“It’s been up and running for three years, but it took many years before that to get it going.”
“I bet. It seems like a monumental task. I’m lucky enough to fold the laundry before it can get wrinkled in the dryer.”
There was a blank look on his face. I didn’t think he had a clue what I was talking about. “Do you plan on eating in here every day?”
“I’ve lived in San Francisco almost my entire life,” I said, ignoring his rude question. “I love the beaches. I love the eclectic lifestyles and the vibrancy you can feel every time you walk down a city street. What about you? Are you from the area?”
“I’m from a lot of areas,” he answered, telling me nothing.
“Do you have family here?” I pressed, determined to learn more about him.
“No.”
“I saw something about a storefront in New York. Is that where you are originally from?”
“No.”
I wiped my mouth. “You know, I could Google you and read up on all the gossip that has been printed about you. I haven’t yet because I try not to give too much weight to that stuff, but I will if you don’t start talking.”
He smirked. “Good luck with that. I don’t think anyone has printed anything about me. I’m just a guy trying to make a living.”
“You’d be surprised at what people will print. As I understand it, you’re kind of a hot commodity in the bachelor world.”
“Do as you must. I’m not a hot anything in any world.”
He took another bite, clearly uncomfortable and having no intention of giving me any personal information. I wasn’t sure why he was so cagey. I wondered if he was some kind of pervert, an evil mastermind maybe. I was going to keep trying. Truthfully, the man intrigued me. “I was at the Pier over the weekend. Have you been down there recently?”
“No.”
The phone on my desk outside his office began to ring. The man looked relieved. “I’m on lunch,” I told him.
His eyes widened. “Then you should have sent it to voicemail. You have to answer it!”
I sighed. “Fine, but this isn’t over. I’m going to get you to talk to me. We are going to have a conversation, a real conversation. You and I have to be able to work together. We can’t work together well if we don’t know the most basic things about each other.”
“Answer the damn phone.”
I got up, snatching my soda and leaving the rest of the stuff on his desk. I stomped out, flopping down in my chair and answering the phone. Two seconds later, the door slammed closed. If he thought that was going to keep me out, he had another thing coming. Jake was the king of slamming doors. I wasn’t about to let a silly door stop me from talking to him.
I took the message before getting up and opening the door once again. He sighed, looking up at me. “That was fast,” he groaned.
I winked. “You can slam all the doors you want, but that is my sandwich, and I’m not about to leave it. By the way, I added cookies to the order. Eat them. It might put you in a better mood. Lord knows you need it.”
His eyes widened but he said nothing more as I snatched up my sandwich, grabbed my soda, and stomped out. I purposely left the door open, knowing it would irritate him further. I thought of our relationship as a battle of wills. He was a spoiled man used to getting his way. I was going to show him that a little kindness and some decent manners would get him a lot further than his snappish attitude.
I finished eating, taking care of my trash before getting back to work on the monumental task in front of me. As much work as it was, it was still a million times better than waiting tables. I wasn’t really good at anything, but I did know how to organize. I knew how to maximize small spaces and I knew how to keep things tidy. It wasn’t much, but in this one job, it would take me far. Of that, I was sure.
Now I just had to convince my boss my organizational skills were worth keeping me on and putting up with my unconventional methods. Kyle’s words echoed through my mind. He told me I was what Ashton needed. He also told me Ashton couldn’t fire me. Technically, he could try but my employment contract was with Kyle. I wasn’t even going to try and understand how that worked. I had found out when I showed up that Kyle no longer worked for the company.
I should probably be a little more conscientious of that fact when I spoke to Ashton.
Chapter 11
Ashton
It had been a week and I was still struggling to get used to the pushy, blunt woman who claimed to be my secretary. She felt more like a girlfriend or a sister, hell, sometimes a mother. She took none of my bullshit. When I dished it out, she dished it right back without batting an eye. I thought for sure she would have quit by now, but she showed up every damn day. She showed up with that bright smile on her face and that twinkle in her eye that said she was there to shake up my world.
Getting any actual work done was proving difficult. She was doing her job, and she was useful, but she was a constant distraction. She liked to talk. A lot.
At first, I thought I could just ignore her, and she would go away. That turned out to be the very wrong way to handle her. She just talked more. She was always coming into the office and chatting about god knew what.
She was high energy, constantly doing something, talking, or just buzzing about. She reminded me of a bee. Or a hummingbird. Go, go, go. Even now, beyond my closed office door, I could hear her shuffling about. It was louder than her usual noisemaking. It was making me crazy. I wanted to find out what the hell was going on, but I didn’t dare open the door. That would be an invitation for her to talk to me. I sometimes felt like a prisoner in my own office.
I heard a thud followed by a curse. That was another thing about my pretty little secretary. She had a mouth like a sailor when she thought no one was listening. But I wasn’t sure she realized how loud she was. Everyone heard her. At least, I heard her. It was kind of cute in an obnoxious way. I had learned it was just part of the many little quirks she had about her.
Unable to stop my curiosity from making me do something I would regret, I got up and opened the door to see what the hell was happening. I almost expected to see her fighting off a gang of bandits with the noises I heard.
“What are you doing out here?” I growled.
She popped her head up from behind her desk, a chunk of sleek black hair covering one eye. She blew it away and looked at me with those innocent blue eyes. “I’m filing paperwork.”
I blinked, only then just noticing the two large filing cabinets I swore had not been pushed against the wall when I had come into work this morning. “Filing? Like actual files? Where did those come from?”
She waved a stack of papers. “They’re not pretend files, and those came from the office supply store. They were delivered an hour ago. If you ever opened your door, you would know that.”
“But why?” I asked, dumbfounded by what she was doing.
“Because I don’t think piling papers on the floor and creating a little paper mountain is very effective or efficient. You can do that in your office, but I’m not letting that happen out here.”
“Why paper?” I practically shouted. “Why are you filing papers? We have computers.” I pointed to the machine on her desk to make sure she understood what I was saying. “It’s all digital. You don’t need papers and files and filing cabinets.”
She wrinkled her cute little nose. “I don’t like all the digital stuff. What if it crashes, or what if the power goes out and we need a particular document? I like having something tangible in my hot little hands. It’s easier to reference if I’m typing something up. I hate flipping back and forth between screens. I also hate trying to remember where a particular file is stashed. This is more efficient.”
I slowly shook my head. “There is nothing efficient about paperwork. Plus, it costs money to print all that crap out.”
She softly laughed. “You’re right about that, but paperwork is one of the crosses we must bear. I know I am far too old to remember everyt
hing. And you’re making enough money. You can afford a few reams of paper. Don’t be a cheapskate.”
I didn’t know what to say. There was nothing to say that would make any sense. Not to her, not to me. “How many filing cabinets do you plan on hauling in here?”
She turned to look at the two already in place before looking back at me. “I’m not sure. These might be good enough. They might not be.”
I had no words. As it turned out, I didn’t need any words. I watched as Willow scowled and rose to her feet. She was staring at something beyond me. I turned to see a blond woman I didn’t recognize strolling toward me on heels that looked like something a woman would wear while dancing with a pole.
“Can I help you?” Willow asked, smoothing her hair down.
The woman barely looked at her. Her eyes were on me. “You can’t do anything, but he can.”
“I can?” I asked with confusion. I didn’t have any appointments on my calendar. I turned to look back at Willow, wondering if she had missed something.
She frowned. “Don’t look at me.”
“I’m sorry,” I started. “I don’t know who you are, and I didn’t know I had a meeting scheduled.”
“This is an easy one,” the woman said. “I’m pregnant with your child and I—”
Willow was around the desk and in the woman’s face before she could finish her sentence. “Go. Now. You don’t get to waltz in here on your stripper heels and say something meant to get a reaction. You want to talk to your baby daddy, you make an appointment like everyone else.”
I watched as Willow used her petite body to invade the woman’s personal space and slowly backed her down the hall, bitching at her the entire time.
The woman shot a look over Willow’s shoulder. “Your little pit bull can run me off this time, but I’ll be back.”
“Then you better hope he has me muzzled because I do bite,” Willow snapped.
They disappeared from view for several minutes. I half expected to hear a catfight. My money was on Willow. The other woman was taller, but Willow was ten times feistier. When she returned, she went right back to her stack of papers without saying another word.
“Thank you,” I said, staring at her with awe and disbelief.
She looked up at me. “Did you want to talk about it? Do you want to tell me how many more times I will have to bounce your baby mamas out of here?”
I glared at her. “No, I don’t.”
“Is it yours?” she asked, always blunt and direct.
“I’m not going to dignify that with an answer.”
She smirked. “Ah, so it is yours. Look, I agreed to be your secretary, but if you are going to have a parade of pit vipers coming in here trying to sink their fangs into you or me, you need to hire security. I don’t get paid enough to chase out the riffraff.”
“It isn’t mine,” I objected. “That’s assuming she’s pregnant at all.”
Willow rolled her eyes. “And you would know if she was pregnant just by looking at her?”
“Generally, a pregnant woman is kind of obvious,” I said dryly.
“Not in the early stages. Is there a chance it could be yours?”
I scowled. “I’m not discussing my sex life with you.”
“Thank god because I don’t want to hear about your sex life. I consider myself a worldly woman, but I have a feeling your sex life would make me blush.”
“You don’t know me! You don’t know anything about me! You can’t make that kind of an assumption.”
She got to her feet, dusting off her slacks with her hands. “I don’t know you. You are right about that. I wonder why that is.”
I let out a long sigh. I remembered what Kyle had said about working with me for years and never really knowing me. I was trying to be better. I wanted to be friendlier. I wasn’t exactly clamoring to have Willow as a friend, but she had proven to be a powerful ally. I could use her as a bouncer if needed. I had no doubt in my mind she was scrappy.
“It isn’t mine,” I said with resignation. I wasn’t interested in discussing what I felt was a private matter with her, but she wasn’t going to let up.
“How do you know?” she asked. “Have you slept with that woman?”
I tried to place the face. If I said I didn’t know, I would sound like a total asshole. If I said yes, I sounded like an asshole. “No, I don’t believe so,” I said, choosing something in between.
She rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess now I get to see your true colors. I’ve been hounding you for a week to give me a little tiny bit of information about who you are, and with one little sentence, I know all I care to know.”
“Hey,” I protested, suddenly offended. “That’s not nice.”
“I don’t think you’re nice, especially if you can’t remember if you slept with someone or not. Do you realize that if she was pregnant, she would be maybe three months along at the max? You don’t remember a woman you slept with within the last three months?”
“No! Oh my god. I can’t believe you think I owe you an explanation.”
She shrugged. “You don’t owe me anything, but it sounds like you might owe some child support very soon. Truthfully, is this a normal thing? Do you have an entire baseball team of little Ashtons running around out there?”
“No!” I said a little too loudly. “You don’t get it. It isn’t mine. It can’t be mine. I make sure not to put myself in that particular situation. This isn’t the first time this has happened, and I doubt it will be the last.”
I turned and walked away. I was not going to have the conversation with her. I had already told her more than she needed to know. I flopped down in my chair. I was flustered and frustrated at the same time. The woman had a way of making me feel like I was inside out, that nothing was as it should be. As expected, she followed me into my office. I groaned, putting my head in my hands with my elbows propped on the desk.
“Do you mean to tell me this is a regular thing?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a daily or weekly thing, but it has happened before. I date. I’m not a monk. I’m wealthy, and people like to take advantage of that. They want my money and they will do anything they can to get it.”
“You mean by pretending to be pregnant with your baby?”
“Yes!” I said, feeling like I should shout eureka.
She scoffed. “That’s the oldest trick in the book. These ladies need to get some new material.”
I looked at her. “I know, which is why I make sure there won’t be any reason for someone to accuse me of fathering a child.”
She smiled. “I see. Well, I don’t know how you could possibly convince any woman to ever crawl in your bed in the first place.”
She turned and walked out of the office. I hid my smile until she was gone. The woman was a handful. I wasn’t entirely sure how to take her. I wanted to dislike her on principle alone. She was pushy and irritating and didn’t seem to be the least bit intimidated by me.
She was hard to figure out. The more I worked with her, the more I understood why Kyle had forced her on me. He was trying to teach me a lesson.
Chapter 12
Willow
I had done as much as I could for one day. I felt a lot better about the situation. I could find my way around the place now. I liked having organization. I liked putting things away and knowing exactly where they were when I needed them again. I pushed back my hair, surveyed the area, and felt accomplished.
I checked the time and realized I was pushing it. I needed to get a move on so I could pick up Jake on time. I knocked once on Ashton’s door. He had been barking at me about barging in. I conceded by knocking once before going inside the office.
“I’m leaving for the night,” I told him.
He grunted some kind of response.
“Try not to get anyone pregnant. My can of pepper spray is almost empty. I’ll try and pick some up this weekend in case I need to fend off any more potential baby mamas.”
He lo
oked up at me, and for the first time, I thought I saw amusement in his hazel eyes, which were always so serious. “Goodnight.”
I smiled, waved, and left. Then I grabbed my purse and headed out. I loved being able to pick him up a little earlier than usual. I hated the idea of him waiting in the after-school program. I parked my car and walked along the sidewalk, smiling as I passed other working parents that also took advantage of the program. I was walking past the playground where kids were running and playing when something caught my eye.
I stopped walking and peered around the building. It was my Jake. Three boys had made a circle around him and it was obvious he was not happy about it. I ran around the side, opened the gate, and rushed toward the boys.
“Boys, don’t you have somewhere to be?” I said in a biting tone.
“Who are you?” one of them sneered.
I stepped forward, bending down and getting nose to nose with the child. “I’m someone who will make your life miserable if you mess with my kid again. Got it?”
The boy looked defiant. I stepped a little closer, crowding him with my body.
“Let’s go, guys,” he said before racing away.
I hated that I had to save Jake and knew he was probably going to be embarrassed. I stood up and turned to look at Jake. My eyes scanned his body, looking for any signs of injury. I didn’t see anything. “Are you okay?” I asked softly.
He sighed. “Yeah.”
“Let me sign you out and we’ll go.”
He nodded, following along behind me. I went in search of the people that were supposed to be watching the kids. When they saw me coming, they quickly broke up their huddle. I was screaming mad and ready to rip them to pieces for their inattentiveness that nearly ended with my baby getting hurt.
“I’ll be taking Jake now. I don’t know if you noticed—actually, I know for a fact you didn’t notice—but he was almost beaten up by a little gang of misfits. I’m not sure what your protocol is, but I would like to know the kids are being looked after when they’re here.”
Spring It On Me Page 7