Bold Read online

  Employment. I need a job and fast.

  Madison works at a retail store, and Benson works for a technical support company. He already left for work today, but Madison is around the house somewhere. She let me borrow her laptop before she disappeared. It’s a nice day, so I take the computer outside to the porch swing. I search the web for places hiring, hoping to find a job that is willing to take a chance on a girl with zero experience in just about anything. Sure, I have a high school diploma, but that doesn’t mean much in the real world.

  Bay Town area. Entry-level. Now hiring.

  My search brings a host of opportunities, but my concentration breaks.

  What does it is the man—who is so very, very much a man—across the street. The wave of his chin-length dirty-blond hair is prominent, probably from the Florida humidity. He wipes the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt, and I’m mesmerized. I can’t deny it. There is something absolutely captivating about the way he moves.

  I’m still watching him as he heads over to a makeshift plywood desk and scribbles something onto a piece of paper. He looks up and stares out into the street before removing his shirt. When the light dusting of hair below his belly button comes into view, I can’t avert my eyes. My brain floats out of my head, and my heart beats from my chest. My palms start to sweat, and I cross my legs, attempting to suppress the ache within my girlie part that guy just sparked to life. Common sense and decency leave my body, and an intense lust takes its place. I am a dreamer, a romantic, but this man across the lot is pulling something shallower from me, a craving more physical.

  How could a patch of human hair throw me into such a tizzy?

  My mind starts to conjure a ridiculous story about love at first sight and an intense relationship developing inside the dirt and clutter of the unfinished home across the street. I can’t help it. It’s how my heart beats and where my fantasies go.

  Of course, we are just about to sit down to Sunday dinner with our two-point-five kids inside my head when he catches me staring, and I’m pulled back to reality. Slowly, as if I can’t bear the thought of pulling my eyes away from him, I drop my gaze back to the laptop. My hormones most likely wouldn’t be able to take any more anyway. I stare at the list of job listings, but the harder I concentrate, the more the words blur together, and the more my mind wanders to the man across the street.

  A man like him would surely see me as nothing more than a little girl. While I don’t think he’s that much older than I am, my life hasn’t presented many social experiences outside where I grew up. Sure, Golden Heights was filled with children my age, but we were all more or less misfits of society. We weren’t prisoners, but we were children of poverty and abandonment, living in a secluded group setting, ostracized from the normal world. Kids can be mean. Even at school, it was easier to stick with the kids who were like me, and honestly, the kids in my classes didn’t seem to mind all that much that I kept to myself. In fact, they insisted on it. A grade-schooler would probably have more exposure to the world than I did.

  The bright sun disappears, and a pair of sturdy construction boots catches my downward glance.

  “Morning.” One uttered word directed at me. His confidently mumbled greeting and the timbre of his inflection send shivers down my spine in a way that makes me want to demand he do it again.

  Look up, Noah. Bring your eyes to his. He came over for a reason.

  “Hello.” I manage the single word without any huge disasters.

  My chin lifts, and my sight travels up his long, lean legs. The definition in his abs is the perfect background for the trail of hair that made me blush earlier. He stands with perfect posture, his broad shoulders squared and defined. Oh my freaking goodness. His eyes—blue swirled with green that mimics the waves of an ocean—make the breath stall in my lungs. His lips are pressed into a playful smirk aimed my way, which highlights the heavy scruff on his jaw.

  “Are you the new roommate?” He takes a seat on the swing beside me, but before I can answer, he continues, “That was probably a stupid question. Of course you are. Who else would you be?”

  “I am the new roommate.”

  The swing sways heavily with his added weight.

  “I’m Brazen Hale.”

  He reaches his hand out to me, and I awkwardly give him mine with my palm down, as if I’m ready to hold his hand instead of shake it. His rough fingers grasp around my hand, and the pad of his thumb tickles my palm as he slowly drags it over my skin. The gesture is a mix between a handshake and a caress. It’s a lot less awkward than it should be.

  “Noah.” Stupidly, I withdraw my hand from his as I tell him my name. I miss his touch the instant it’s gone.

  He leans into my space and checks out the screen of the laptop. “Job search, huh? Any luck?”

  “Barely began actually.”

  The corners of his eyes crinkle, and a mischievous expression alters his smile.

  “What kind of job experience do you have?” He takes the computer from my lap, closes the lid, and sets it to the side before scooting closer to me on the bench. His arm goes across the back of the swing and grazes the back of my head.

  “None. I’ve never had a job before.” My voice is small, and I hate myself just a little for it.

  “Well, what do you want to do? What are you interested in?” He pushes for more.

  “I’m not sure yet. I was kind of hoping something would just jump out at me.” That happening isn’t likely, but again, I’m the optimist.

  “Are you organized? Friendly? Able to roll with the punches?”

  “Yes, yes, and yes.” I am all of those things.

  “I doubt it’s your dream job, but if you’re interested, I do need an assistant.”

  I have no idea why a construction worker would need an assistant, but having a boss as hot as he is could be exciting. Although, if he’s shirtless on a day-to-day basis, then it might be hard to get much work done.

  “An assistant? On a construction site? Do you need help holding your tools?”

  He laughs, and I find myself doing the same right along with him. The nervous tension that has built inside me since he removed his shirt begins to dissipate.

  “I flip houses with a friend. I’m the muscle and architect of our projects; my friend finds the right houses and then sells them when I’m done.”

  “Flip them? I’m not entirely sure what that means.” Embarrassment floods me at having to ask, and I only realize I’m nervously twisting my hair around my fingers after his eyes stray to the movement. I drop my hand to my lap and mentally berate myself for being so awkward.

  “We buy places for dirt cheap, fix them up, and then sell them for profit.” His answer is simple enough, and the way he responds doesn’t make me feel stupid for not knowing what he does.

  “And you need an assistant for that?” Maybe the perfect job can find me this easily.

  “For the office work, yes, and I need someone to oversee job site crap sometimes. You’d really be helping me out.”

  Hot boss. No scary interview. The offer fell into my lap.

  This is a no-brainer.

  “I’ll take it.”

  “Great. I look forward to working with you, Noah.” He stands, removes his wallet from his back pocket, and hands me a business card. “Be at this address at eight tomorrow morning.”

  “Thanks.” Yes! Never in a million years did I think finding a job would be this easy. “Oh, Brazen! What should I wear?”

  “Casual, whatever is fine. We’re not formal. But, Noah?” He looks at me from over his shoulder.

  “Yeah?” Please don’t take back the offer. Please!

  His stare is making me squirm, even more so when his eyes sweep up and down my legs.

  “I won’t hate it if you came in another dress like that one.”

  He turns and leaves the porch before I can close my shocked mouth. My fingers play with the hem of my airy pink sundress, and I can’t fight off the smile that Brazen p
ut on my face. My mind is already cataloging my closet, mentally picking out the perfect dress for tomorrow.

  Madison appears at the front door. “How’s the hunt going? Do you need any help?” She points to the closed computer, assuming that I’ve already admitted defeat.

  “No, thanks. I’m all set. I start tomorrow.”

  “What?” she asks, finally stepping out onto the porch. “Really? How did you manage that?”

  “The guy across the street hired me,” I tell her, hoping she can’t see my giant crush.

  “Brazen Hale?”

  “Yep.”

  Together, we stare off at him, back hard at work.

  “Yeah, I can see it,” she muses.

  “See what?” I take my eyes off Brazen and bring them back to Madison.

  “The two of you working together. It fits.”

  “Madison! That’s my new boss!”

  “And one hell of a handsome boss to have. Lucky girl.” She fans her face as if she’s suddenly hot.

  I know the feeling. He is one to lust over.

  “You’re bad, Madison!” So bad.

  “If you get the opportunity, you should be bad, too. You only get so many chances like this one, girl. Trust me.” She walks off, back inside the house, ending our conversation.

  I look back over at Brazen.

  She’s right; being bad with him wouldn’t really be bad at all.

  Brazen

  Those legs.

  Long and tone.

  I’ve been fantasizing about them being wrapped around me since I left Noah on the porch.

  I shouldn’t have made the comment about her dress, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been staring at the door, waiting to see if she’ll arrive for her first day of work, baring her legs as I asked. Light from the sun slices into my office, and the roar of early morning traffic fills my space as the glass door opens.

  I like what I see. Even though I shouldn’t.

  Fuck, I’m a lucky man. She listens better than I hoped. My eyes go straight to those athletic legs as she enters the room. I fight to keep from gawking too long, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable.

  “Noah.” Possessiveness shoots throughout me as I say her name.

  “Brazen.” My name on her lips has me craving to hear her scream it when she’s driven by untamed lust.

  “You look great.” I can’t help myself. “I like the dress.”

  Her cheeks turn a rosy shade as she absentmindedly touches the hem of her outfit before she speaks, “Thank you.”

  I can’t decide whether I’m brilliant for hiring a hot assistant or completely brain dead. Yesterday, I was pulled to her by the way she couldn’t take her eyes off me as she sat on the porch swing. A pull that had me crossing the damn street to introduce myself and then demanding I offer her this job. I might not be certain this decision is one of my better or worse, but one thing is definite: My business partner won’t be happy about this. Especially after I admit to calling and excusing the assistant that was already lined up to start today.

  I shouldn’t be interested in Noah, but I can’t help that I am.

  She holds all my attention. Every. Single. Bit.

  Dark blonde hair the color of sand covers her shoulders. Green eyes that remind me of kiwis take me in. Her slender form is rigidly straight, but her smile is bright and full of innocence. A girl like her is liable to cause me trouble. She’s too young. Way too fucking angelic, and, damn, is she beautiful.

  At another time, if things were different and I didn’t have so much going on, I would pursue her relentlessly. I would make her mine, but that isn’t in the cards right now. Facts are facts. She came into my life at a bad time. Noah is a distraction that I can’t afford.

  My focus is on my career. I’m building a business, one that’s been my dream for as long as I can remember. After that, my priority is on one person and one person only. There is no room in my life for anything else because my best friend needs me more than anyone could. I need to keep things with Noah professional. I’m a flirt by nature, but I can’t take it past that.

  That last thought has me mentally kicking myself for even suggesting she wear a dress. Now, if I tell her not to, I’ll look like an idiot.

  I’ll just have to look but not touch.

  Fantasize but not act.

  Crave but not conquer.

  “Ready to get started?” I stand and show Noah to her workspace within our relatively small office.

  “No time like the present.” She follows me to her desk that sits across from mine.

  I pull out her chair for her. This gesture is part of values that were instilled in me since I could walk. My mom raised me to treat women a certain type of way. Anything less, and she’d probably beat me with the end of a broom.

  Noah smooths the back of her dress before she sits down. I lean into her space. A mixture of freshly baked cake and the crisp smell of fresh laundry hits my senses.

  “You’ll be handling all the paperwork, so you’ll need to learn our filing system. You wouldn’t think a job where someone works with his hands would have so much pencil-pushing, but it does. There are a lot of contracts and permits that are essential to keeping us moving.” Earlier, I brought out some of the normal forms we see on a day-to-day basis, and I shuffle through them to give her an example of what she’ll be working with.

  “What happens if something falls through on the clerical side?” She meticulously studies the papers laid out in front of her.

  “Accidents happen, but let’s try to not let something like that fall through. When we don’t have the right permits, then everything shuts down, and in this business, that’s bad. The longer the house sits in my name, the less money there is to be made.”

  When she doesn’t respond, I keep going. There is still a lot more that she’ll be handling in her role as an assistant.

  “You’ll need to keep a detailed calendar that tracks our due dates for submitting permits and invoices, and I’ll need you to stay on top of deliveries—when we ordered them and when they are supposed to be delivered. I need you to be so on top of it that I won’t need to worry about anything on that side of the business.”

  Noah is cute, which might be a huge part of why I gave her this job, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to hold her to the highest standard. This isn’t only my livelihood. It’s my passion.

  “I’m organized, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Good. Maybe hiring the girl I’m pining for won’t be the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.

  “The paperwork and everything that goes with it is the most important part of the job, but you’ll also be doing some basic secretarial type stuff, such as answering the phone, taking messages, visiting job sites, running to the bank, and overseeing supplies and deliveries.”

  I watch while she takes notes as I speak and chews on her lip when she starts to struggle with getting each and every one of my words. Her leg bounces beneath the desk.

  “Don’t worry; you’ll get it.” I try to boost her confidence.

  “I’m a quick learner, and I want to do well here. That was just a lot of instructions at once. I’ll handle it though. I don’t want to let you down because it was so nice of you to give me this chance.” Her words are rushed but genuine.

  “I have no doubts, you’ll do great, Noah.” I lightly touch her wrist.

  “Thank you.” She casually pulls her hand away and rests them both in her lap.

  Noah smiles sweetly as she hangs on my every word, as if I have all the answers.

  There is so much trust written all over her face as she gazes at me.

  The way she looks at me when I compliment or reassure her has me doubting my resolve to stay professional. Her eyes brim with pride as I encourage her, and it fills me with a need to do that for her always. I step back from crowding the desk when the overwhelming desire for Noah gets to be too much.

  “Ahem.”

  I jump at the sound behind me.

>   Shit! When did she get here?

  I turn to find narrowed eyes looking my way.

  My business partner isn’t happy, which I knew was coming.

  “Brazen, can I speak to you for a minute? In the back … now.” She doesn’t wait for a response from me but goes into the kitchen part of the office. It’s the only area with a door.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Noah nods as she watches the doorway my partner just stormed through.

  The second I close the door behind me, Sunday’s anger wraps around me, but there is something else behind her anger, something I can’t put my finger on.

  “Who is that?” She points toward the wall, indicating the girl on the other side of it.

  “Our new assistant.” I leave off the part where I’m thinking the answer to her question is obvious. It’s too early in the morning to egg on Sunday. Plus, I think I’ve done enough.

  “What happened to the assistant we hired and agreed on together?” She throws her arms up in the air, exasperated with me.

  “Funniest thing. He called late last night and said he was taking a different job.” I shrug after my blatant lie.

  “That’s bullshit. Is this girl qualified? Can she handle the job?”

  Surely, Noah can hear Sunday’s raised voice. These walls aren’t that thick.

  “It’ll all work out, Sun,” I promise her.

  “It had better.” She taps her foot and crosses her arms.

  Suddenly, Sunday’s emotions switch from annoyance to knowing. Her voice softens and compassion runs through her as her posture relaxes. “Do you know how long I was behind you before you noticed? I saw you with her, Braze.”

  Sunday has been my best friend since I dumped sand over her head in the sandbox. She cried, and I never wanted to hear her make those sad wails again. As a little boy, I was devastated that I’d caused her so much distress, so the next day, I brought her flowers that I’d asked my mom to take me to get and gave her a handwritten apology card. We’ve been inseparable ever since, and Sunday knows me better than I know myself. I see where her question is leading, but this time, she’s wrong.

  “Don’t overthink this, Sunday. The girl needed a job. She needed it more than the little twerp we hired last week. I gave her a job. Yes, she’s hot, but there isn’t some hidden meaning here besides the fact that I thought she’d be nice to look at while I work.”