Page 22 of Secret Billionaire

“I only know of one Jesse Carlisle on the island.”

Faye was stunned, realizing her mouth had been hanging open, she pressed her lips together. As the shock wore off, she became increasingly angry. He’d deliberately misled her. Her anger obscured her judgement, making her forget her own deception. He’d presented it as if he’d only have to move a couple things around to accommodate her, when in fact he owned one of the largest construction companies around. How gullible am I?

* * *

The stereo was blaring country tunes as Joe and Jesse lifted the heavy figurine onto the deck above them. Voice strained, Joe said, “Damn dude, you weren’t kidding about this being heavy!” Sweat dripped off his brow. After hoisting it out they climbed up onto the deck.

“It’s cool though, don’t you think?” Jesse said.

“Yeah and kind of creepy.” Joe’s eyes narrowed as he studied the statue. “The guy looks pretty pissed off to me. Maybe he’ll ward off all the asshole customers for your girlfriend.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Who said anything about girlfriend? Right now, she’s a customer.”

“Yeah right. That’s why you’re already trying to manage her moods.”

Jesse laughed at that. “You’ve got a point. That does seem like a boyfriend kind of move.”

They were both startled when a male voice interrupted them. “That’s a pretty ugly looking statue.” The stranger lit up a cigarette as he looked around appraisingly. Standing below them on the pier, he blew out a stream of smoke and asked, “Is Faye around?”

“Nope, she’s out running errands,” Jesse said. “Can I give her a message?”

Rather than answering Jesse’s question, he asked, “Who are you, the boyfriend?”

Jesse’s hackles stood up, suddenly on the alert. “Do you have a message for her or not?”

“Just tell her an old friend stopped by. I’ll try and catch her later.” He flicked his cigarette into the water and left.

Jesse and Joe exchanged a glance and Joe shrugged. “That was weird.”

“Never a dull moment.”

* * *

Neither heard Faye return until she was standing in front of them, hands on her hips and sparks flying from her eyes.

In her deepest southern drawl, she said, “Why if it isn’t Jesse Carlisle of CarlislePremier Construction!”

Jesse and Joe exchanged a look then Jess said, “Faye, do remember Joe?”

She glared, “One of your crew?”

He looked heavenward, “Yeah.”

Joe smiled awkwardly at Faye. “I was here for the birthday celebration a few weeks ago. Great place. You’re going to kill it. This location is everything.”

She glared at Jesse before turning to him, “Thanks.”

Joe tugged at his shirt collar, “Jesse, where do you want this monstrosity to go?”

“Yes boss, where do you want Joe to put the damn thing?” Faye said through gritted teeth.

“Faye, I can explain…” his voice trailed off as she turned on her heel and stomped off.

“Let’s just load it in my truck for now. You can meet me at the shop later to help me unload ‘the damn thing.’Faye’s friend is going to paint it to match the rest of her bar decor.”

“I don’t envy you one bit dude. She’s madder than a wet hen. Makes me glad I’m single.”

Jesse raked his fingers through his hair and expelled a long breath, “Looks like I’m going to remain single. Let’s move this bad boy.”

After they’d wrestled it to the truck bed, Joe yelled goodbye to Faye from the front entrance, “Nice meeting ya, Faye.”

“Thanks Joe,” she yelled back, not bothering to come out.

He rolled his eyes, “Good luck man. Call me when you’re ready to unload. If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”

Jesse looked over his shoulder and gave a lopsided grin. “I may be back on-site sooner than I thought after this.”

Joe shook his head and practically sprinted to his truck.

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