Page 7 of Storm

RICHARD

The relief that hits me as we all silently watch her signature fill each page of the contract is so much stronger than I was prepared for. Honestly, up until the tip of the pen touched the paper, I thought she was only here to fuck with me.

No way was this woman going to be amenable to the whims of four older men who are stressed and overwhelmed with their jobs. But Miriam proved me wrong. As she signs the last page with a flourish, she snaps the pen shut and drops it on the table. I turn the papers toward me and check them over. I see where she filled in her full name on the first page. Miriam Delgado.

My eyes widen when I read her birthday. “You’re only twenty-four years old?”

“How old areyou?” she snaps back, crossing her arms under her breasts. My eyes fall to the way they’re heaving with her rising irritation, and when she snaps her fingers, I jerk my gaze back to her furious sneer. “My face is up here. I grew up with five brothers who had a lot of friends, so I don’t tolerate having my tits stared at when someone is speaking to me. I know I’m here to fuck you, and to do a lot of other things, I’m sure, but treat me like the lady I am.”

Running my hand over the buttons on the front of my shirt, I rein in my temper. She’s right; I’m being rude. “I apologize. I’m thirty-seven years old, Ezra is thirty-four, Tatum is thirty-three, and Kevin is?—”

“Forty-five,” he cuts in, answering for me. “Can we all just take a minute? I feel like things are getting off on the wrong foot.”

Tatum claps his hands together once, causing Miriam to jump. “Agreed. Why don’t we grab some food? We can chat, get to know you a little, and vice versa. I also don’t think we need to dance around why you’re here, so let’s just be open about that.”

Maybe because I’m the closest, I hear the way her breath shudders when she inhales slowly. She’s scared as fuck and putting up a brave front. “Will you guys give us a minute?” I ask them, keeping my eyes locked on the beautiful woman standing before me.

“Be kind,” Ezra bites out before walking from the room. Tatum follows, giving her a soft shoulder bump as he passes. Kevin doesn’t interact with her, but to me he communicates a million warnings with one look before spinning and shutting the door behind him. Leaving us alone.

Standing, I circle my desk and stay about a foot away from her. I didn’t realize how short she was, maybe only a few inches over five feet. “Can we start again?”

She’s trembling slightly when she nods sharply. “I’m sorry. I’m not normally… no, that’s a lie. Normally, I’m combative, but I don’t mean to be.” Looking around the room at anywhere but me, she adds, “This is more than a little overwhelming.”

I put forth my best effort to shove every feeling I have away, and only cling to the patience I’ve buried deep within me. With a small smile, I tap her chin to have her look at me. When she meets my eyes, I see every ounce of vulnerability written on herface. “That’s more than understandable, and I should have been more respectful of that. Shall we start over?”

Stepping closer when she lowers her eyes, I cup her face and bring her eyes back to mine. “Hi, Miriam. I’m Richard Leigh.” My voice is softer, kinder this time, and I know I’ve made the right decision when she huffs out a small laugh. “It’s nice to meet you.”

This close to her, her soft scent of fresh air and something floral fills my nose, making me breathe in deeply. Closing my eyes, I let the knowledge that I’m on vacation wash over me, and let my stress go. I jerk them open when her hand covers one of mine.

“It’s nice to meet you too. I hear you’re a lawyer.” Her teasing tone makes me laugh and shake my head.

“I am,” I answer. “I hear you’re a home-health worker. From what I understand, that’s hard work.”

Nodding, she gives me a genuine smile. “Itishard work. It’s not forever though. I work nights while attending nursing school during the day, so it’s only temporary.”

Dropping my hands, I study her a bit harder. “You’re working a full-time jobandgoing to school? How do you?—”

When she holds up two fingers, I stop speaking and blink down at her, not sure what she means. Answering my question, she says with a shrug, “I have two jobs. The second one is only about ten hours a week. One of the families I work for hired me to do some light cleaning for their mother, and weekly shopping. So, I squeeze that in when I’ve got the time.”

I have to remind myself that I don’t know her situation or her, for that matter. When I went to college, I was lucky enough not to have to work to support myself. That doesn’t mean I didn’t spend countless hours studying in between classes, though. It was hard word. I admire her work ethic.

“Then you need this weekend just as much as we do, I suspect.” The blush lighting up her face is incredible.So, Kevin was obviously right. Miriam Delgado is definitely a virgin.

“Probably,” she mumbles. “It gets me out of work for the next three days. That’s a bonus.”

Shaking my head, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and steer her from the office to join the guys. Leaning down, I whisper in her ear, “Don’t get your hopes up. We’re going to make you work, Miriam.”

My light smile turns darker when I feel a shiver wrack her body under my arm. Although our guest is inexperienced, I’m positive she’ll enjoy our plans. Ezra’s thing might be up in the air, but we’ll have to see.

Walking into the kitchen, I feel her stiffen when we both hear Tatum’s question. “Who’s fucking her first?”

Well, here we go…

I have to give her credit when she simply narrows her eyes in his direction and marches to one of the empty barstools surrounding the counter. “Pendejo,” she mutters, then asks no one in particular, “Can I have a glass of wine or something before we discuss who’s going to fuck me free of my virginity?”

I don’t have to speak Spanish to know that she just called Tatum an asshole, and Ezra’s ear-to-ear grin is enough to know I’m correct. You could hear a pin drop in the room, none of us sure how to answer her.

She looks around, then eyes Kevin. “I assumed you told them.”

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