She’d never be able to pull off anything so bold, would she? But Brandon made it sound so reasonable, and she couldn’t imagine living the rest of her life without at least trying to tell Aiden how wrong she’d been to reject him.
Hope started to unfurl in her chest. “Go big or go home, right?”
“Exactly. Go get your job. Go get your man.” He pulled his car keys from his pocket and dropped them on the bar in front of her. “It’s a rental. Don’t wreck it.”
“How will you get back to the office?”
He waved her off as he glanced around the Elephant, which was starting to fill up with a lunch crowd. “Oh, don’t you worry. Unlike you, I’m not in love with anybody, and I see plenty of pretty young things just dying to be chatted up by an out-of-town businessman.” He emptied his drink and waved the empty glass at Tammy. “If I strike out, there’s always Uber.”
She stood and slung her purse over her shoulder. “You know, you might just be the most memorable boss I’ve ever had.”
“Why, thank you.” He sounded genuinely appreciative as he flashed his bright white smile, although she hadn’t exactly given him a compliment. Then he said, “If things don’t work out with the job, let me know and we’ll take you back in a heartbeat.”
She snatched up the keys, suddenly eager to get started on her new plan. “No offense, but I hope I never see you again.”
“Some taken,” he said with a faint smile. “Now get out of here. I want your desk cleaned out by the end of the day.”
“Th-thank you,” she said, overwhelmed and a little giddy. She left him to his hunting grounds and drove back to the Brick with a head full of plans and a heart full of hope.
Twenty-Eight
Aiden was starting to get pissed.
Voices from the lobby had been floating in through his closed office door all morning, but now the conversation had ratcheted up to full-blown waves of laughter. What could possibly be so goddamn funny out there this early on a Monday?
The temp agency must’ve sent a different person this morning because last week’s receptionist hadn’t spoken above a whisper and definitely wasn’t suited to a workplace filled with a bunch of rowdy hammer jockeys. But he couldn’t say for sure because he’d parked his truck in the back and headed straight to his office to avoid the hassle of small talk and basic human pleasantries.
He was shit at basic human pleasantries these days.
He ground his teeth at another roar of laughter from the front room of the lobby area and grimly turned his attention back to the stack of résumés in front of him. One of the people on these pages might be the perfect replacement for his mom, and once that person was hired, he could execute the next step of his plan to win Thea back.
Step One: hire a receptionist to show her that he didn’t love her because of what she could bring to his company. Step Two:…
Okay, he didn’t have a step two yet, but it probably involved apologies and moving slow. He was willing to take things as slowly as she wanted. Start from scratch with a real first date and a real first kiss.
No, fuck that. Kissing Thea had been real long before his brain had figured out what his heart was telling him. He missed her with a ferocity that threatened to overwhelm him sometimes. But he couldn’t start figuring out how to win her back until he found someone good to run the office, so he forced himself to turn back to the papers on his desk. He’d just started skimming the work history on the top sheet when another commotion exploded in the lobby. This one sounded far less hilarious than the last few outbursts. In fact, some of the voices sounded downright urgent.
He set the résumé down and cocked his head, bracing himself for a summons to deal with whatever crisis had just occurred. But nobody came knocking on his door. Everything was quiet.Suspiciouslyquiet. Since he’d taken over for his dad, he’d learned that quiet wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
“Goddammit.” He growled the word as he stalked to his door and threw it open to see the new kid they’d hired last month hurrying toward the bathrooms with— Shit, was that blood on his shirt?
“Trevor! What’s happening?”
The kid jumped at the sound of his voice and looked down at the red spatters on his hand. “Samuelson got himself with a nail gun.”
“Got himself?”Fuck. “Where is he?”
The kid jerked his head toward the back room, but before Aiden went to check it out, he asked, “You okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s not my b-blood. It’s just…” Trevor’s already pale face blanched even further, and he turned and bolted toward the restroom. Jesus, what kind of carnage was waiting for him back there? He charged down the hall and burst through the workroom door to find… everything under control.
“Benny, did you find the clean towels? Let’s get Jesse’s station cleaned up.” The woman in the center of the controlled chaos pointed to the workbench in the corner of the room, and time seemed to slow down as Aiden’s heart expanded to fill his chest.
Thea. Focused, calm, and the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. When she turned, her gaze barely paused on him as she turned to another of his employees. “Did you find the first aid kit?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The grizzled workplace vet handed the case over, and Thea gently rested her hand on Samuelson’s back. “I’d like to get this cleaned up a little to see what we’ve got, okay?”
“I’m fine,” Samuelson said through gritted teeth. “Don’t fuss.”
