack growled. “I ain’t moving my shop until I’m dead. And if my boys move it when I’m dead, I’m coming back from the grave to haunt their asses.”
“Which means we sure as hell aren’t moving because he’s bad enough when he’s alive,” Brent muttered.
Alex managed a small smile. Nick wasn’t smiling, and now his gaze shifted to Alex. She dropped her hand from Brent’s jeans and tilted her chin up. Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Finally realizing you were just something to pass the time, huh? Like Spencer would ever have real feelings for someone like you.”
A lot of things happened at once then. Honeybear growled. Alex and Brent surged forward. Cal hollered, but Jack beat them all. In seconds, he had Nick sandwiched between the wall and his big chest. He didn’t put his hands on him, but it was clear he wanted to, because his fingers were curled into tight fists at his sides.
For the first time, Nick looked a little alarmed. “You touch me, and I’ll press charges,” he said, but his trembling voice gave him away.
Dirty Deeds (Mechanics of Love #3) Page 15
