Page 5 of Three Rugged Bosses and a Clueless Girl

“No. I’m not a poor charity case. And I’m not leaving until you hire me. It looks like you’re out of coffee. I can fix that,” she said, pointing to a coffee station, which wasn’t much just a coffee maker and mugs. No cream or sugar, and no flavored syrups, cinnamon, or fancy straws. How was she supposed to make the most delicious iced coffee they'd ever taste? If nothing else, they need her for that.

"And I can bring you donuts every day—which I'll make myself, of course, and they're to die for." And I’ll answer the phone. And run errands. You want me to pick up your dry cleaning? I’m your girl. Buy your mother a gift. Me. I can do that. I have impeccable taste. One day, please. Give me one day to prove myself. Pretty please,” she said, hating that her voice caught a little and her vision blurred slightly with an unshed tear.

She had managed to go through the entire day without tears of pity because Grace's departure as their PA had given her hope.

It was as if they were having a private, silent conversation among themselves. Their connection was something so palpable that she felt it in her bones, and for some reason, a warm glow settled over her skin. Why she felt this way, she had no idea. Adrenalin. No, it was too much histamine.

“What’s the first thing I need to do?” She asked, biting her lip in concentration, manifesting stuff like a maniac in her mind.

For long moments, they remained quiet, staring at her. Oh crap. They were going to turn her around and march her straight off their site. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Well, she wasn’t going to go. She was either going to dig in her heels and refuse to move or start crying uncontrollably.

“Please give me this job. I know I can do it. Please…” She looked down at the metal floor of the makeshift office, then lifted her skirt just a little so she could bend to her knees before she dropped down completely, balancing the helmet on her head. “Please,” she said earnestly, looking up at them from her kneeling position.

She didn’t quite understand their reaction. They growled at her in sheer irritation, dragged their hands through their hair, turned away from her, and swore under their breaths.

“Get up off your knees right now,” Jake said through gritted teeth.

As awkwardly as she could, because that was how she rolled, she straightened up and smoothed down her skirt.

“Okay,” Marc began.

“Okay? Okay, as in, you’re going to give me a chance? Oh, my god. Thank you. You are not going to regret it. I promise with my whole heart. Thank you,” she said again, full of gratitude. “You won’t regret your decision. I’m going to be the best PA you’ve ever had.”

She flung herself at them, wrapping her arms around each one, pressing her body to theirs, and hugging them. It was like hugging three statues, and they each unwrapped her arms from around them and set her aside.

“No hugging,” Evan said gruffly.

“Noted. No hugging.”

“This is how it’s going to go down,” Marc said with such a begrudging grind to his voice that he made it exponentially clear he did not appreciate her bombarding herself into their lives and causing chaos. Well, it was no picnic for her either, but she wasn’t going to tell them that.

“I’m all ears.”

“We’ll give you one task,” Jake said. He was leaning over a desk, writing out a check. “If you complete it on time, you get to work here. If you don’t, cash this check, and don’t ever come back here again.”

He handed her a check for five hundred thousand dollars. Half a million dollars. Were they insane? Her sockets nearly swallowed her eyes as she stared at zeroes, and it was clear he had added way too many zeroes to the amount.

Obviously, they knew what happened to her truck and that she didn’t have any insurance—it was on her list of things to do, dammit. Frank would have told them everything. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment, and it had nothing on the paint Daisy had put on her face to make her look prettier.

She could imagine them saying the same thing Frank had said. Stupid girl.

“Unless you need more,” Evan said.

“I don’t want your money.” She purposefully lifted her chin so high that she could see down her nose. “Again, I’m not a charity case. I need a job, that is all.” She held out the check.

She would rather jump off a cliff than accept any handouts, especially from them. They already thought she was just a pathetic little dreamer with no firm grip on reality.

Clueless.

She had her pride, and she would be using every ounce of it, especially in front of them. She was not going to take their money. She would rather lose her fingers.

But at least they were giving her a chance. If her first order of business were to bring them the moon, she would do that exactly.

“You can give it back to us, if you complete the task we set out for you.”

“Oh, I’ll be giving it back to you all right.” She stuffed the check into a side compartment of her tote. “So, what do I have to do first? Lay it on me,” she added, digging around the main compartment for her phone, which was challenging to do since the hard hat on her head kept blocking her sight, and for some weird reason, it never occurred to her to remove it.

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