Page 240 of The Re-Proposal

This woman.

I watch her walk inside, staring at the hips swaying back and forth like a hypnotic pendulum and then I get back to the wall.

By the time I’m done, my legs are jello and I’m pretty sure I pulled something in my back. Although I’m a gym rat, it feels like I employed a different set of muscles today.

Liandra walks outside while I’m bent over, hands to my knees. At the sound of her footsteps, I straighten.

“I’m… done,” I say, trying to sound like it wasn’t strenuous at all. “What do you think?”

She scowls at the wall. “It’s ugly. The lines are crooked. The tin set is bleeding over so it’s messy.”

My lips tighten. “I’ll hire a professional to do it again.”

“Is that all you’re good for? Hiring and firing people? You can’t do anything yourself?”

“Yes, ma’am. I can.”

She tosses a rake at me. “Sweep up all those leaves. And then mow the lawn.” Her eyebrows tighten. “Youdoknow how to use a lawn mower, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” I wipe the sweat on my forehead with the back of my hand.

Liandra watches me, waiting for a negative response.

I don’t give her the satisfaction.

Keeping my expression neutral, I rake the yard with everything I’ve got and then struggle with the lawn mower. It gurgles to life only to die again.

“I pulled the string,” I mutter. “Why isn’t it working?”

Clarissa sneaks outside to help me.

“You have to feed the line.” She expertly sets it up and the lawn mower roars to life.

“Thanks.” I give her another quick kiss.

She returns it with a flirty wink and disappears back inside.

When I’m done with the yard, Liandra puts me to work in an old office.

I complete every task without complaint. The sun is gone and the moon takes over the sky by the time Liandra stalks into the room.

“Not bad,” she says, glancing at the files I stacked… in the bookshelf I set up… on the wall I painted.

“I organized it by alphabetical order. The books, I went a little crazy with and organized them by color. Blues. Reds. Yellows. If you want, I could change that and put them in alphabetical order instead.”

She eyes me curiously. “You pay attention to details.”

“You can’t make it in business without doing at least that.”

Her eyes glimmer and she hands me a cup of water.

I want to ask if it’s poisoned, but I keep that thought to myself.

After taking a sip, I turn to her. “There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“I know what you want to ask.” She folds her arms over her chest.

“Then you know what answer I’m hoping for.”

---