Page 28 of Under Daddy's Spell

A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Let’s try to keep this civil.”

“Why when you’re making excuses for their bad behavior?”

He took a step closer until they nearly touched and waited until she looked up at him.

“Two of my nieces are in preschool, so I know something about naughty behavior. They can act like brats on occasion, but we don’t fault them because of their age. You’re twenty-eight, sweet cheeks. What’s your excuse?”

She gasped. Her head jerked like he’d slapped her.

“Are you implying I’m acting like a child?”

“No implication.”

“How dare you!” she exclaimed. “Everything I’ve brought up today, and all week—the noise, the trash, the parking—is because of your clients and, by extension, you, since you’re the owner. This isn’t my doing.” Since she was laying it out, she aired all of her issues. “None of this went on when this was a bistro. Take the heat. It’s getting unbearable over there, but here, it’s actually a bit chilly. Why is that, Jordan?”

His blue eyes flashed again but without amusement. “You’re still trying to lay that at my door? Tessa, please.”

“For all I know, your demolition or construction crew did something that messed up my A/C. The timing would make sense. And how do I know you turned down the thermostat? It’s on your side. I have to beg you to raise or lower the temperature in my own store by as little as a degree!”

Jordan moved around the desk. As he passed her, he barked, “Come with me.”

He didn’t wait to see if she obeyed his command. He strode through the door into the main room, as if expecting her to.

She frowned at him, sorely tempted to storm out rather than do what he demanded. That would only give credence to his brat accusation. Besides, she’d come over to resolve her issues, not complicate them. Boy, oh boy, had the ship sailed on that.

With a grunt of exasperation, she followed him into the main room and over to the wall they shared. Toward the back, he stopped and pointed to a clear plastic box. “Open it.”

She looked from it to him, confused.

“Humor me, please.”

She could see the thermostat underneath, but when she tried to lift the cover and pull it off with both hands, it wouldn’t budge.

“Seth installed that cover two days ago when he kept finding the thermostat set above the seventy-two degrees we agreed upon. It now requires a key, which only management has. An email went out to our membership. In it, we reminded them of the parking rules, asked them to be courteous to other members while working out, and to tone down the grunting and roaring. We posted the rules in the locker rooms, as well. We’ve also asked for their help keeping the grounds clean by using the trash cans. Have I forgotten anything?”

“No, that’s pretty much what I discussed with Seth.”

“Good. My point in telling you all of this is to assure you we aren’t sitting around with our thumbs up our asses and that no matter how many times you accuse us of not giving a crap, we, in fact, do.”

“I never said—”

He held up his hand. “I’m not finished. The situation with your A/C is unfortunate. I’d fix it myself, but HVAC is not in my skill set. All I can do is try to light a fire under Thompson since repairs are contractually his responsibility. I offered to last week, if you recall.”

She did, and wasn’t it nice of him to rub it in her face? Pointing that out would be nonproductive, however.

“I’ve called Mr. Thompson and left messages. He’s not very responsive. In four years, I’ve never been able to get him to change a light bulb, let alone something major like air-conditioning repair.”

“He’ll respond to me.”

That sounded ominous. She didn’t need more trouble than she already had.

“What are you going to do?”

“Pay him a visit. In the meantime, sweet cheeks, you’ll have to be patient.”

He made some valid points, and yes, she deserved his anger for storming into his office unannounced and for her sharp tongue, but she hadn’t resorted to name-calling. Where last week she’d been his good girl andcher,now, she was sweet cheeks and a brat.

Where was the nice guy he claimed to be? And the gentleman she’d gone to dinner with who arranged for someone to walk her to her car after work?

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