Page 25 of Under Daddy's Spell

The next thing she knew, he was striding out of the office on his way to the back door.

She stared after him, skin tingling from the brush of his lips—other places more so. Had he really asked her to be his good girl?

Ordinarily, she wouldn’t put up with that condescending crap, so why did she tolerate and, like it even, coming from Jordan?

Oddly, she missed him already, which was insane. They’d seen each other a handful of times and, other than dinner at the Oyster House, most were brief encounters. They’d shared three kisses, two hot and fragrant with trash, and the one-sided sweaty one just now—which mortified her. That was it.

As much as she’d prefer to deal with the boss, she couldn’t wait for his return to tackle the issue about her hot box next door and a few others that had cropped up. She’d have to do as he suggested and deal with his second-in-command.

The perfect receptionist had stepped away from her post, so she flagged down the first bulging man who passed.

“Excuse me. Can you point out Seth?”

Her eyes followed his massive arm and extended finger to the man who on her first visit had made the ass-hugging skirt comment.

“Great. Thanks,” she said politely but inside she was groaning.

The day kept getting better and better.

Chapter Ten

TESSA USUALLY SAW DAYLIGHTon the horizon when she drove to work, especially on the weekends with the later store opening. But thick, dark clouds from the storm system that had moved through the area around midnight, bringing high winds, lightning, and a barrage of hail, remained. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but it seemed like the middle of the night rather than almost eight in the morning.

Severe weather wasn’t unusual for the coastal city. After twenty-eight years, Tessa had become accustomed to it. As long as storms didn’t blow in from the gulf as a hurricane.She had experienced four in her lifetime: Isaac, Zeta, Ida, and the worst, which was also her first, Katrina. That was four too many.

As the first car in the lot each morning, she always had her pick of parking spaces. Today, she had to maneuver around several downed branches, and leaves and debris covered the sidewalk when she walked up to her door.

She didn’t see any structural damage, however. But when she walked into her shop, greeted by muggy, stuffy hot air, she feared she may have spoken too soon.

“Did we lose power?” she asked as she searched in the dark for the switch.

When she flipped it, the lights came on immediately, so her problem was something else.

She marched through the storeroom and into the shop, going directly to the air duct in the rear, one of two. It was near the ceiling and too high to reach without the ladder, so she dragged it over and climbed up. When she put her hand in front of it, there was barely any air blowing, and it sure wasn’t cool.

“The perfect way to end the week. No A/C at all.”

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