Strictly Business Page 6

  She was yelling at him again.

  He thought about screaming right back at her. For a whole minute he sat quietly trying to get control of his temper. When he finally spoke, what he said was, “I’ll tell you what. How about I look at the designs and you eat.” His voice was a little raspier than he would have liked, but he wasn’t yelling.

  He watched her shoulders tighten briefly, before her chest expanded on a deep intake of air. “Fine. I have three different options that I think would work for your surroundings. If you don’t like any of them, we can try again. I have some home magazines that you can flip through and see if there’s anything that stands out. All of these are roughly the same interior plans, it’s exterior style we’re looking at right now. The first is a Cape Cod, dormer windows, probably done in a yellow, with white trim. Color is optional, that’s just my personal favorite for Cape Cods. The second is a different look. It’s a log cabin. But before you rule it out completely, keep in mind that architecture has come a long way. You can have every modern convenience inside a log cabin, including standard plaster walls. Or, you can leave the walls of the main rooms wood and only plaster the bedrooms. Your choice. The third is a modern twist on what you have here, an old fashioned farmhouse, with all the modern features. It would be the one that would be most like this home. If your family is comfortable with this house, then it may be the best option. You can change the colors, add some flare, or simply modify the trim if you choose this one. Make it your own, while still keeping with tradition.”

  She’d been showing him the sketches as she spoke. Now she sat down and grabbed the plate he’d brought in.

  He slowly flipped through the sketches, although they were all done in color and great detail, so the word 'sketch' was not truly appropriate. He moved slowly, allowing her time to eat. He thought he knew which one she liked best, but he knew as soon as he saw it which one he wanted. So, why did it matter that he didn’t agree with her? This was his house. So why should her opinion matter at all? It didn't... or at least it shouldn't.

  “I think I know which one you prefer, but I like the log cabin. I think it’ll be just about perfect.”

  She set her sandwich down, wiped her mouth. “And which one did you think was my favorite?”

  “Well, the farm house. Why, was it the Cape Cod?” Why did he care?

  “No, my favorite isn’t important anyway, I was just curious. So, you want the log cabin? And for the interior, you don’t need to decide now, but when I bring the blueprints we’ll need to figure out which rooms, if any, you want left with log walls.”

  He’d been watching her reactions, and he thought he saw a hint of a smile. He ran his hand over his chin. He waited a second longer. “It was the cabin, wasn’t it? Your favorite?”

  She looked right into his eyes and asked, “If I say yes, are you going to change your mind?”

  “No.” He actually smiled a little at her. “But, I wouldn’t have thought you’d like that one. So, why? Why is it your favorite?”

  There was a long pause before she finally answered. “Because it suits the land, the surrounding trees, but mostly, because it suits you.”

  “And you got all that from my bedroom furniture and this office?” He waited for her to nod. “So, I owe you an apology. I’ve apparently underestimated you.”

  He'd clearly surprised her. Shock registered on her face before she stumbled out her next words. “Ummm, thank you. I think.”

  “So, can we meet Monday and go over some basic floor plans?” He figured she had plans with Cody, and expected her to ask to meet on Tuesday or Wednesday instead.

  “Yes, that’ll be fine.”

  She still wouldn’t admit that she had plans. Maybe she would actually cancel on Cody. That would be unique. Women never cancelled on Cody. “Okay, then, Monday at ten o’clock? Just meet in here.”

  “Fine, I’ll see you then. Oh, and thank you for lunch.” She took her plate with her on the way out.

  Chapter 10

  Jess spent most of the weekend in her room working on the blueprints. Her clothes arrived, for which she was extremely grateful, and Marsha showed her where the washer and dryer were so she could wash and return Jake’s shirt. By late Sunday night, she had the blueprints done. She’d added some features she would like to see added, like the huge stained glass window above the fourteen foot double front doors. She knew he had some money, but everyone had a budget to stick to. Hopefully this was within his reach. She was actually looking forward to the meeting tomorrow.

  She had been absolutely floored over his choice. Now that she knew she got to build a log cabin, she was beginning to get more excited about this project. And less angry over being stuck in Wyoming for so long. It had been years since she'd done a personal residence, though that is what she'd cut her professional teeth on. She had never done a log cabin. In her excitement over the project, she hadn't really even minded having to work all weekend. She was also beginning to get some ideas for the interior. Part of majoring in architecture involved a little bit of interior design. She had enjoyed it. Not enough to give up the building and blueprints, but enough that she had retained some of the knowledge. Though it was not her specialty, and definitely not her job, it might not be so terrible to see this house all the way through. Usually she started a project and popped in here and there to make sure things were moving along and everything met specifications. This could be interesting. Although, she would have to be careful not to let Jake know that. No matter how much money one had, they shouldn't be allowed to demand such special treatment.

  Monday morning, Jake was already in his office when she came in. She was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a lightweight long-sleeve button-up over it. And she was carrying his shirt, clean and folded.

  “So, I’m guessin’ your stuff came?”

  “Yes, Saturday afternoon. Thank you for the loan.” She set his shirt on the desk. “So, are you ready to take a look?”

  “Okay, let’s see ’em.”

  He had smiled at her. A real smile, not a sneer or a forced polite expression, but an actual smile. And it took her breath away just as it had the first time. She looked closer and saw the little wrinkles of laugh lines at the corners of his eyes. His dark blue eyes lit up when he smiled, and his whole face looked softer and ridiculously handsome.

  “That’s the second time you’ve smiled at me. You should do it more often. It looks good on you. Comfortable, like something you used to do more of.” She was annoyed to find her voice sounded a little breathless. She smiled back then quickly glanced away.

  In the quick second she took to compose herself, his smile had changed back to his normal scowl. “Apparently that stopped when I got here,” Jess muttered under her breath.

  Okay, back to the matter at hand. “So, these are the floor plans. The total square footage is six thousand three hundred twenty eight. There are seven bedrooms total, the master is downstairs, like we discussed. Here is the game room, the family room, formal living. I skipped a formal dining room and made the kitchen breakfast niche twice as big. You would have to custom order it, but there is enough room in there for a table big enough to seat twenty people. Oh, and I added a little surprise. This over here is a media room. It also seats twenty, with stadium seating. And over here in the corner, with a separate entrance, is your office. The only rooms upstairs are the bedrooms and four bathrooms, all done Jack and Jill style. There are dual master bedrooms downstairs, one on each side of the house, so there is some separation there. I figured one for you and one for your parents when they come to town, but I didn’t figure you wanted to be too close to them. Every bedroom has a walk in closet and all six are roughly the same size upstairs. Downstairs, there are also five bathrooms. One in each master and one other are full baths. The other two are only half baths, powder rooms really, but it means people won’t have to run upstairs to pee.”

  When she finally took a breath to look at him, she saw that his expression hadn’t changed, he was still
scowling. But he was nodding his head.

  “So, what do you think so far?”

  * * * * *

  He looked up at her. She was standing behind him, leaning over his shoulder as she walked him through the house. He was trying to focus on what she was saying, but all he could think of was how close she was. When she'd first walked in, Jake had realized that his first assessment of passably pretty had been way off base. She was gorgeous. And now he knew she smelled amazing. Something fresh and clean. Vanilla?

  He wanted her. While he tried to process what she’d shown him, he mentally kicked himself for leaving Bethany alone Friday night. She’d invited him in, like he knew she would, but he hadn’t wanted her. He’d wanted Jess. Badly.

  Wait, had she asked him something? “So far, so good.” His voice was raspier than he would have liked, but he managed to answer her.

  “Okay, so, the kitchen is laid out at an angle, right here, in the corner. With an island coming off the corner, diagonal to the family room and niche. There’s a bar on the far side of the island. It only seats four, maybe five if you squeeze, but that’s enough for just the people that will actually live here.”

  She leaned over farther, showing him the diagram of the kitchen. He got another whiff of her perfume. It was something vanilla, but fresher. He made his hands into fists in his lap so he didn’t reach up and touch her.

  “Okay, and then there’s this one feature I am really excited about, although it’s going to be pricey, but I think it would be worth it. I just don’t know what your budget is, so if it’s too much we can go with a regular door. I was simply told to spare no expense. I was thinking a huge fourteen foot double entry door, with a stained glass window above it. What do you think? Do you like it?”

  She glanced over at him and caught him watching her, not the plans. Luckily, she misinterpreted the scowl he knew he was still wearing.

  “You don’t like it?”

  Her voice didn’t sound right. Too breathy, too deep. His hands shot out, grabbing her around the waist, and pulling her onto his lap. Before she could react, his lips were on hers. At first she froze, going completely stiff, but within seconds he felt her body melting, relaxing into the kiss. Her fingers made fists in his T-shirt and hair. Holding him to her or pushing him away, he couldn't quite tell.

  God, she felt good. Her mouth was sweet and soft, pressing against his. He could feel her full breasts pressing tight against his chest, her nipples making hard little peaks. He slid one of his hands up, unbuttoning that ridiculous over-shirt she wore. Once he had that loose, he slipped his hand up inside her T-shirt, feeling the soft, warm skin of her stomach. She wiggled against him, moaning softly and causing his already hard shaft to throb and pulse against her hip.

  He pulled his mouth away, making her to whimper, and began kissing a trail, across her neck and over to her ear. When he ran his tongue around her ear, gently taking the lobe in his teeth, she whimpered again, arched her back and pressed against him. He answered her silent request, sliding his hand up to her breasts, rubbing his thumb along the bottom, feeling the silky lace of her bra.

  * * * * *

  She couldn’t take any more, she needed him to touch her, needed his hand to ease the ache in her nipple. She grabbed his head and pressed her mouth back to his, gently sucking his tongue into her mouth.

  He groaned, thrusting his hips against her, bringing his hand up to cup her breast. She stretched into his palm. He ran a thumb teasingly across the peak, dragging out another soft sigh.

  “Jess, you’re so beautiful. Your breasts, your body…so amazing. Never cover it up.” Finally, with a growl, he took her tight little nipple between his thumb and forefinger, gently rolling it.

  She wiggled her hips again, pressing even more tightly against him. She could feel him, hard and pulsing against her hip. She wanted to turn and straddle him, rub herself against him, feel him slide in and ease this horrible ache. She’d never understood why women slept with men they barely knew, but right now, it made perfect sense. She needed him to fill her. “Jake, please…”

  “Please what? Tell me what you need.”

  Trying to form the words to tell him, how to explain what she wanted, when she didn’t even know herself, was like a glass of ice water poured over Jess. This was her client. He didn’t even like her, for God’s sake. What was she doing?

  She jumped off his lap, backing up a couple of steps, horrified by her behavior. How could she do that? She was still trying to pull herself together when he spoke. While she was humiliated, he was clearly furious.

  “What, not good enough for you? You seemed pretty into it. Or has it just occurred to you that you shouldn’t two-time people with their best friends? Don’t worry about it. Cody doesn’t stay true to anyone, anyway. I doubt you’ll be any different.”

  Her first response was confusion. What about Cody? He thought they were together? She opened her mouth to correct that assumption, and then she realized what he’d really just said. He thought she was with his friend and he’d kissed her anyway. And he thought that she would be sprawled in his lap if she were seeing Cody. She turned and walked slowly back to the door.

  Without turning around she said, “Look over the plans, let me know if you need anything changed. Check the kitchen plans with Marsha. My foreman will be here Thursday morning and we break ground next week, as soon as the permits clear. And, by the way…go to Hell.” She was actually too angry to yell, so that all came out sounding disturbingly calm.

  She walked straight through the house, directly to the stables, and saddled up Lady, hoping a ride might calm her down.

  Chapter 11

  Jess decided once again that avoidance would be the best course of action. She couldn’t do or say anything else she’d regret if she simply didn’t see him. That unfortunately meant avoiding everyone though, including Cody, since they were usually working together. She came out for meals, grabbed a plate and headed back to her room, which meant that's where she spent most of her time. Either there, or riding. She would sneak out and saddle up Lady while they were all in at lunch. She knew Jake was aware that she did this, but since he never tried to stop her, she figured he didn’t mind her taking the horse out.

  By Thursday morning, knowing Mike was due in around ten, Jess was so excited to have a friend coming in she could hardly sit still. She headed outside after breakfast, hoping to track down George and see if she could get the keys to the truck. She would rather be the one to pick up Mike. She really needed to get out of here for awhile.

  George didn’t have any problem with it, as long as she cleared it with Jake first. Fabulous.

  On a sigh, she headed over to the barn, Jake was checking on a couple of the mares that were due to foal sometime soon. When she saw him, he had just finished scrubbing his hands at the sink in the corner.

  “Excuse me, Jake. I need to clear something with you.”

  Jake stiffened at the sound of her voice. She watched his spine go hard and his shoulders seemed to climb up his neck. Slowly he turned. His face was schooled into some attempt at neutral. It failed miserably, instead looking somehow both angry and constipated.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “I told you my foreman was due in today? His flight lands at ten. I was hoping I could take the truck and go pick him up. Instead of George going. George said to clear it with you.” She waited patiently, her arms crossed over her breasts.

  “Fine, don’t get lost. Marsha will get you directions and a map.” He stomped off faster than she'd ever seen him move.

  She turned to stare after him. She had never in her life met anyone as insufferably rude as Jake Morgenstern. She could actually visualize herself slapping his too-handsome-for-his-own-good face. Maybe even throwing in a good punch or two. She really needed to get out of there. She got the info from Marsha, grabbed the keys off the hook and headed off that stupid ranch and away from that stupid man. He would be lucky if she came back at all!

  By ten s
he felt a little better. Just driving away from that place had helped calm her down. A bit of hard rock blaring soothed a little more. She grabbed a Starbucks and headed to baggage claim to meet Mike. As soon as she saw him walking toward her, she felt just the teensiest bit of a meltdown coming on.

  As the tears started to fall, despite his obvious confusion, Mike ran to the rescue. Within seconds he had his arms around her, gently offering a shoulder until she could pull herself together. This just made Jess cry harder.

  Jess never cried. Never. She really didn’t know why she was crying now. It just felt really good to have someone here that was indisputably on her team. The fact that it was Mike, one of her best friends, just made it that much better.

  Mike, Cindy and Jess had formed a bond almost immediately within the first week of school. They’d all been running from some sort of family pressure, although it was different for each of them. But they’d quickly started spending holidays together and making their own little family. Mike and Cindy had even dated for a while, although it had never seemed real serious. And then of course she and Mike dated, for less than two weeks. But mostly, he’d always been a friend. Now, he just let her cry all over him and held her close. When she finally dried up and pulled away, he grabbed his bags and followed her out to the car. All without saying a word. This was why she loved him.

  When they reached the truck, he loaded his stuff in back then they made a bunch of small talk; “how are you”, “what have you been doing”, that kind of thing. Then she told him about the log cabin and how excited she was about it. He seemed to perk up a little with that. After almost forty minutes, he got around to the questions she'd known would be coming.

  “So, babe, want to tell me what’s really going on?”

  “Going on? Nothing. I think, umm, maybe I was just a little homesick.”