There was a long silence as he continued to look down at her. It took all of her self-discipline to not squirm or fidget with those intense, blue eyes looking down at her like that. “Two hundred houses, each looking different?”
“Yep,” she confirmed, smiling again at his astounded expression. “You’d be in charge. You’d have a budget and could hire as many workers as you need. We have an accountant who helps with the budgeting. There’s an admin assistant who orders supplies for you and ensures that the orders arrive on time. Once we have more houses ready for sale, we’ll hire a realtor or a sales team. I don’t know the exact plans for that area, but they will be in charge of finding buyers for the houses, once they are complete.” She paused, wondering what else she could say to convince him to take the job. “One of the downsides to this project is that we need to get several houses, maybe all the houses on a block or a street, fixed up before potential buyers would feel safe enough to consider moving to LowPoint. So it’s a pretty big job.” Daisy recognized the wary look he gave her. “The foundation is well funded. There is funding aplenty, so you don’t need to worry about taking on the project and then having it fold up in just a few months.”
Rocco rubbed the scruff on his jaw, thinking he should have shaved this morning. But he hadn’t really thought that Daisy-Barbie was for real. So he’d fully expected to show up this morning and have a chuckle, then head back to Louisville to search for a job.
But this…looking around at the house that was pretty much in shambles, he started to think through the process. If this was for real, he would really enjoy renovating something like this. It was one thing to build an office building. There were challenges and obstacles that made the work interesting. But the job he’d lost yesterday had been a square building, ten stories high. It would be pretty much the same kind of work he’d been doing on for the past several years. It was a job, paid the bills, but it hadn’t really excited him.
Renovating something like this? Two hundred houses? And all of them needed to be different. Yeah, he could really get into something like this. He reached out and opened the pantry door off the main kitchen area, then jumped back, wrapping an arm around Daisy to make sure she wasn’t hurt as the whole door crashed to the dusty floor.
“Sorry,” he muttered, but he wasn’t really sorry. Slowly, his fingers uncurled and he released her, moving away so that he could get back on track.
He thought frantically, listing out all of the issues that would need to be fixed, glancing down at the beautiful woman with the gorgeous smile and mind-blowing curves. He was thinking about her soft figure pressed perfectly against his own. With a grunt, he moved away. Far away. The opposite-side-of-the-room-away. And still, that wasn’t far enough to stop his mind from replaying how good it felt when his hand curved around her tiny waist.
Focus on the job! “What exactly do you want this place to look like when it is all finished?”
The slender beauty’s smile widened and he almost groaned out loud. She really needed to stop doing that if they were going to work together. Maybe he’d make that a part of his contract. No smiles. No grins. And definitely no giggles. Oh – and no jeans. That woman’s butt was amazing! Firm and round, filling out those jeans better than any woman’s he’d ever seen! Unfortunately, that wasn’t even her best feature!
He glanced at her ring finger, just to make sure. Empty, he thought. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t into women that looked like Barbies. He liked his women a bit more down to earth. More real.
So why the hell was his body reacting to the scent of her strawberry shampoo?
“Here’s my plan for this house,” she turned, pulling out a rolled up sheet of paper from a leather bag he hadn’t noticed before.
As she leaned over, spreading it out over the dusty kitchen island, he had trouble focusing on the details because the scent of her shampoo was even stronger this close up. And she smelled incredibly good…all over. He tried to concentrate on what she was explaining, but her finger was pointing towards something on the paper and all he could think about now was what it would be like to be touched by those soft, pretty hands. Her nails were smooth and the bubblegum pink manicure wasn’t chipped in any way. Rocco could easily picture those pink nails sliding down his chest. Or…other places.
“So, what do you think?” she asked eagerly, turning to look up at him. The gesture caused his eyes to focus on her lips. Her full lips. With pink, strawberry flavored lip gloss. This close up, he realized that she had freckles. Very slight freckles. And she didn’t wear a lot of makeup. In fact, her eye lashes were the same color as her hair. He hadn’t noticed that before because those chocolate eyes just…overwhelmed the rest of her face. But this close…yeah, he noticed. He noticed everything.
Pulling back quickly, he paced around the house. “I’ll look at the plans later and let you know if there are any issues with implementing them.”
He had his back to her as he stared up at the light fixture in the ceiling. An outdated light fixture with cracked plastic and missing light bulbs. It had been ugly thirty years ago and looked even worse now. But staring up at the ceiling helped him get his head back in the game.
“So…?”
“So what?” he asked, walking to the sliding glass door that allowed a small bit of dusty light to filter into the dark room. Unfortunately, opening the glass door also allowed him to see the massive clumps of weeds and trash that littered what used to be an enclosed yard but was now just a…forest of weeds and trash.
“So…will you take the job?” she asked, and named a salary that whipped his head around.
“Why so much?” he asked, thinking that there had to be something illegal about the job if she was offering that amount of money.
Her slender shoulders shrugged and his eyes were drawn to the delicate curve of her jawline. She was so dainty! The delicate bone structure combined with the steel-toed boots…that was hot!
“Because you’ll be the construction manager. You’ll be in charge of whatever crew you hire.”
His eyes narrowed. “That still doesn’t justify that kind of salary.”
She shrugged and crossed her arms under her breasts, bringing his eyes down to her breasts that were…perfect! They weren’t overly large, but not small either. Just right, he thought and his mouth drooled a bit thinking about pulling back the material of her thick, cotton top to find out what she looked like underneath.
“It’s not a high salary if you consider the scale of the project. Your skills as a manager will be a perfect match for this job. Besides, this isn’t just a casual project. We have a schedule and a budget. There’s a lot of pressure on both of us to renovate these houses on time. You also get a bonus if you deliver under budget, but you can’t scrimp on the materials,” she added and his wariness increased yet again, especially with the look that hit her eyes. Something wasn’t right, he thought.
With a sigh, he crossed his arms over his chest, trying to figure out the whole scoop. “What’s going on, Daisy? This doesn’t feel right.”
The woman laughed and he once again thought about adding that into his contract because the sound caused a bolt of lust to hit him hard.
“There’s nothing illegitimate about this job offer. It’s going to be high stress and you’ll need to be creative. The foundation that is renovating these houses is demanding and wants two of them finished in two months. So yeah, the salary is high, but so are the expectations.”
He nodded thoughtfully, mulling through his options. “There’s nothing illegal about it?”
She laughed again, shaking her head. “Nothing even remotely illegal. But I can introduce you to the lawyer for the foundation if that would ease your mind?”
Rocco considered that. He knew that there were many lawyers that did illegal things, but just talking with the guy might answer a few of his questions.
Nodding, he scratched his jaw, thinking again that he really needed to shave. Her delicate skin would be hurt if he…
Immediately, she bent over again and his mind stopped functioning. When she stood up, she was holding a cell phone, but it still took him several long moments to get his thoughts moving again because his mind was focused on her bending over, on him behind her and….
By the time he got his mind back under control, she was doing that laughing thing again, talking with some guy named Jason.
“Okay, we’ll be there soon. Thanks Jason,” she ended the call. “Ready?”
He stared at her for a long moment, trying to figure out what was going on. “Ready for what?” he finally asked.
“Ready to meet the lawyer,” she explained as if that should be obvious. “We can be there in twenty minutes. He is drafting up a contract that outlines your salary and guarantees that nothing illegal is happening here. Just a foundation trying to do some good in the world.”
He nodded, but still wasn’t sure what she was saying because…well, because those full, pink lips were distracting him again. And her strawberry blond hair. Usually, he preferred brunettes. He liked the contrast between their dark hair and pale skin. But Daisy…well, her hair was fascinating.
She did it again! Bending over, his eyes just about bulged out of his head when she bent down lower and her shirt pulled up, revealing a smooth stretch of pale skin along her back. He wasn’t sure how his mouth could water and dry up at the same time, but that tiny peek of skin did it to him.
She stood up, dangling keys in her hand. “Ready?”
Rocco stared at her, still trying to catch up. Keys. Lawyer. Twenty minute drive.
“Right,” he finally answered, pushing away from the wall he’d been leaning on. Okay, where the wall had been holding him up, he corrected, then followed Daisy out of the house. Back in the bright sunshine, he pushed his sunglasses up his nose, startled by the light sparkling off her gorgeous hair.
He really needed to stop noticing these things, he thought. Working with her, she’d be a co-worker, office romances never worked out. Not that he had personal experience with an office romance because…well, because he’d never worked in an office. And the people he worked with on a construction site thus far were one hundred percent male. He knew that women were beginning to work in the construction field, but there had been none on the ones he’d worked.
She stopped beside one of those micro cars and he glared at it. “What the hell is this?” he demanded, stopping several feet away…almost as if he was afraid he might step on it.
“It’s my car. We can walk to just about every place in LowPoint, but Jason lives about twenty minutes away.”
Horrified, he stared at the car. “That isn’t a car,” he insisted.
Daisy looked at her Mini Cooper, then at Rocco’s huge body, enjoying a leisurely perusal of all of him. His shoulders probably wouldn’t even fit into her car. And then her eyes traveled down his long, jean-clad legs and she giggled. “Right. Umm…” she looked around and was just about to call Jason back when he pulled his keys out of his pocket.
“I’ll drive,” he decided and walked over to his truck. In contrast to her Mini Cooper, Rocco’s pickup was enormous! She estimated that it could hold at least five people in the cab but also had a huge area in the back that was literally filled with tools and…stuff. Daisy stared into the back of the truck and just about had a heart attack. His tools were…they were a mess! Okay, so maybe the hand tools were in a big, leather bag. But there were larger items, things she couldn’t put a name to, that were just tossed in haphazardly!
Her fingers itched, her mind already reorganizing everything in that space so that it was organized by size. No! Better yet, by need! Or by power tools? Oh, the possibilities were endless! Maybe if she just…
She refrained, just barely, from taking everything out of his truck so she could reorganize it and slipped into the passenger seat. Organizing stuff was her thing. It soothed her when she was anxious and occupied just enough of her mind when she needed to work something out mentally. But even when she wasn’t upset or worried about issues, she still loved organizing…anything.
The big guy slammed the passenger door as soon as her feet hit the floorboard and Daisy looked around, noticing that the interior of the truck was much more organized. Breathing a sigh of relief, she relaxed against the comfortable seat.
Relaxed until he stepped into the driver’s seat.
Being in the house had been a problem, but sitting here in his giant truck next to his giant body, those long, muscular legs straining against the denim of his jeans, Daisy had a hard time trying to think. He was big and silent and he kept watching her. She’d felt his eyes on her back, on her lips, and just about everywhere else, but she had no idea if he liked what he saw.
He was doing it right now… staring at her, she had no idea what to say.
“I need directions, Daisy,” his deep voice almost startled her.
“Right!” she gasped and shifted on her seat. “Um…head out to Highway 64 and get off on exit twenty.” She looked away, praying that he couldn’t see the way her cheeks turned pink.
Rocco shifted the truck into gear, looked behind him and pulled carefully away from the curb. The ride was a silent one. Daisy wracked her brain trying to come up with something to talk about. But the man was just big and…huge! And silent! Good grief, the man barely spoke! She wasn’t used to that. She liked talking. She liked conversing about anything. Silence made her crazy!
Thankfully, he pulled his huge truck into Jason’s driveway and she was able to jump out. Somehow, just being back out in the clean, fresh air and bright sunshine helped alleviate the stress and tension from the drive. But then she passed by the bed of his truck and all of her nerve endings started to sizzle. There was so much…disorganization! Her fingers itched to fix it.
“Daisy!”
She swung around just as Jason stepped out of his house. Even though he worked hard to help her and her friends with all of their legal issues, he hadn’t moved from the house where she’d initially met him. Jason used to be a high priced, criminal defense lawyer from Washington, D.C. but had moved here to Kentucky to have a bit more work-life balance. He was the man who had helped her, Tony, Ivy, and Marilee when they’d first won the lottery four years ago. Jason was one of the good guys; brilliant, motivated to help make the world a better place and friendly. He was also extremely good looking in a GQ sort of way.
But where Rocco was huge and muscular, Jason was maybe an inch shorter and more lithe, like a runner. Rocco reminded her of a boxer-type, hard all over and with bulging muscles that made his flannel shirt seem almost too tight at times. And he was much more intimidating!
“Hi Jason!” she opened her arms to hug the sweet man. “I see that you’ve kept all of your chickens alive and well. Any wounds from stealing their eggs lately?” she teased. Since the man lived out in the country, his chickens were constantly threatened by foxes and coyotes. Jason wanted to protect his chickens from being eaten by the surrounding wildlife, but he also wanted to allow them to roam free. Daisy loved that about him, his need to protect and nurture. He had a stern, yet caring, air about him that soothed her.
When he pulled back, Daisy could feel the anger hitting her from the big guy behind her. She tried to ignore it, but since she was here to introduce the two men, that wasn’t as easily done.
“Jason, this is Rocco Barnes.” Turning to the big guy, she stepped back, startled by how close he was to her. And how angry he looked at the moment. “Rocco, this is Jason Rayburn, the lawyer for the foundation.”
The men shook hands and offered cordial greetings, but Daisy sensed a hostile undercurrent. One she didn’t understand, but assumed it was a male thing and stepped back.
“Rocco is concerned that the job offer might have some illegal aspects to it.”
Jason’s eyes immediately crinkled at the corners, his shoulders relaxing slightly as
he smiled reassuringly. “Illegal,” he echoed, as if testing the word. A soft chuckle and Jason shook his head. “There’s nothing illegal about this,” he assured Rocco. “I’ve been working with Daisy for the past four years, and I can assure you, she’s one of the most ethical people I’ve ever known. She finds the good in people in ways the rest of us mere mortals miss.” He waved invitingly his house. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
Rocco stared at the two of them, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Daisy was looking at the other guy with admiration and an affectionate smile, but there didn’t seem to be any romantic interest between the two. Other than that initial hug, they didn’t touch. In fact, he was getting a friendship vibe, which definitely eased his mind. This Rayburn guy seemed to be about twenty years older than Daisy as well, putting her in the “too young” category for the lawyer. At least in his mind.
Why his whole body had tensed up when Daisy had been enveloped in the arms of the lawyer guy, he wasn’t really sure. The man was tall, good looking with that silver at his temples, and he seemed serious enough. But now that they weren’t touching and Rocco could really look at the two of them, he acknowledged that there definitely wasn’t interest on either side.
Daisy went inside the house that looked like it was going to fall down at any moment. As soon as Rocco stepped inside, he realized that the exterior was a joke. Inside, the house was warm and comfortable, with a high-end sound system, a huge kitchen, and expensive, if well-worn, furniture. It was comfortable, he decided.
Daisy immediately moved into the kitchen, seeming to feel at home in this guy’s house. That pissed him off too. But she smiled, offering to get coffee for everyone and he felt petty. Obviously, she’d been in this guy’s house often enough to feel comfortable making coffee. Were they ex-lovers? And why did he care? Daisy wasn’t his type, anyway. He’d already established that.
So why were his eyes following her as she made her way through the large, open area and into the kitchen, opening and closing cabinets as she pulled down mugs. And why was he so tense, waiting for her to come back?
Tempted (The Lottery Winners Book 2) Page 3