Page 39 of Beach Bum Billion-Heiress
After a tense few minutes, where Drew must have seen something in Sage's eyes that didn't bode well for him, he spun on his expensive heel and made his way back to his car. Before he climbed in, he tossed over his shoulder, "Your father will hear about this, you know that, right?"
"Oh, I know he will, Drew. I'm counting on it." Sage's expression turned positively evil, like she couldn't wait to be the one to spill to her father what an idiot Drew was.
Drew rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut before driving off in a cloud of dust.
"What a fucking greaser," Sage said before bending over, hands on her knees, and whooping out a loud laugh. She kept laughing, not caring that everyone was still watching her.
I was concerned that the stress of this building project had finally gotten to her. Her hatred of Drew was a topic we'd discussed before. Bent over laughing was hardly what I expected as her reaction to his surprise visit. I laid my hand on her back, gliding over her spine before tweaking the pile of hair on top of her head and tugging gently to get her attention.
"You okay, baby?"
She straightened fully, her eyes sparking with mischief. "I'll be fine once that asshole puts my walls back up." Her grin grew. "And I send him a bill for the most expensive fix-it job you've ever seen."
I couldn't help myself. I grabbed her face and pulled her to me, planting a wet kiss on that mouth of hers. The combo of her smile and her brain was flooding my body with feel-good endorphins that should be illegal at such high doses.
"I'm glad you're taking his interference in stride." I kissed her again and then pulled away, though it was the last thing I wanted to do. "I gotta get to work. Dinner tonight?"
"For sure. I want to talk to you about putting in additional space in The Surf Shack for merchandise. I think selling high end one-of-a-kind apparel and home decor would sell great once the restaurant is in and we're drawing in more tourists." Her eyes were doing that sparkling thing, business ideas running amok in that brain of hers.
I frown. "I see what you mean, but I don't really have the space. It would be way too cramped with people coming in and out with equipment rentals."
Sage leaned back in, her hands trailing up my arms before coming around my neck, the position pressing her breasts into my chest, making them the perfect distraction from the topic at hand. "Well, I was thinking we could build an add-on to the current building. You have plenty of land. Maybe make the parking lot more expansive too while we're at it."
I smiled, even as I narrowed my eyes at her. "Uh huh. And I'm supposed to do all that with what money?"
"I hear you have a rich girlfriend..." Her voice was getting higher the longer her pitch went on.
"Yes, I do. And this rich girlfriend of mine also knows I don't take handouts." I kissed her and set her away from me, dead serious in my refusal. "I appreciate what you're offering, Sage, I really do. But I gotta do this on my own. If there are extra funds once the restaurant is open and bringing in more business, I'll reconsider your ideas."
I got the pouty lip for a few seconds, then a reluctant head nod that she understood. We'd already had several discussions along these lines and she knew how I felt. Didn't stop her from continuing to ask though. She may not like her father all that much, but she'd definitely inherited his relentless pursuit of things despite hearing the word ‘no’.
As I walked away to climb in my truck and head to work, Sage had one last parting shot, one that I didn't bother responding to. Not because I was irritated, but because it was too close to the truth.
"One of these days, I'm gonna wear you down and you're gonna say yes."
