Plain Jane and the Bad Boy (Plain Jane Series)

by Tmonique Stephens

  “Of course.”

  “No problem.”

  He had the urge to lean in and kiss Sabrina goodbye, and not on the forehead. He wanted to plant a kiss on her lips, force her mouth to open and take his tongue. Instead, he raced out of the office building to his truck. As he drove away, his thoughts should’ve been on the amount of money he was about to fork over to the house he needed to flip, not on his soon to be employee and how she made him feel.

  Chapter Twelve

  The distinctive rumble of Liam’s truck pulled Sabrina’s attention to the bedroom window. Vivi stirred in her mother’s arms. Sabrina shushed her and gently lay her down in her playpen. Another second and Vivi settled into a peaceful slumber.

  Drawn to the window, Sabrina peeked through the blinds at her neighbor and boss. He’d climbed out the truck, slammed the door closed and stretched, followed by a quick snap of his neck from side to side. He took a step toward his house but stopped and faced her house. He seemed to scan the exterior, looking for what she had no idea, then his gaze shifted to her.

  How did he know she was there with only the faint light from the hallway filtering into the room? Maybe he didn’t and it was just a figment of— Shit! He was halfway across the street, heading her way.

  Butterflies erupted in her stomach. Quickly, she ran her fingers through her hair and belted the thin robe around her waist. The doorbell rang. Jesus, she didn’t have on a bra or panties. She felt exposed, naked, raw and…tingly.

  Heart in her throat, she took a breath to steady herself, a little composure never hurts, and opened the door a fraction. Liam leaned against the doorjamb, his exhaustion plain to see. “Hey.”

  “Hey. Come inside.” She opened the door wide and stepped out of the way. Already shaking his head, about to say no, she added. “Did you eat? I made arroz con pollo. It’s Spanish style chicken and rice. I spent a lot of time at a friend’s house when I was growing up. Her mother was Puerto Rican and made the best food.”

  He sighed again and shook his head once. “I’m filthy and smelly.”

  Yes, to the filthy part, but smelly, she disagreed. He smelled like a man who’d put in a hard day of work. No cologne, just honest sweat. It was a scent she could get addicted to. She stepped aside, not taking no for an answer. “I’ll fix you a plate to go.”

  Liam gave in and closed the door behind him. He followed her into the kitchen and sank wearily into a chair at the dining table.

  “How’s the house?” she asked as she pulled a Tupperware out of the cupboard.

  He planted his elbow on the table and propped his head in his hand. “We broke up the slab. We get a backhoe tomorrow to dig up the soil and get to the leak, then get a dump truck to haul everything away. If it extends under the house, it’ll cost a lot to fix. It’s a huge set back,” he muttered, his eyes closed.

  She wanted to help and hadn’t a clue how. “I’m sorry.” Which was so lame.

  His eyes opened and the corner of his mouth curled in a sardonic smile. “Price of doing business. Sometimes things go your way. Sometimes they don’t. Not your fault, so no sorry necessary.”

  “I’m still sorry. Is there anything I can do?” She pulled out a large pot of arroz con pollo from the refrigerator, then filled a deep Tupperware with a heaping amount of food.

  The chair scraped away from the table and he came to her as she sealed the top to the container. He stood close, so close. A few weeks ago, it would have been too close, and she would’ve had a reaction. Staring up into his dirt-streaked face, into his intense midnight eyes, she had a reaction, something warm coiled low.

  “Unless you know how to drive a backhoe, no.”

  The gruff edge to his voice abraded her already heightened nerves. Where once she was dead, parts of her awakened like a frozen block of ice now thawing on the stove. She simmered.

  “No,” said a bit too sharply. “No skill there.” She shoved the Tupperware into his chest and busied herself with returning the pot to the refrigerator. But the time she finished, he was halfway across the kitchen. Good, she told herself while ignoring the instant loss she felt.

  “I didn’t come over for food, but thanks for the meal.” He waved the container.

  “It’s spicy. I hope you like spicy.” God, she was babbling. “Why did you stop by?”

  He shoved his free hand into his pocket and pulled out a handful of bills. “The two-hundred-dollar advance.”

  Even though it was an advance, she didn’t feel comfortable taking the money. Did he do this with his other employees or just her? And if just her, did that make her a special case of needy or something else? That something else caused her nipples to pebble. “Liam, I really don’t—”

  “I’m not arguing with you again about this.” He placed the money on the table and headed for the door. “You have enough gas in your car to get to the gas station?”

  She nodded.

  “Good. I’m leaving early tomorrow, so I won’t be able to take you to work.”

  “No problem. I’ll be fine.” The tank was on E, but she should be able to make it to the station a half a mile away.

  “Everything good with you and Anna today?”

  “Yes. She and Sasha were wonderful. Anna spent hours going over everything with me. She was so patient.” Sasha was a little standoffish, but that was how it was between some women. Worrying about it was pointless. Nothing would prevent Sabrina from keeping this job.

  He stretched and yawned, his jaw practically unhinged, and shook his head. She chuckled, couldn’t help it. His scowl made her laugh even more. “Sorry, you yawn like Vivi.”

  “You just compared me to a little girl. My ego will never recover.”

  In front of her door he stood. This time she approached him. This time she got close. “Thank you for everything you did today.”

  “You are welcome, Sabrina.”

  Why? Why help me? Her gaze dipped to his mouth and skated away. She wasn’t ready for that, not ready at all. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.” He walked through the door. “Have a great day at work,” he shouted.

  “Thanks.” She watched him cross the street. Actually, she watched his tight ass cross the street in a worn pair of jeans. Jesus. Three months ago she would’ve sworn her libido was dead and buried, never to return, especially after everything Vincent put her through.

  Then Liam happened.

  “I will not dream of my boss’s ass,” she chanted on the way to a cold, empty bed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It had been a busy week learning the ins and outs of her new job with Sasha, who made it seem so difficult. Handling the invoices from all the contractors, filing the permits for all the ongoing construction projects, and the rent collection.

  “We’re busiest at the beginning of the month, usually with the rental properties, of which we have ten. Liam didn’t mean to become a landlord. Early on when he started flipping, he made some risky choices that didn’t pan out.” Anna explained.

  “How so?” Sabrina asked. They were in Anna’s office.

  Anna shrugged and tapped her pen against the blotter on her desk. “I’ve been with Liam for three years. He’s a good businessman, but he has a soft heart.”

  Sabrina guessed that already.

  “He had a partner. Things didn’t work out.”

  He wouldn’t have been the first to have a bad partner. “Who was the partner?”

  “Not important.” Anna deflected, making Sabrina think the identity was important either to her or to him. “Liam did what was necessary and bounced back. He’s a good man. If I had a daughter…” Her voice trailed away with a chuckle, and Sabrina was glad she didn’t have a daughter for Liam to meet.

  Sasha knocked on the office doorjamb. “I’m going for my eleven o’clock OB appointment. Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll induce.” She rubbed her distended belly. “Thirty-six weeks is good enough, right?”

  “No. Thirty-six weeks is not forty. You made it this far. What
’s another month?” Anna asked and rose from Liam’s chair. “Billy meeting you?”

  “No. They’re laying a new slab on that house today, while Liam and Mack are working on the house on Parkway.”

  “That’s right, it slipped my mind. Would you like me to go with you?” Anna offered.

  “Well.” Sasha got misty. She sniffed and chewed on her bottom lip. “Yeah. If that’s okay with you.” She looked at Sabrina for approval, since she’d be left alone to run everything only one week after employment.

  Sabrina remembered being that hormonal, though Vincent didn’t care. And he stopped going to her appointments once they found out it wasn’t a boy. He wanted a little Black Dragon to bring up in the club.

  “You two, go. Vivi and I can hold down the fort.” Vivi sat in her playpen surrounded by toys, for the moment content.

  “Are you sure?” Sasha asked.

  “Of course, she’s sure. It’s the end of the week and nothing happens on Fridays. I’ll follow Sasha in my car and return when she’s done. I’ll even bring back a surprise. Answer the phones and take messages. I’ll call everyone back when I return.”

  “Let me get my purse.” Sasha waddled away.

  Anna bent down and whispered into Sabrina’s ear. “The keys are in the top drawer of my desk, just in case they do induce her.” She patted Sabrina’s shoulder and paused to cuddle Vivi before hustling out the door with Sasha.

  “Just me and you, babe.” She borrowed Sasha’s laptop and put on Peppa Pig on YouTube and got to work. The phone rang a few times. She took messages for Anna and Liam. None of them critical.

  She started on the invoices, sorting them the way Anna had shown her, when the door opened and in walked the enforcer for the Black Dragons, Neil Rayburn—AKA Razor. Once she’d asked Vincent how Razor got his name since the man was tall, skinny, and had the sweetest baby face. It was like all the fat in his body had relocated to his cheeks.

  “He’s a magician with a straight blade. Never seen anyone better at carving up a man.” Vincent had explained.

  Her blood ran cold as Razor sauntered into the office, his gaze skimming over the three desks, Vivi, and then settled on Sabrina. “Yo, where’s the old Spanish lady?”

  He wanted Anna. She could’ve sagged from relief and melted into her chair. Instead, she poured more metal into her spine and remained erect. She wasn’t out of the woods and in the clear. “She’s out.” Now was not the time to sound breathy, yet she did.

  Razor eyed her. His gaze traveled from the top of her head down to her waist. The desk blocked his gaze from traveling further. By the time his focus returned to her face, she wanted a shower. “Can I help you?”

  “You’re new.” He propped his ass on the edge of the desk nearest to her. “How long you been working here?”

  Be nice. “A few weeks.”

  “You like it here? The hours? The pay?”

  “I can’t complain.”

  He laughed, a dry sound with little humor. “No one likes a complaining bitch.”

  Grinning, he waited for a reaction. She didn’t give him one. So much worse had been said to her and about her, from Vincent and others.

  His expression soured. “That your kid?”

  If she said yes, would he use that against her? If no, the same could happen if he later discovered the lie and her identity. “She’s mine.”

  “Babies in the workplace.” He shook his head and snorted. “Things have changed since I held down a nine-to-five.”

  The phone rang, she ignored it and focused on the danger in front of her. “Can I help you with something, sir?”

  He liked that she chose him over the phone, as she knew he would. “You can. You know where Liam is?”

  Yes. “No.”

  “You don’t know where your boss is?” He all but called her a liar.

  “I’m not the one he checks in with. New employee here.” Without losing a beat, she pointed out the obvious. “Ms. Ramirez is the only one who knows his schedule, and she’s gone for the day.”

  He didn’t like her answer but did nothing about it. Interesting. She once saw him stab a guy for having a winning poker hand.

  He wasn’t here to delve out that kind of pain. He was on his best behavior. Why? Also, he didn’t recognize her, so he wasn’t here for her, which didn’t put her at ease since that could change at any minute. The woman he’d met had blue hair, shaved on one side. She was braless in a see-through shirt that highlighted her pierced nipples. Her skirt was as short as her cropped top. That’s how Vincent had wanted her to dress that night. And what Vincent wanted, Vincent got.

  His gaze kept shifting all over the room. “So, all of this is really… Construction, huh.” He asked and answered his own question. “You got his phone number?”

  Yes, but she was sure Liam didn’t want Razor to have it. She reached for a business card and passed it over. “Mr. Callahan’s office number is on the card, which links to his personal phone.” She had no idea if that were true.

  He snatched the card out of her hand and rubbed the edge against the stubble on his jaw. The sound grated her nerves, though she sat there with a pleasant smile plastered on her face.

  “Do I know you?”

  Her heart lurched and kicked into overdrive. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

  His head angled to the left, then the right, sizing her up. She wanted to hide. “You look familiar, but I can’t place you.” He reached for her face to touch her, grab her.

  She shoved away from the desk, rolling in the chair until a few feet separated them. “Don’t,” she choked out. The thought of him touching her made her violent. Vivi whined. Sabrina went the opposite way around the desk and picked her up. Back to Razor, she buried her head in the crux of her daughter’s neck, she used the time to center herself and gather her courage, before turning to face him. “Is there anything else? I need to feed my baby.”

  He stood and strolled over to her. She braced, for violence, to run. He stood right in front of her, looked down at her with those cold eyes, then dropped and picked up Vivi’s knitted cow blankie. “Tell Liam Razor was here.”

  “I certainly will, sir.” Only then did he hand her the blankie.

  Razor took another look around the room. He scowled as if he didn’t like what he saw. She suspected differently. Vincent once said Razor would lick between the president of the Black Dragon’s balls if it meant keeping his position in the club. He’d do anything to keep his club in the green. Anything. Including hurting the woman and child of the man who’d stolen the club’s money.

  The door closed behind Razor with a final thud.

  I’m on their radar again. Stupid. Stupid. I never should’ve agreed to work here. It was just a matter of time before one of them stumbled across me. Just a matter of time before Razor remembers that blue-haired girl.

  “We have to leave,” she whispered in Vivi’s ear.

  Can’t leave. The same problem persisted. Not enough money. Even with a new job, she didn’t have enough to get very far, especially with a baby in tow. Groceries, diapers, the list of things she needed to survive was endless, along with a new city, new place to live, new job to find. Running once more.

  Always on the defense, never on the offense. How to change that? Can’t change that.

  She cradled Vivi and carried her to the car. Baby strapped in, Sabrina rushed back to lock up the office. Then…she sat in the car, engine on, foot on the brake, hand on the gear shift.

  “Reverse, drive, hit the highway, and go where?” She said to no one in particular. Going back home and hiding was an option, not a viable one, but an option. Options, yeah, right. The list ran through her head, and they were the same options she’d always had, except one. One of her choices was brand spanking new.

  Car in reverse, she backed out of the parking lot. Car in drive, she headed for the highway. Radio on, she and Vivi jammed to Katy Perry’s “Roar.”

  Two exits and they were on the off-ramp. One mile pa
st the shopping mall and franchised restaurants, a yoga studio, Spa, nail salon, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s, she turned into Bountiful Lakes residential community. The house wasn’t hard to find with it being in the middle of the block and Liam’s truck parked in the driveway. Plus, Mack and Billy were outside.

  “What brings you by?” Mack asked when she climbed out of the car. He puffed on a cigarette.

  She eyed him and the stick perched at the corner of his mouth with utter disgust, barely managing to ward off a deep, bone rattling shiver. “I need to see Liam.”

  He hiked a thumb toward the house. “Follow the noise.”

  She paused to listen and heard a steady thud coming from the house. “What’s he doing?”

  “Taking down a wall,” he said after a long puff.

  “Oh.” She opened the rear door and unlocked the carrier from the base, then started up the driveway until Mack stopped her.

  “I wouldn’t go in there with the kid. The dust isn’t good for the lungs.”

  And cigarette smoke is? She arched an eyebrow at him until he tossed his cigarette into the grass. He rubbed his hands on his jeans, a worn pair spotted with paint. Hands were still dirty.

  “It’s been a while since my kids were this little, but I can watch her for a few minutes.” He shrugged and eyed Vivi with a tentative grin.

  She looked at the house and listened to the steady pounding, then looked back at Mack. Vivi would be fine for a few minutes. “All right. I won’t be long.” She handed him the carrier. “Don’t take her out.”

  A mask dangled around his neck. “Do I need one of those?” She pointed to it.

  He peeled off the filthy mask and handed it to her. She handed it back. “I won’t be long.”

  She had to tell Liam, not just about Razor’s visit, but everything. Vincent, Vivi, the lies of omission. He knew why she was running, but didn’t know from who. The who was important.

  She entered the house through the garage, which naturally led into the kitchen. The dull thud turned into loud banging inside the house. She tracked the demolition to a bathroom between two bedrooms and stopped to watch the show.