“Each of us lost people in our lives that were important. We banded together for survival. None of us can afford to lose the other.”
“I’m sorry.” She reached out and placed her hand on his. The lightness of her skin against his darker slightly different colored skin looked strange but the longer she stared, the more she liked it.
“Your tan is a little different. I don’t know why I noticed it. I bet most people never look close enough to question it.”
He turned his palm over, and she ran the pads of her fingers over it.
“You're different. You will always see me for what I am and not what I project to the world.”
“Maybe I should run.”
“It’s too late for that. I would follow.” His beast was content to have her tracing patterns on his hand, and so was the male. When her trailer blew up, he wanted to tear someone apart. He still did. He had the scent of the last person to approach. Now all he had to do was wait until he caught it again. Patience, he told himself.
“I will understand if you want to do business with someone else.”
“You don’t know me well Quinn, but I know you're about to run. You made a deal with us. I’m not letting you out of it.”
She hadn’t really made a deal, but she had taken their money, and they deserved the plans she drew for them. After that, they could discuss whether she would be the construction company to get the job. They really should get several bids.
“I’ll show you the plans tomorrow, and after that, we can decide what to do.”
He motioned for the waiter. After paying the check, he rose and escorted her to his truck.
Chapter Seven
“Wish me luck Tee. I really need this after what happened last night, I have a trailer to replace.” She spent the night thinking. Who needed sleep? She wasn’t giving her dream up because someone committed a crazy act of vandalism. It was probably random, and she was going to treat it that way until it was proven otherwise.
She looked herself over in the mirror once more. She was wearing her only suit; it was her presentation outfit.
“Got to go, girl.” She grabbed her purse and the plans and headed out the door.
Her phone rang as she was pulling out of her space.
“Answer.”
“Quinn!” Her mother’s voice was shaking with fear.
“Oh God Mom, I’m so sorry. I’m fine; I swear it.”
“The news said you were there when the trailer exploded.”
“Nothing touched me mom, not even the heat.” Now that she was thinking about it that was strange.
“Someone tried to kill you.” Her mother’s voice was a little calmer now that she was talking to her.
“No one tried to kill me. It was a random act of violence.”
“The reporter said you might have done it.”
“They’re wrong. I didn’t do it.”
“I know that baby; it makes me mad that they would say those kinds of things about you. I think you should come back home for a couple of months until we get things straightened out.”
“Mom I’m safe. I wouldn’t want to interfere with your new life.”
“You need an alarm system in your apartment.”
She took a deep breath. Her mom had begged her to get one, but she hadn’t. At the time, she wanted to put every free cent she had into her business. That may have been the wrong decision.
“Don’t tell me you can’t afford it. I will pay for it.”
She smiled, her mom was using her ‘MOM’ voice. The one that said no matter how old you are you’ll always be my baby.
“Yes, ma’am, but mom I’m sure I can pay for it. I’ll call when I get home from my appointment and arrange a time to have it done.”
“Thank you.”
“Sorry I gave you such a hard time about getting one.”
“It’s okay; I'll feel better when I know you have an alarm. I’ll let you get to your appointment. Be careful.”
“I will mom; I love you.” She ended the call wondering how she could have forgotten to call her mom.
Mekhi walked her into her apartment and insisted on looking around last night. She almost smiled when he looked under the bed. He checked the windows making sure they were secure and locked before he picked Tee up and gave her a hug goodbye. Then he walked over to her and drew her into his arms. He held her. Nothing more it wasn’t a ploy for a kiss, and if someone could fall for a man in a heartbeat, she did.
He was warm and protective, and every dream she ever had of someone to love looked like Mekhi. He made sure she locked the door when he left and reminded her he would see her tomorrow.
Men like him didn’t exist she reminded herself, but she liked what she saw.
She pulled up to the house and stopped to stare. It was beautiful, the kind you saw in a magazine, not in reality. The house was just as beautiful or handsome as the males who owned it. She jumped out the jeep and made her way to the door.
The door was open, and Mekhi was waiting for her. He had his arms crossed, and his feet were apart. She stopped for a minute wondering if he were upset with her.
“Why did you stop?” His body relaxed.
“I was just going through a mental checklist to make sure I had everything.” She walked through the door brushing against his body because he didn’t move back.
This was one of the things that made her wonder about him. His stance had been so dominating as if she had done something wrong, or he was on guard, and she was the enemy. It was a contrast to the male who hugged her last night just giving her comfort.
She looked around for his brothers.
“They’re all out back waiting for you.”
She followed him through the house until they got out back. They had several grills going with flames shooting up into the air.
“I thought we could have steaks for lunch, and maybe you would make us homemade french fries.”
No male should ever look like Mekhi did at that moment. He was waiting for her to shoot him down, put him in his place. If he had been any of the men, she dated in the past that’s exactly what would have happened. All she could think about was how he knocked them to the ground and made sure she ended up on his chest before he rolled to protect her.
Then he stood silently but protectively beside her when the police kept asking questions like she had set her trailer to explode. Those were just a few of the things he had done for her in a couple of hours. Yeah, she was making french fries and holding her breath he would ask her out again.
“I like the sounds of that. Shall we go over the plans first?”
They gathered around a large table they added since she was last there. She unfolded them and let them have a look at it.
“I want to tear down this small awning and replace it with a larger wider one that will withstand both rain and snow. This way when you're using your kitchen, you can use it in any kind of weather. Then we’ll add several seating sections. One under the wider awning so you can still be outside and dry if it rains.”
She moved around telling them what she envisioned and showing them the plans.
“Over here would be the perfect place for a hot tub. I want a large square one with a waterfall.” She picked up her phone to show them some examples she had saved to Pinterest.
“I like this one,” Thrice pointed out. The brothers looked at it.
“When can you start?” Slade asked her.
“We need to talk about price. Do you want to get bids on it? How much I will charge over what the actual cost to build it will be.”
“No bids, I want you to do it,” Phoenix told her before he stood up and moved toward one of the grills.
“We agree, no bids. You will be the one to do it.” Slade told her.
Darn, she wanted to argue, but then again, she wanted the job, not just because it would be a good payday, and her people needed to work. She wanted to spend more time with Mekhi.
“Do you have any actual numbers on
the cost?” Akron asked her.
“I do.” She picked up her purse and pulled out several sheets of numbers breaking everything down. She kept the last piece of paper to herself what she should charge versus what she could charge to break even.
“What is your fee?” Mekhi asked her.
She rumbled off numbers that would make sure her workers got paid, and she could put a down payment on a little trailer.
“No,” Slade said it first, and each brother chimed in agreeing with him.
Her heart broke she couldn’t do it for any less. She was giving them a discount. No, she was cutting herself out, but being able to say she designed this should help her business grow.
“I won’t be able to do it for less.” She would not argue with them. They would find out no one would touch the project for what she just quoted them.
Mekhi leaned over her, and she shivered as his warm breath touched her neck.
“Let me see the paper in your hand.” He tugged, and it came out.
She took a big breath as they looked at what her services should cost.
“Even at the highest quote she is undervaluing her service,” Jabari told them.
“She has a name it’s Quinn,” Mekhi told them.
“She is here with you,” Quinn told them.
“Why are your services so cheap? Don’t you know what you’re doing?” Slade asked that question.
“I know this business better than most. I’m not only professional about what I do I’m passionate about it. Everything I do is done well.”
“Then why don’t you charge what your services are worth?” Slade was holding the paper in front of her face.
Mekhi was growling. Growling?
“Everyone back up and sit down. Quinn will explain to us what she is doing. I know she did not mean to exploit our intelligence.” Mekhi’s voice was guttural as if he was holding onto his temper.
“Please sit.” She gave them her sweetest don’t eat me alive smile. She felt this way once when she went to the zoo, for a moment she felt like she was surrounded by wild animals that could kill her.
“Long story short. I’ve had to cut my prices and work for the bare minimum to stay afloat in the world of construction.”
Slade slid the paper across the table. “Write down what you would charge for this.”
She took it and bit her bottom lip as she reached for her pen. What the hell, she wrote what she believed she should make and slid it across the table.
Slade picked it up, and stood. His brother joined him, and they went off to discuss her new price. She waited, sweating until they came back.
“We think your price is still on the low side, but we accept. We reserve the right to add bonuses at our discretion.”
Her mouth opened.
“You still look beautiful like that, but humans worry about flies.”
She stared at Mekhi scared to ask what he meant.
“You were going to make french fries?” Thrice asked her.
“Yes, I told Mekhi about them last night, but he was unimpressed. I am here to make sure you see it my way.” He held out his hand to her, and she felt her heart dip as her pussy begged to tap out it was so wet. Note to self, buy full coverage panties and carry extra’s in your purse for days like this. She grinned herself silly as she walked into the kitchen. Who knew she would have days like this?
Chapter Eight
Quinn pulled into a parking space in front of her apartment, turned off the car and melted against the seat. She didn’t want to say it was the best day ever, but it was close to number one.
“I bought potatoes.”
“That’s two ten-pound bags. Who will eat all of that?”
“The seven of us.”
She waited for a smile or a gotcha, but it didn’t come. He was serious. She hated to see food go to waste but when you were learning to cook that happened enough.
“All right, we need a big… like a huge bowl.” She exaggerated the word and held her arms out as far as they went.
“I think I have something.” Thrice came in, to her asking for the bowl. He went to a lower cabinet and pulled one out.
Mekhi went and pulled out the biggest pan she had ever seen.
“I don’t understand.”
“Sometimes we have to cook for ourselves.” Mekhi shrugged and Thrice followed him.
“Knives?” She described the kind she liked to use for peeling potatoes. He brought two over, and they got started.
He was an expert; she showed him on one potato, and he was off.
“I think it’s all that training you got in the military. You use your knife far better than I do.”
He looked up at her giving her that deer stuck in the headlights look.
“I like how fast you are. You got moves.” She smiled at him fascinated as she watched him once again relax.
Before she knew it, the potatoes were frying, and the steaks were smelling delicious. She had eaten nothing all day to nervous about the presentation.
“We will eat outside,” Slade told them when he came in.
That had been happening since they first walked into the kitchen. One of the brothers would come in to get something and look at her before giving Mekhi a sly look. When she looked deeper, she realized they were encouraging him. He was nervous as if he expected her to bite him or worse reject him. Her heart went out to him because she understood rejection in a way that still stung her pride and hurt her heart.
“Who will man up and taste the first fry?” She looked at them as they stared at their plates.
They each had a mound of fries on their plates and a separate plate that held two big, thick steaks. Where did they put it all?
“Everyone watch me. First, we salt the fries.” She demonstrated and then watched as they passed the salt shaker doing what she did. “Now we have this wonderful elixir call ketchup. French fries need it. Since this is your first time put some on the side of the plate, then you can dip your fries into it.”
She took a fry dipped it and ate. Mekhi did what she did. His eyes got bigger.
“This is so much better than what they had in the restaurant.”
“There is nothing better than homemade fries.”
She watched as his brothers tried and made sounds of approval as they ate. A mound of potatoes later and two steaks and they sat back happy.
“Wow, you guys can eat.”
“We burn a lot of energy.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were pregnant eating for two.” They stopped to stare at her. The one that made her try to catch her breath and hope she left alive. “I’m just kidding.”
They gave her smiles and cleaned off the table. She got up to help them. Somehow, she got dish duty. That seemed to be the one thing none of them liked to do.
Water flew out of the sink and hit Mekhi. He ignored her, and she did it again. She never saw him move but water splashed over her face. That fast they were having a water battle with everyone joining in. She had to shout uncle in the end because she was laughing too hard to splash back. Mopping the floor got added to the list of chores, Mekhi did that. She couldn’t even feel bad because it had been so much fun.
They went outside to enjoy the rest of the day. They had several table games of strategy she had never seen before, but they taught her to play. Then they suggested a game based on skill and cunning.
“You want to get this,” Mekhi lifted a hand that held a tennis ball sized gem. “Over the line.” He pointed it out. It was a more difficult version of flag football, but it sounded fun.
“Do you want to play?”
She did, but she was wearing the only presentation outfit she had.
“My clothes, I do have a change in the truck.”
“Let’s go.” He waited for her and walked her to the truck. When they were in the house, he showed her to a bathroom she could change in which was good because she was about to ask about one.
Her outfit was old and scruffy, a
pair of jeans that had holes made the old-fashioned way and a t-shirt that had seen better days and her old tennis shoes.
“You’re ready. My brothers are waiting.” They gave her the rules changing them so she wouldn’t be hurt. They broke up into teams. Since the number was odd, she ended up on Mekhi and Thrice’s team.
She couldn’t stop laughing until she watched the world’s most expensive ball come at her. Her eyes narrowed, and her mind snapped in place. She wanted this point. Jumping up, she caught it. She pivoted when her foot touched the ground and ran for the goal. She was so sure she would make it.
Fingers wrapped around her ankle pulling her down. Akron slammed into her making her roll. She kept rolling until she crossed over the line. She looked around, and everyone had stopped. It was like they were frozen in time. She knew she should be scared; angry violence crackled through the air. It didn’t matter she made the point. They hadn’t treated her like she was soft or fragile. When Akron collided with her, his hands didn’t ‘accidentally’ caress her rear or chest. No, she won that point fair and square.
She jump up and screamed. “I won!” Then she threw herself into Mekhi’s arms.
One look around showed them all laughing. The tension was gone.
“I went easy on you,” Akron called out.
“Yeah right, you just don’t want to admit a girl beat you.”
Mekhi lifted her up high as she held the ball for all to see.
“Time to go inside tiny warrior, it’s getting too dark for you to see.”
“I should probably get ready to go home.” She had to be a mess. She was having too much fun to worry about looking pretty.
“Or you could stay for pizza and a movie,” Akron told her as he passed.
She looked up at Mekhi, he nodded his head. “I’ll get you a t-shirt.”
“That would be nice.”
She was in the bathroom looking in the mirror with horror. There was dirt on her face, hands, and arms. Her shirt had snagged and torn in the back, probably when she made her epic catch. Wait till she told her mom about that and her best friend. The worse was her hair. Quinn put her brush in the water hoping it would help to make it stay down. There was dirt, twigs, and whatever else was in their yard in her hair.
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