‘But you haven’t been vetted by the agency. For all I know you’re a master criminal, preparing to rob me of everything I own.’
He snorted. ‘Your imagination is something.’
She opened her mouth to reply, but he continued before she could.
‘My name is Tyler Murphy. Look me up. I own an online education company. We provide courses aimed at older students, accredited by the government. There are multiple articles about me, including a detailed personal history, all of which should address your concerns about me being a master criminal. Among other things,’ he added coolly.
She had no idea what he meant by that.
Eyeing him suspiciously, she took out her phone and typed in his name. Everything he said was true.
‘This doesn’t make what you and your sister are doing okay.’
‘Believe me, if there was another choice we wouldn’t be doing it.’
Oddly, she believed him. She didn’t approve, but she understood. She would have stood in for her brother in a heartbeat if he’d needed her—although she doubted she would be able to do Dom’s job as a police officer.
‘Fine. I won’t tell the agency, but obviously you’re on probation.’
‘Obviously,’ he said blandly.
She lifted her brows. ‘Since you have your own company, you might not know how to interact with an employer. Generally you don’t sass them. Nor do you imply that they don’t have authority in their own homes, with their own pets.’
He had the grace to wince. ‘I’m sorry about that. I realised it was a mistake as soon as I said it.’
‘No, you realised it was a mistake as soon as I pointed it out.’
She hadn’t fully appreciated his face until that moment, when his mouth curved into an almost-smile. It softened his eyes, edging the colour from brown into green in a startlingly contrary way. Or perhaps it wasn’t a softening, but a sparkle. An acknowledgement of sass and truth that was delightful on the hard angles of his face. It cast a light on his stormy features—on the dark brows and lashes, the tight pursing of his lips—and she wasn’t sure she liked it.
Liar, said an inner voice.
Mind your business, she mentally replied.
She couldn’t say much more than that.
‘You’re right.’
‘I know,’ she said primly, before looking down at Mochi. He was sitting calmly on the floor between them, panting blissfully with his legs crossed. ‘You’re a show-off, Mochi.’
‘Why do you say that?’ Tyler asked.
His eyes were sparkling with vague amusement now. Something prickled in her body.
She cleared her throat. ‘He’s very well behaved around people, but as soon as you leave he’ll do what he did outside.’
‘Play?’
‘Yeah, if you mean it in a play me kind of way.’
‘I didn’t, but I guess that works.’
He smiled now. A full smile. An easy smile. The kind of smile that made her think of summer and driving through the city. With the sun streaming through the windows, heating her face, her arms, her legs. She could almost hear the music through the speakers.Could almost feel Kian’s fingers twined through hers—
Her heart stopped.
For a few seconds, her heart just stopped.
Because she’d looked at one man, this man in front of her, and thought about her dead husband. And that didn’t feel right. It felt complicated. She didn’t even want to think it through.
His smile disappeared.
‘Tia’s briefed me on what you require,’ he said formally.
She wondered at the change. There was no possible way he could know what she had been thinking.
‘I understand what my responsibilities will be in the coming weeks. And I am good with dogs. As you can see.’
He lowered his hand to his side. Mochi immediately stood, placing his head directly beneath Tyler’s fingers.
Brooke tilted her head. ‘Neat trick.’
‘It’s not a trick, Ms Jansen.’ He gave her a cocky smile.
Why did the man have so many variations of his smile? And why did they all have a familiar shimmer of awareness going through her?
‘I need time to think through this situation,’ she said, though she hadn’t been prepared to say it. ‘I’ll let you know if you can come back.’
‘You’re not hiring me?’ he asked, indignation a hoarse undertone in his voice.
‘Not yet, Mr Murphy.’ She picked up her coffee and the sandwich and nodded her head towards the door. ‘Now, do you mind? I’m already late for work.’
CHAPTER TWO
‘HOW DID IT GO?’
Tyler pressed the phone to his ear with his shoulder, deliberating on how he should answer. He could tell the truth: the woman Tia had asked him to work for was the same woman he’d formed a friendship with five years ago. He thought about her often, especially when he was considering dating, and those thoughts usually put him off dating. After all, how was he meant to establish a connection like that with someone else?
Of course today, he’d discovered that connection was one-sided. It had kept him from asking Brooke why she was ignoring him. If he really had been the only one to experience their connection, it would be embarrassing to demand that she address their past. He had his pride, damn it. And he was nursing his wounds now, using the sting to establish boundaries that would keep him from doing something stupid.
Like beg her to remember him and their week together.
Wasn’t it as special as I thought? he’d probably ask. Didn’t we share something?
But that would only lead to more stupidity, as it had today. When he’d insulted Brooke, treated her coolly, and jeopardised Tia’s job. Tia was more important than his hurt feelings. He couldn’t allow those feelings to motivate his behaviour again. He would have to ignore the past, just as Brooke was doing.
No, he couldn’t tell Tia any of that. So he lied.
‘It went great.’
‘Yeah?’
The relief embedded in that word made him glad he lied. She was under a lot of pressure. The least he could do was reassure her.
Until she finds out you’re lying and she loses her job at the agency.
That wouldn’t be ideal. Especially when she was desperately trying to keep her job, hence him filling in for her in the first place.
‘I’ve already used all my leave, Ty. If I tell them I need to take care of Nyle again, they’ll fire me. And you know I need this job,’ she’d said when she’d asked for his help.
‘Yeah, I know,’ he’d replied, ‘because you won’t let me help you.’
‘Financially,’ she’d emphasised. ‘But I do know of another way you can help me...’
How could he have said no then?
Plus, his job allowed him to work remotely. Hell, his company was independent enough that he could take a couple of weeks’ leave. Which was likely why he was getting so restless professionally. In its current state, it no longer provided a challenge. Expansion, on the other hand—
As he had been doing for the last month, he stopped the thought in its tracks. There was no point in indulging it. He wouldn’t be taking the opportunity. It didn’t matter that it was an incredible opportunity that had seemingly come out of the blue.
He had been at a function at one of the universities his company was partnered with when he’d been approached by the CEO of a company similar to his own. Apparently, he’d heard about what Learn It, Tyler’s company, was doing in South Africa, and wanted a merger since he was doing the same in the UK.
Tyler had imagined the possibilities—and he would only imagine the possibilities.
There was no way he would leave Tia and Nyle to fend for themselves. They were family, and his mother had taught him he should never abandon family. Drilled it into him, really, after his fath
er had left.
It was ironic that his father’s departure had been because of a business opportunity, too. Tyler could almost understand it now. Could see the temptation of it. Except he loved his family more than he loved ambition or success. He wouldn’t leave for either of them.
‘How’s Nyle doing?’ he asked, mentally shifting gears.
‘He still has a fever, but he doesn’t feel bad enough to stop complaining about the rash.’ Tia exhaled. ‘He had the vaccine... I don’t understand why he still got chickenpox.’
‘It’s common enough.’ Tyler had done a lot of research to confirm that. ‘And it’ll be less severe because he was vaccinated.’ He paused. ‘Tia, you did your best. Stuff like this happens.’
‘I know. I know.’
She would still be hard on herself, though. She had been for the last five years. As if being hard on herself would somehow make up for the fact that her boyfriend had left without so much as a word before she’d even found out she was pregnant. When she had found out, she’d done everything she could to find him. She’d even asked Tyler to hire a private investigator.
The investigator had found him pretty quickly. He’d been living six hours away, with his wife and three kids.
Tia hadn’t known a thing about any of it, but she’d admonished herself as if she’d made the choice to get involved with him deliberately. She’d informed him she was pregnant, got the confirmation she hadn’t really needed that he didn’t want anything to do with her, and prepared to become a single parent.
Tyler liked to think Tia had him, but the truth was she barely asked him for anything. When she did ask him, it was because she had no other option. It was her pride—their mother had raised them with an abundance of it—though heaven only knew why that pride included him. They were family.
But this wasn’t about him; it was about Tia. He needed to respect that.
Sharp barking interrupted his thoughts.
‘What is...? Ty, did you take in another foster dog?’
He didn’t appreciate the accusation. So, again, he found himself lying. ‘No.’
‘I can hear a dog barking.’
‘It’s the TV.’
‘You’re a terrible liar.’
Not about everything.
‘You say that like it’s a bad thing.’
‘You need to stop taking in stray dogs,’ Tia replied. ‘You’re getting a reputation.’
‘Again—you say it like it’s a bad thing.’
‘I say it like a woman who knows there are liars and con people in the world. If someone ever wanted to set you up, they’d just need to use a dog and—’
‘No one is going to set me up using a dog.’
‘You don’t know.’
‘I do. Besides,’ he continued, hoping to distract from her concern, ‘this one was curled up on the side of the road. I couldn’t leave her there.’
Tia muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, ‘How come you keep finding dogs, but not a woman to bring home?’
‘What was that?’
‘I hope your tetanus shot is up to date,’ she said.
‘Since you ask me that every time, you already know the answer. Now, do I need to bring anything over for you and Nyle?’
It took some cajoling, but eventually Tia agreed to have him bring over some groceries. But only if he left them at the front door since he’d only recently got his chickenpox vaccine. An oversight by their mother which, considering she had already passed away when they’d discovered it, they would never know the reason for.
The only reason they knew now was because Tia had insisted they check their vaccine status. She’d only cared about hers so she could be prepared, but since Tyler had at first offered to look after Nyle while she worked, she’d insisted he check, too. It was one of the few times Tia’s micro-parenting had worked out.
‘Want to come with me?’ he asked his new dog.
He’d temporarily named her June until the owner came forward, but he suspected it would be while. He’d put up fliers at the local vet clinics and in the area he’d found her since she didn’t have a chip.
June’s tail wagged so fast he thought she might sprain it.
‘Okay, okay, let’s go.’
He left her in the car when he went to get Tia’s groceries, but decided to take her for a walk once the shopping was done. The store wasn’t far from Tia’s place, so he left his car in the car park. Twenty minutes later, the goods had been delivered and he was on his way back.
Then he saw his new maybe-boss.
* * *
‘Mochi, I swear if you don’t stop pulling, I’m going to—’
Brooke broke off as she passed a couple walking their own dog. Neither of them seemed as annoyed as she was. But then, their miniature fluff ball of a dog seemed nowhere near as passionate as Mochi, who was pulling at the leash so hard it felt as though he wanted to win a race.
Brooke half-ran, half-stumbled to keep up. She was about to give Mochi another talking-to—because that was truly working so well—when someone spoke.
‘Are you walking Mochi or is Mochi walking you?’
Her mouth was dry long before she met his eyes. When she did, she felt a small jolt. It was recognition, but a deeper kind than what meeting him a few hours ago should have brought. She brushed it off. It was probably because he was attractive. And, contrary to what she had told herself that morning, she was attracted to him. To the faint smirk that she so badly wanted to flick off his face. To the slight folds between his eyebrows that made his face look stormy once again.
What was she supposed to do with all this information?
‘Tyler.’
She stopped, struggling to keep Mochi back when he, too, recognised Tyler. Tyler looked more thrilled to see the dog than he did her. Not that she cared, of course.
He had his own dog with him. It was mixed breed, and sat patiently at his side, staring at the scene as if it had never once in its life misbehaved.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked, dropping to give Mochi some love. Mochi allowed it for all of ten seconds before moving to sniff Tyler’s dog.
‘Is this area reserved for people who aren’t me?’
He gave her a dark look as he straightened. ‘It’s a little far from home.’
It was, but this was where her brother had told her the SPCA had picked Mochi up when they’d got news about a stray dog in the park. Brooke thought the area might comfort him. She wasn’t sure about that, but it did seem to excite him.
She told none of this to Tyler, especially since it was fairly self-evident why she was there, apart from it being far from home. The park was large and surrounded by trees. There was a path for those who wanted to walk, and in the middle, a play area with some benches. It was a pretty standard park in a Cape Town suburb, and it was a great place to walk a dog.
She didn’t know why she was resisting telling Tyler the truth. None of it was incriminating. But the thought of sharing it with him felt intimate in a way she couldn’t explain.
She shrugged. ‘Mochi likes it here.’
‘How exactly did you figure that out?’
Oh, she’d walked into that one.
Instead of answering, she deflected. ‘Who’s your friend?’ She gestured to the dog beside him.
‘This is... Well, I’m not sure.’
‘You’re not sure?’ she repeated slowly.
‘She’s a stray. Or she might be. Again, I’m not sure.’
She found his uncertainty strangely refreshing.
‘I found her on the side of the road. She doesn’t have a chip, so she might be a stray, but she was in good condition. Well-fed, clean, and she seems trained.’
‘So let me get this straight: you picked up a stray dog...’ Of course a man who looked like him would be partial to pick
ing up stray dogs. Why would the universe make things easy? ‘And it’s the perfect dog?’
‘Well, I didn’t say...’ He looked down, smiled.
It was a fond smile this time. A gooey smile. Urgh, she hated his range.
‘Yeah, she’s pretty perfect,’ he said.
‘Of course she is.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Please, tell me.’ It sounded strangely demanding.
‘It means... Well, you finding a perfect stray dog seems consistent with what I know about you.’
‘What you know about me?’ he repeated, his voice hard. Too hard.
‘I’m sorry, that was inappropriate. I shouldn’t have implied...’ She trailed off when she saw his frown. ‘Look, we’ve spent less than an hour together and yet somehow we’ve ended up on each other’s bad sides.’
‘Less than an hour, huh?’ he asked, a wry twist to his mouth. ‘Is that just today, or are you speaking about for ever?’
‘I... I don’t know what you mean.’
‘Of course you don’t.’
She stared at him. At this confusing man who inspired more emotion in her than anyone else had in years. Since Kian had died, she’d rarely felt anything but ambivalence towards men.
To be fair, that was pretty much how she felt about everything since she’d become a widow. The years after the car accident that had taken her husband’s life—and a limited part of her memory—were a blur of neither high nor low emotions. She had moved on from it. As much as she could, considering what she’d lost.
She didn’t mind losing the memories so much. The doctors had told her it was trauma, physical and emotional. She’d been in an accident; she’d lost her husband. In light of that, the days between his death and funeral wasn’t all that much to lose. She remembered only parts of them. Flashes of emotion or scenes. But for the most part, it was lost to her.
Whenever she wanted to mourn it, she would remember that she’d lost her husband. She’d mourn something bigger then.
‘I shouldn’t have said that,’ he said. ‘I apologise.’
‘I don’t quite know what you’re apologising for,’ she replied after a beat, ‘but I’d rather we move on from it. Especially if you’re going to work for me.’
Awakened by the CEO's Kiss Page 2
