Page 118 of Opposites (Never) Attract
“She is?” Harmony was looking at me like she just found out I had an evil twin.
I would explain later. “Listen, Jared, there is nothing going on that I haven’t shared with the partners. We had a death in the family. Upon looking into some business matters, we found deficits that needed to be recovered. I, in particular, have a certain skill set that I was able to use to help my family. I don’t see what the problem is.”
“The problem is,” he said, leaning down a bit too close to my face, his finger pointed at my nose, “you should have been back in New York days ago. You’re on the cusp of making partner and you not being in the office is making your biggest client nervous.”
I was about to clap back that my client was nervous because Jared had stepped in where he wasn’t wanted, when a force of nature blazed past me. One second Jared was leaning too close, finger in my face, the next he was pushed flat against Harmony’s truck with an angry Tag in his face.
“What the fuck?” Jared shouted.
I saw Tag eye Jared up and down. “You don’t look like you’re from here, son. But in Last Hope we don’t take lightly to someone yelling at our women.”
“Get the fuck off me,” Jared spat in his face, but continued to twist against Tag’s hold. “Kaitlyn, tell him to back off.”
I snorted. “Oh, I’m sorry. You think I can tell Tag what to do? You’re definitely notfrom around here.”
“You’re assaulting me. I’m going to call the police.”
Tag looked over his shoulder at me, still not letting Jared go. “You alright, darlin?”
“I’m fine. You should let him go. He was just being pushy, not threatening.”
Tag looked at Jared. “Have I made my point?”
“Did you hear me?” Jared pushed back. “Let go of me or I’ll call the cops.”
“Darlin, you might want to let your friend here know we don’t havecopsin Last Hope. What we have is justice. And I am that justice.”
I had to stifle a giggle. Tag was laying it on thick for the city slicker, but it was fun seeing Jared’s eyes get wide.
“What kind of place is this?” Jared looked to me. “It’s like I’ve left civilization!”
“We’re civilized,” Tag told him. “As long as you behave, son.”
“Stop calling me son!” Jared yelped. “We’re the same goddamn age.”
“It’s not about age,” Tag said, with derision in his voice. “Son.”
Finally, Tag released his hold on Jared’s suit and took a step back. Then he took my hand. “I’ll be taking her back to the ranch, Harmony.”
“Yep. You get all the supplies you need at the store?” Harmony asked him, even as we walked away.
“Wait. Kaitlyn. Are you just going to leave?” Jared took a step in our direction, but Tag pinned him in place with a look. “We have unfinished business.”
“Go home, Jared,” I said, with a shake of my head. “I don’t know what you thought you were going to accomplish coming out here. Berkley doesn’t own me. And stay away from my clients.”
“You’re making a big mistake, Kaitlyn,” he threatened, as he tried to put his suit back in order. “The partners will hear about this.”
“Do I need to make this guy gone?” Tag asked me.
I could hear Jared’s audible gasp. “He’s teasing,” I told Jared.
“Am I?” Tag asked.
“You can let the partners know I’ll be back in New York as soon as my work here is done,” I said calmly, but firmly. “Which should be in the next few days.”
I let Tag walk me across the street and when I looked back over my shoulder it was clear Jared was at a complete loss as to what to do next. There was no situation in his mind where I would choose to walk away from him. There was a very real possibility that he would run back to Berkley and Brothers, and maybe even Mr. Berkley himself, and tell them what I was doing.
So, there was also a possibility that my partnership was in real jeopardy this time.
