Page 47 of Temptress

“Holy shit.” Hardin pointed at my face. “Look at her,” she said with a beaming grin of her own. “They aren’t just hooking up. She’s in love!”

Asher’s lips parted in surprise. “Oh my god. Is that true?”

I worried my bottom lip between my teeth and nodded. “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you guys, I promise. It’s kind of a complicated situation right now,” I confessed, picking at the label on the beer bottle with my thumbnail. “We’ve been keeping things under wraps because he doesn’t want his daughter to know just yet.” I took a big gulp, trying to summon the nerve to admit the rest of it. “And the truth is, I also haven’t said anything because I’m terrified.”

Hardin reached across the table and took my hand. “Terrified of what?”

“Of it going wrong,” I admitted. “Things are going so great, and he makes me so happy, happier than I’ve ever been. But it’s like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t shake the feeling that something this good can’t last forever.”

“You know, sometimes I really wish I could cuss your mom out for making you think this way,” Asher said fiercely, a scowl on her face that sent a shiver down my back. I knew the expression. I’d seen it before. I didn’t tell many people about my mother, but Asher was the one person I trusted with every single thing about me. She’d been there the few times my mom had pushed me to the point that I’d fallen apart, and she was there to help put me back together.

“Ash,” I started, but trying to stop her when she was already burning up was damn near impossible, and the tequila in her margaritas certainly wasn’t helping matters.

“Don’t youAshme. You think there’s another shoe to drop because she’s the one who convinced you that you can’t have anything good. That everything turns bad no matter what. You’re sitting here worried that you aren’t worth it, and you think that because your mother’s pounded that into your head your entire life. She’s wrong, and I can’t stand that woman for making you doubt your worth.”

There was no arguing because she was right. There was the tiniest little coal of doubt in the pit of my stomach, making me question if I was worth it. That doubt had a voice, and I didn’t think it was a coincidence that it sounded a lot like my mother.

“If you really believe what she says, that means Owen and I aren’t going to last,” she said before pointing at Hardin. “That Hard and Ford are destined to end. Do you think that’s going to happen?”

“No. Of course I don’t think that.”

“So, if our happiness can last for the long run, why can’t yours?”

I opened my mouth, but couldn’t think of a thing to say, because she was right. If they could have their happily ever after, why did I have such a problem believing I could have one too?

22

SILAS

Iwatched the monitor, my blood pressure rising by the second from what I was watching.

I grabbed the two-way radio off my desk and pushed the button so I could speak into it. “Matthew Hosa. My office.”

The muscle in my jaw ticked as I watched on the security cameras while the stupid prick rolled his eyes and went right back to flirting with one of the waitresses dressed as a prohibition era cigarette girl even though it looked like she was more interested in relaxing on her break than dealing with his shit.

I mashed the button back down and barked into the radio. “Now!” then I shut the monitor off because I knew if I continued to watch, I’d get even more pissed.

Leaning back in my chair, I braced my elbows on the arms and interlaced my fingers, bringing my palms down to rest on my stomach as I waited. I searched for my calm, knowing I was going to need it if I was going to deal with this asshole. He’d been a pain in my side since day one, and if I’d had good reason, I would have fired him five times over by now, but other than being a jackass, I didn’t have any actual cause, which rankled.

He did just enough to keep him on my radar, but didn’t go overboard in a way that I could say he was negligent or a bad worker.

A minute later, the door to my office finally opened, and he came walking in with a self-righteous air to him, like he was doing me a favor by being there.

“Sit down,” I clipped, staring him down as he plopped in the chair in front of my desk and kicked his feet out, crossing them at the ankles like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“You needed something?”

“Yeah,” I gritted out before pulling in a calming inhale. I decided to start with the easiest issue of the night. “Noticed you were nearly half an hour late clocking in tonight, which I found odd since I didn’t get any message from you letting me know you weren’t going to be in on time. You want to tell me what that was all about?”

He shrugged his shoulder the best he could, seeing as he’d worked those muscles out to the point the dumbass no longer had a neck. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. I was on my way in already. There was just a bit of traffic.” He let out a snort and rolled his eyes. “Didn’t think I needed to check in with you about every little thing.”

I had to take a breath and count to ten in my head, reminding myself I couldn’t actually punch this fucker in the face. No matter how badly I wanted to.

“Well, that’s where you thought wrong. I’m your boss, which means if you’re going to be late, even if it’s ten minutes, you call and let me know. Since you didn’t do me the courtesy of letting me know you wouldn’t be to work on time, I didn’t know I needed to put someone in to cover your section. It’s a good damn thing nothing happened in that half hour.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Jesus, okay. It won’t happen again.”

“You’re right. It won’t. Not sure if you’ve paid attention or not, but I’ve implemented some new rules since I took this position, and one of those rules is, more than three late clock-ins, and you’re gone. This is your first strike. If I were you, I’d make sure you don’t get a second.”

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