WindSwept Narrows: #18 Paige Andrews

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  A soft, low groan broke free, her hands settling on the belt at his waist.

  “Ten minutes…you have ten whole minutes to stop that…” She said, ignoring the long sigh that broke from her lips.

  Sebastian grinned and led her to the bed, his fingers kept up the massage until he carefully maneuvered her onto the bed. “Stay home today, Paige.” He backed away, tossing the blanket over her. “Close your eyes and go back to sleep. I’ll call later and check on you…”

  It was so tempting, she thought, sinking down and letting the warmth cruise over her and through her. It was stupid to be caught like a rookie last night, her subconscious ridiculed sourly.

  She heard a soft echo of the bathroom door and even smiled when a pair of warm lips touched her brow. She listened to the words repeating that she stay home, rest. Just before she shoved against the bed and bolted upright. Again.

  Brown eyes swept the room. No leather on the vanity chair. She crawled over the bed and stared at the floor. No boots the size of small boats on the floor. She swallowed and carefully rubbed the side of her head. It was still throbbing inside and very tender outside.

  A long hot shower, a tall cold smoothie and casual clothing had her gripping the straps of her pack in one hand and keys in the other as she left the apartment. Only a little late, she thought, mentally making a list of things to be done.

  Okay, she thought after popping the limited Tylenol and half the smoothie, her hands sorting over folders and preparing her computer to work it’s magic. Music…she winced and slipped the single pod into place, finding something soothing and quiet today. Melodic, she thought up until the moment the door slammed behind her. Brown eyes darted quickly to the mirror and the wince crossing her features had nothing to do with the dull throb inside her head.

  Sebastian knew his fingers were white taut around the strap on his helmet, leather jacket hanging open and feet firmly planted. She had folders sorted and cross stacked on her left side, her hands moving with what he considered amazing speed over the keys, screen flashing in front of her eyes. She didn’t turn to look at him but he’d seen her eyes in the mirror placed to give her a view without moving.

  “Good morning,” Chase came in from the outside, shaking the rain off his long coat and looking from one to the other. He sighed, shook his head and went into his office.

  “Hi, Chase…yep…gorgeous morning out there, smells like fresh ocean and rainy sand. I love it,” Paige said cheerfully, wincing a little when the door to the second office vibrated off the hinges. He will get over it, she told herself firmly.

  “I received this text saying you were taking the day off,” Chase said, moving to drop some files to her desk and accept the ones she held out to him.

  “Rumors of my demise…et cetera…I’m okay…little headache…nothing major.”

  Chase started to turn and changed his mind. “How long are you going to make him want to hit walls?”

  Paige blinked. Turned from her monitor and blinked again. She brought her tongue out to moisten her lips and spoke carefully. “He’s my boss. If he wants to hit walls, I don’t know how to fix that.”

  Chase opened his mouth and closed it for a minute. “This boss thing is the problem, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t have a boss thing. I’ve worked for you for over six months,” she returned stiffly. “I like my work. I like my job. You’re easy to work for. The work is beyond fun and…”

  “Him being your boss and wanting to date you, is a problem,” Chase interrupted firmly, thinking over the conversation he had with Pepper the night before regarding the pair of them.

  “Not for me,” she answered with a shrug. Liar, she heard inside her throbbing head. “Nope. Not a single problem here,” she smiled brightly and tapped a flashing light on the phone. “Hartley and Montgomery, this is Paige…yes, of course, hold on a minute.” She drew in a slow breath and tapped the intercom. “Mr. Hartley, Al Brundle wants to talk to you about the walk through for the demolitions. He’s on line one.”

  “I’ll talk to him.” Came the brusque response.

  “Paige, there isn’t a conflict if you dated Bastian,” as many human resources people as he employed, this one issue was always one of the touchiest.

  “I…he…of course it’s a conflict. He is my boss. I will work to not allow it to be an issue in the office, Chase,” she told him quickly.

  Chase went into his office and pushed the air from his lungs. Pepper tried warning him. So now, it was her turn, he thought, remembering her offer to help.

  Polite and cool.

  It’s not like he’s stalking you, she thought as she typed. It’s not as if you don’t want to go out with him. When he wasn’t chewing her out, he was interesting and fun and very intelligent. The bike and all that leather were just a tiny bit…macho…no…on him, they suited. So not macho…more…she groaned inside. More…hot…sexy…oh, god, she liked the leather! Her head hurt a little more.

  She stopped typing and put both elbows on the desk, her head in her hands for a quiet minute. She focused on the music and her breathing until the shadow fell over her desk.

  “Paige…why are you being so obstinate?” Sebastian leaned over the desk, his palms flat on the folders she had spread out. “You have a headache from….” He stopped when the palm closest to him separated and one finger aimed at him.

  “I…have a job. I…have work. Now….if you are unable to separate your work from your personal…” Paige stopped and drew in a long breath. “Life…then we have a problem that has to be dealt with before Chase kills us both.”

  “At last, an intelligent, irrefutable statement,” Chase said on his way through to the main entrance. “I’ve got a meeting in Seattle. See you both tomorrow.”

  “Having Chase up for murder would really upset Pepper and she’s my best friend,” Paige continued after the door closed, her hand dropping to the small bottle of tablets and dumping some into her palm. “Now…let me work and leave me alone. Please.”

  “I’m getting subs for lunch. I’ll bring you one,” he said simply, returning to his office but leaving the door open. It should be considered progress, he thought, checking his watch a couple hours later before taking the folders to her desk and dropping them in the designated stack she pointed to. It amazed him how her hands moved even when she was involved in a screen full of numbers. “What do you want on your sandwich?”

  “Turkey, lettuce, mayo and cream cheese with sprouts and tomato. Thank you,” Paige shook her head at the screen and began digging through pages at her left, highlighter flying over the numbers as he nodded and left the building.

  It wasn’t difficult to think of him as sexy or even simply appealing. She’d had some bosses who seriously had not only hygiene problems but issues with being married and prowling. She nodded in satisfaction when the figures balanced and sent it to the server for storage before opening the next file.

  Did people always think about what the bad would be like if it didn’t work? Or were you supposed to be perky optimistic in an effort to make it work? And who would it have to work for to have it be right? Oh, god, this was only making her head throb a little more.

  Paige had three folders neatly filed away when the door opened. Toasted subs, she thought, smelling the meats and cheeses with a little groan that came from the bottom of her stomach. She watched him stride in, helmet in one hand with a paper bag dangling, while the other held two large frosted somethings.

  “I hit a source that said you liked this frosted,” Sebastian set the tall glass of golden liquid in front of her, one brow arched when she looked at it took a little sip and almost drained half the thirty-two ounce cup before she came up for air. “I guess my source was right.”

  “Thank you. I needed that,” she said with a sigh, the grumbling in her stomach temporarily silenced. She thought about the text messages she’d been exchanging with Pepper all morning, her fingers stopping on the thin paper surrounding the sub he’d brought her. “I suppose
this is kind of a date, isn’t it?” She looked up to find those sharp blue eyes watching her closely. Uncertain wasn’t a word she would have applied to him, she realized, swallowing and pulling the sandwich closer, opening it and lifting the neatly sliced half to her lips.

  “If you consider the pasta dinner…our second,” he replied, working to sound casual.

  “I don’t know if this is a good idea or not,” she watched him digest her words with the mass of vegetables on the large sub he was eating. “I didn’t worry much when I interviewed. But after Pepper and Chase got together…I can’t let anything that happens here come between my friendship with her or her relationship with him. It’s…it’s all just so…tricky.”

  “And you don’t think I understand that?”

  “Haven’t had much actual conversation, have we?” She said with a crooked grin. “So I don’t know. I…there’s a sense of arrogance about you that tells me it wasn’t something top of your list in issues. You’re goal oriented without seeing the ramifications right away,” she said quietly.

  “I can’t deny that,” Sebastian agreed with a shrug. “And no…I don’t guess we had actually just talked before today. I’ve also never had a girl hold a gun on me,” he chuckled at the wince that crossed her face.

  “Yeah…that one’s gonna haunt me a long time,” she murmured.

  “And I think we were having a semi decent conversation over dinner,” Sebastian met her eyes. “And for the record…being concerned for your safety is not a reflection on whether or not I think you’re capable of taking care of yourself, Paige. It is not because you’re a woman,” he repeated firmly. “I’ve served alongside women equally as capable and never gave a thought to their abilities because of their gender. I’ve served with some males I’d have sooner put into an office than be in a fight with.”

  “Where did you serve?” She asked after she swallowed the bit she was chewing.

  “Several places where hostages were being held,” he answered honestly. “Went in the last year of college. Pissed off my parents…I’m not sure they understand that detour yet, but…” he shrugged. “Stayed four years and left. Finished my engineering degree and worked it hard for several years.”

  “How long have you known Chase?”

  “Hmm…” he took a long draw on the cola colored liquid. “Eight…no, eleven years now…it’s strange thinking so long back…”

  “Kansas City…it’s where you’re from?” Paige used her finger and pressed over the sesame seeds, licking them off her fingers without thinking about it.

  “It is,” he offered a soft, easy grin. “Farm boy turned brain.”

  “Chase talked about you through the interviews. Said you were closing down your office and relocating because you really wanted this project,” Paige wrapped up the second half of the sandwich and set it aside, her hands around the icy cup.

  “I had a lot of lucky investments and ventures that made me a lot of money. Architectural engineering was a good solid springboard for businesses that intrigued and interested me, from a recovery stand point,” Sebastian lifted her hand from the cup, his thumb cruising over her knuckles and his laugh deep when she looked at him with more than a hint of shock in her eyes. “Paige…don’t shut me out because we work together. Please,” he accepted her silent nod and tipped her palm up, stroking gently over the scratches. “Sore?”

  “A little…I saw them at the water, Sebastian,” she said firmly, seeing their hands and yet seeing her approach to the warehouse. “I saw the boat. I saw them leaving in the boat. That’s why…I wasn’t expecting someone else to be there…I don’t get caught off guard like that…” She sighed. “But I did…so…live and learn. Thanks for lunch. I have work to do…”

  “So do I,” he aimed the balled up paper for the trash and carried his cup with him into his office, leaving the door open as he worked through the proposals and prospective companies vying for work. He caught sight of her downing more pills a couple hours later and played her statement back. He had to step back and let work be work or she’d bolt on him without a glance back. Although that arrogance inside him said he’d made an inroad that she wasn’t going to be able to run from.

  Paige closed things down at four-thirty, locked cabinets and Chase’s office after checking all his cabinets and drawers. She was headed for the main door when his voice came from the side.

  “Paige…how about dinner?” Sebastian bit his tongue when he saw the circles under her eyes.

  “You know what I want?” She asked turning sharply and not caring that her boots bumped his toes. Her head went back and she stared at the high cheeks and blue eyes.

  “No…” He inhaled slowly.

  “A deep hot tub, point on hot…and a SCUBA tank…and I want to sit on the bottom until the hot water boils my brain,” she turned away and went out the door without looking back.

  “Alright…settle for Chinese? I’ll buy,” he went into the lot with her. “You know it might not have been so bad if you’d listened to Mariah and stayed down all day.”

  “I hate being behind in work. If you’re bringing food, leave the lectures. I’ll give you my brother’s emails and you can commiserate with them about me, okay?” She sunk into the seat and shoved the key into place. “No soda for me…too late at night…I’ll be pinging off the walls…and no one deserves that.” She closed the door and backed out, watching him stride back inside before pulling onto the road.

  Chapter Seven

  Paige climbed the stairs to her apartment and went inside with a purpose. Boots were pulled free and tossed into the closet before she pulled the band from her hair and went in search of the list Frannie had given her of herbs for headaches. She had a small Japanese style table open and sitting in the open space on the floor, and a hand full of capsules of many colors when the tap came on the door. She pulled it wide, swung a palm to the inside and went into the kitchen for a tall glass of water. Several swallows later, she met the curious eyes watching her.

  “Herbs…nothing toxic…” She assured him, watching as he dropped the helmet and gloves into the chair by the door, the heavy jacket shrugged off and draped over the back. She pulled plates, forks, spoons and napkins from cabinets and handed them to him when he came into the kitchen.

  “Bottle opener?” He asked, lifting out a large brown bottle. “And glass.”

  “Right side of the sink…top…and drawer,” she set her glass on the table and sat on the sofa, sliding over the side and sinking to the floor, long legs stretched out beneath the table for a few minutes before she pulled them in and sat before the table cross legged. “Do you want TV? News? Not sure what is on right now…”

  “No…I’m good with the music you have playing,” he told her, staring down at the table sitting a foot from the floor.

  Paige saw something on his face. “Floor bad? Sorry…we can move it to the table…”

  “I’m not as comfortable folding like you do…” He sat on a chair and pulled his boots off before dropping to join her. “At least not in the boots.”

  “I guess you are a bit bigger. I just…I don’t know…felt more relaxed, I think,” she said with a shrug.

  “I think I’m good…since I neglected to ask what you liked…”

  “I wondered if you were feeding an army,” she began opening one of the large bags and pulling out labeled hot containers. Paige put her elbows on the table top and set her chin in the center of her palms, watching him wield the chopsticks expertly and going from one container to the other. She used a fork and followed his methods, sampling and sighing. “Good stuff…”

  Sebastian took a drink from the dark liquid he’d poured, offering her a taste. He watched as she took the glass and sniffed politely before handing it back and reaching for her water.

  “Different,” she said when she surfaced, nodding and trying to not make a face. She lost. He laughed.

  “Did you grow up here?” Sebastian asked, lifting the container of spicy vegetables and leaning a
gainst the heavy chair behind him.

  “Montana,” she saw the familiar look. “Four brothers, a horse ranch and quiet parents who liked the wide open spaces,” she told him with a little smile. “Yes, it is where I learned to shoot. No, it is not why I carry a gun now.”

  “That just killed half an hours conversation,” he said with a chuckle. “You don’t strike me as the hunting type.”

  “I’m not…so you’d win that one,” she took the noodles and vegetables and dumped them on her plate, covering them with soy sauce and digging in hungrily. “I worked really hard to keep them fed and away from people who would hunt them, from a very young age.”

  “Somehow, I can see that,” Sebastian knew he was staring.

  “When was the last time you dated someone?” Paige asked, clearing her throat when she realized it was suddenly dry and her palms a little itchy.

  Sebastian exhaled slowly, the soft brown mirrors taking away the spicy taste of the food he was eating. They’d laughed when he tried showing her how to use the chopsticks, his senses open and inhaling the scent of too many things when he was near her.

  “I guess it’s been awhile. I know it was a formal something. Some company with an opening of a massive downtown building. Probably the kind of thing we’ll do when the cruise lines terminals are finished in two years,” he said thoughtfully. “And when the docks are finished.”

  “You and Chase work well together,” Paige complimented with a nod.

  “We spent a long time on conference calls and video calls to make sure it would work for us both…the timing was good for me.”

  “You’re like him…but you’re not like him…” Paige said thoughtfully, fingers lifting a piece of broccoli and biting down. She saw one of the straw colored brows lift patiently. “His personality is different…he likes and enjoys all the public stuff. The parties and meetings. He uses them to gather data and information, though, more than for fun. I think you would tolerate them. I bet you also use them, though…”