Page 52 of Runaway Bride for the Boss

“That bad?” She frowns taking in my sullen expression. What the hell was I expecting anyway? For him to say he misses my presence in his home – after just living there for one week – and that he can’t live without me?

“Apparently, this was a business lunch.” I complain, throwing myself on one of the comfortable green sofas.

“Explain,” she orders, taking a seat across from me, and so I do. Andrea listens attentively. She sighs when I’m done. “My brother is extremely calculated, and dangerous,” she adds, “but he can be tactless sometimes.”

Dangerous? What does she mean by that? Before I can ask, she continues. “I didn’t know you have a degree in landscaping. You couldn’t have come to a better place to utilize it. Brattleboro is a land hungry for its own landscapers. Is it that you don’t want to be a landscaper or you don’t want Alex to be involved in your business?”

I don’t even have to think long for the answer. “I don’t want Alex in my business. I don’t need his handouts. Larson wasn’t financially invested in my career, and yet he somehow still wrestled all control from me.” I don’t want that to happen again, not with Alex. I don’t know where we’re headed or what we’re even doing, but I know I don’t want to be at a man’s mercy ever again – no matter who he is.

“Larson would be the ex-fiancé you jilted at the altar?” Andrea guesses, and I nod. “I think you already know just whatI think about him. As for Alex, I can’t say as to the nature of your relationship with him, although I can guess,” she adds with a wink.

My face heats up as I stammer a response, “It’s not…we’re not like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I already told you that I want you to marry one of my brothers, preferably Alex.” She winks again and my blush deepens. “Anyways, back to what I was saying… despite or in spite of what might be going on between you two, Alex is an investor. No, let me talk.” She lifts a hand up to stop me when I try to interrupt.

“Alexander is an investor and he probably has majority shares in most, if not all of the businesses in Brattleboro, mine included. And that’s not necessarily a good thing if you ask me. He just likes having his hand in slices of pie around town so he can issue orders to anyone and have them scurry around to please him. That said, my brother cares about you—”

“Andrea—”

“No, I mean it. This isn’t just lip service Autumn. I’ve never seen Alex act around any woman the way he acts around you. He really cares, and I know for certain that he’d never try to use his influence to control people he cared about.”

“And when he stops caring about me? What then?”

She doesn’t even hesitate when she says, “That’s why I was going to tell you to come up with your own business proposal. I’ll even call Ezra to meet us here so he can help us draw up a mutually beneficial contract for Alex to sign. That way if things go sour between you two it doesn’t in any way affect your business.”

Is that a risk I’m willing to take? Do I see myself being able to work in the same town as Alex if we break up? Not to mention living in the same town and likely running into him regularly.And are we even together at this point? He’s possessive, yes, but we haven’t actually talked about it.

I sigh and stammer, “Thanks Andrea, I’ll think about it.”

The thing is, I’d rather continue working as a bartender: it’s not a bad job at all. From my tips and the rest of the money I got by selling my necklace, I’ve been able to pay off half of what Andrea paid for my glasses. By the end of the week when I get my paycheck, I’ll be able to take care of the rest. In fact, if things continue like this, I’ll be able to get my car back by the end of the year. January for sure.

Hours later, the bar is completely full when someone walks through the front door, bringing a blast of cold air with him. I look up to see that he’s very tall and looks to be in his early thirties, but his hair is already graying at the temples, leading me to believe he might be older. He clearly takes care of himself.

I watch him walk to Andrea out of the corner of my eye. They talk for a few minutes and then Andrea points at me. Wait, what? My heart starts hammering as I briefly consider the possibility that he’s a private investigator hired by Larson to look for me. Andrea wouldn’t point me out so carelessly, would she?

The man starts toward me, and I push the frames of my glasses up my nose as I try not to panic. I absentmindedly fill the glass in front of me with a dirty martini and slide it to the customer across from me. He nods his thanks.

The man chooses a seat on my end of the bar, so I have no choice but to go ask him for his order. “Hello, what can I get you?”

“You the owner of the green Volkswagen beetle that was brought into my shop about two weeks ago?” he asks.

I hesitate and start, “Yes…”

“Great. I’m Vincent Fletcher. We got the call to fast track the repairs.” He takes out a set of keys from his pocket –mykeys –and drops them on the bar top between us. “Your car is parked right out front.”

“Fast track the repairs?” I ask in bewilderment, throwing a glance at Andrea, but she’s busy attending to someone. “I didn’t make any such request. What about the bill?” I assume I’ll have to pay extra for the quick repair.

A lump grows in my throat, and my heart hammers even faster. How am I supposed to pay him right now? The cost of the repair alone will be exorbitant, and now this?Oh no.I can’t believe I’m about to sink into debt, two weeks into my fresh start in a new town.

Vincent chuckles softly. “I know you didn’t make the order. I was with my father when he got the call directly from the top. And don’t worry about the bill; it’s all sorted out.”

“From the top?” Who’s consideredfrom the top? And why would they make such a request for me?

A look of surprise covers Vincent’s face. “You didn’t know? Alexander Beaufort called in a few days ago to demand the car be ready by the end of the week:today.”

Alex did what?

CHAPTER 30

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