His Semi-Charmed Life: Camp Firefly Falls Book 11

by Lisa Hughey

  Penny didn’t like the hard zing of jealousy that burned beneath her ribs. A. It was a business event. B. She had no claim on him. C. What the hell was her problem?

  But that spurt of irritation didn’t fade as the girl chatted animatedly with Diego.

  “London and Hastings,” Zin shouted out.

  Penny jerked. She was supposed to race?

  “That’s it.” Tegan smiled. “Michael asked that you accommodate Diego Ramos’s company whenever needed. Although he doesn’t think that they would sue, since Zinnia fell on Camp Firefly Falls property he wants to do everything possible to make sure they’re happy.”

  Reluctantly, Penny made her way to the lake shore. The humidity had not even reached maximum capacity but still little hairs had started to curl around her face.

  Jeffrey London stared at her, his distaste clearly communicated as he bent toward Diego and whispered in his ear. Diego blinked, his expression not changing as his gaze shot to her. But somehow Penny knew he was not happy.

  “Change of plans,” Diego’s deep voice reverberated. “Jeffrey and his assistant will row together and I’ll pair up with Ms. Hastings.”

  Penny’s stomach churned.

  London had refused to work with her. It was a stupid fucking camp event. She pasted a smile on her face placed a quick hand on Zinnia’s shoulder. “Hope you’re feeling better today. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

  Zinnia shot her a grateful smile. “Thank you. Right now the pain pills are keeping me feeling fine. Just keep your promise.”

  To make sure Diego did his partner stuff.

  She’d already partnered with Diego Ramos and it had been fabulous. She pictured his body moving aggressively inside hers, pushing her toward one more peak. Giving her more pleasure than she’d experienced in months.

  Bad Penny, having sexual daydreams about her partner.

  After they were outfitted with life jackets and seated in the kayak, a camp employee pushed them into the lake. Diego nodded at London.

  “On your mark, get set, go!” Tegan used the megaphone to start the race.

  Penny and Diego set out. The finish line was across the lake at an additional picnic area where snacks and drinks would be served.

  Their paddling was out of rhythm and they listed drunkenly from left to right, not making much forward progress. Within a few minutes they lagged far behind London and his perky assistant.

  Penny tried to take the lead at the same time as Diego. As a result, they were limping along behind his competitor. Not that she cared.

  “What does London have against you?” He was behind her but there was no mistaking the animosity in Diego’s voice. The sweet teasing guy who’d woken her up this morning was nowhere to be found.

  “I have no idea.” Really. But he definitely did.

  Diego stopped paddling. “There must be something.”

  Her tension rose. The sick feeling in her stomach from the condemnation in Jeffrey London’s gaze hadn’t abated. If anything, it had gotten worse.

  Thunk. Her paddle hit the water at the wrong angle, the contact zinging up her arm.

  Maybe her parents’ sins were again coming back to haunt her. There were those who blamed Penny. After all, her parents had skipped the country with other people’s money. She was an easy target.

  The Brahmin crowd didn’t have any sympathy for the kid who’d been left behind and she’d been publicly vilified on a regular basis until she’d left for college. But people had long memories.

  “He hates you.”

  She stiffened her shoulders. She’d given up caring what other people thought of her. They made up their minds no matter what the facts were.

  “I want to know who I slept with,” he practically hissed.

  She turned around to stare at him. He was legit angry at her right now. “You’re mad at me?”

  She wanted to blast him, her temper rising. It didn’t happen often. She’d had to learn to control it when she’d been attacked verbally for her parents’ crimes because most of the time the bully just wanted a reaction from her. To make her cry or run away.

  Right now she wouldn’t cry and she couldn’t run away.

  “I’m mad at myself. I know better. I don’t do random, spontaneous sex.” His voice was tight, annoyed, and low. “I still want to know who I accidentally slept with.”

  “Accidentally?” Penny officially lost her shit. But she did it quietly. “It’s not like you accidentally slipped and put your dick in me.”

  She whirled back around and began paddling furiously. One side, then the other.

  The beard burn on her chest tingled as if taunting her with her poor choice in lovers. But that tingle just made her more angry.

  He was mad because he slept with her. Lovely.

  “You want to know why he hates me.” Her arms ached at the drag of the lake on the blade of the paddle. “Probably because when I was seventeen my parents fled the country with a whole bunch of people’s money. And no one believed that I didn’t know where they went.”

  “Penny,” he said softly.

  “So I became the public face of their crimes.” Penny continued to dig through the water. “And certain groups of people have long memories. I’m guessing that he believes I’m somehow tainted by illegality.”

  “Mierda.”

  “There you have it.” Dick. But she’d promised Zinnia, so she sucked it up and said, “We need to get in sync.”

  Diego’s paddle hit her in the head.

  “Ow.”

  “Sorry.” Diego sounded like he meant it but too little too late.

  And maybe he only meant about the whack with the paddle.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m a lot tougher than I look.” She dismissed him. The sooner they got to the other side, the sooner she could get away from him. “But we’ve got to get into a rhythm or Jeffrey London is going to beat you.”

  Diego leaned forward. The kayak rocked dangerously. “I don’t care.”

  “Sure you do,” she argued. “No one gets to be as successful as you without being competitive.”

  She’d just given away that she knew something about his business, about him.

  “Tell me more.”

  “I’m assuming,” she muttered. Lie.

  “So you’ve read about me, my company?”

  “I might have seen an article about you a few years ago.” She’d been impressed.

  “Did you deliberately attempt to sabotage my business relationship?”

  What? And yes, this is what she got for simply engaging in casual sex. Nothing about her life had been casual. Why had she even tried? Life seemed to backfire on her on a regular basis.

  “Self-absorbed much?” She rolled her eyes. “With your semi-charmed life, even if my taint rubbed off, you’d be fine.”

  He snorted. “Hard work, babe. Nothing semi-charmed about it.”

  As if she didn’t know anything about hard work. Well, fuck him. Oh, yeah, she already did that and look how well it turned out?

  They both rowed faster. “Hard work and innovation. Yeah, how to turn failure into success,” she snarled, too pissed to be diplomatic.

  “It’s an excellent motto,” he said gruffly.

  She couldn’t see his face but she could hear the discomfort in his voice.

  “I’m aware.” She remembered the moment he’d thrown that back at her. Remembered the teenage anguish that he’d played off when he thought she was saying that he was a failure. That moment in the parking lot was indelibly imprinted on her mind. Apparently his too.

  She waited to see if he would acknowledge that his motto came from her. From that stupid naïve kid she’d been.

  But he was quiet.

  They rowed faster. Now that they were in sync, they were making forward progress. They were almost caught up to London and his assistant. “You going to back off or are you going to let him win?”

  And goddamn, did she want Jeffrey London to lose. Because
of course she hadn’t had sex with Diego in the hopes of some grand love that would last until the end of time—dramatic much?—but she had hoped for more than that one quick bang in the cabin.

  What she hadn’t anticipated was being accused of trying to damage his business deal. The ass.

  The sooner they got to the finish line, the sooner she would have fulfilled her obligation to Zinnia and she could get away from Diego Ramos.

  Screw him. Not literally, obviously. That was over. Never again.

  9

  Diego stalked toward the next activity.

  Lunch with Jeffrey London had been strained, only becoming easier when the conversation turned to business.

  He hadn’t spoken with Penny since she took off after the kayak race. He could have handled that better. Okay, honesty time, he couldn’t have handled it much worse.

  Remorse and a sick shame slithered through him.

  He knew what it was like to be judged on your parents’ mistakes. Before he’d gone to live with Tío Raul permanently, he’d borne the brunt of other people’s judgment for his parent’s bad choices. What happened twelve years ago and Jeffrey London’s reaction to her all these years later meant the scandal must have been intense.

  So yeah, he sucked.

  But, Cristo, having sex with her had put a crimp in his dealings with London.

  He should never have deviated from his typical mode of choosing sexual partners for business reasons. His usual partners were elegant, well-connected, and chosen for whatever benefit they could bring to his business or social standing. Sure, his dating process was a little cold but everything in his life revolved around building his business and promoting his brand so he could ascend to the next level.

  That method was a hell of a lot smarter than because he had a hard-on. He’d been shrewd about sexual partners for fifteen years.

  And look what happened when he disregarded his personal commandments just once.

  He’d hurt her feelings. He was sorry. But this weekend was all about seeing if his business practices and leadership style were compatible with London’s. The last thing he should do was hook up with a woman Jeffrey London hated.

  London had spent lunch criticizing Penny Hastings.

  Diego had gotten a polite diatribe, vitriolic for all its quiet upper crust wording, about the evil, immoral, unethical dealings of the Hastings family.

  He’d wanted to defend Penny but he didn’t. He justified his silence by telling himself he didn’t really know what happened. And he had people depending on him—his employees and family all had a stake in making this venture work. His whole life was on the line.

  Even if the sex had been fantastic, he couldn’t afford to blow this deal.

  Every move and counter move was a negotiation step in the dance to merge with London Automotive.

  Which was why he’d gotten his shit together and gotten in sync with Penny for the kayak race. Diego and Penny had managed to tie with London and his assistant, crossing the finish line at the same time.

  As soon as they hit the shore, Penny had exited the kayak and headed toward the picnic tables. Diego was left to hand off the kayak and make small talk with London while the rest of their employees finished their races.

  For some reason, Diego was hyper-aware of Penny at all times. And he knew exactly when she’d left the area.

  He needed to apologize.

  And he would as soon as he found her. But right now he was on his way to the Nature Walk Bingo event. Someone from the camp had placed a folding chair at the entrance to the hiking path and the woods. Zin sat like a queen on her throne, handing out printed bingo cards and a plastic bag that held a small grease pencil stapled to the back of the paper.

  “We’re going to have the cards for the duration of the retreat. We’re using the honor system and you can mark off your own squares. After the cook-off tomorrow night, we’ll be awarding prizes. So don’t lose it!”

  Zin’s infuriated gaze promised retribution. “Play nice,” she whispered as she shoved the card into his hand.

  He made small talk with his friends and employees. Raul Jr. grinned before giving his sister a kiss on the cheek. London’s assistant, Sherry, scurried up the path from the cabins. Her hair was a little mussed. “Mr. London got an unexpected business call. He sends his regrets.”

  Well, that was a lie.

  If he wasn’t mistaken, London had been having an old-fashioned nooner with Sherry.

  But before he could reflect any further, Penny strode up to the waiting group.

  “Good afternoon, everyone!” She smiled brightly at the group but studiously avoided Diego’s gaze. “My name is Penny Hastings and I’ll be your nature guide for the afternoon.”

  She’d changed from earlier. She wore cutoff jeans shorts, another skimpy tank top with the Camp Firefly Falls logo that clung tightly to her breasts, and what seemed to be her ubiquitous plaid flannel, this time tied at her waist. She had on sturdy, well-worn hiking boots and socks that puffed above the top of the boots, accenting her gorgeous tanned legs. The same ones he’d had wrapped around him as he powered inside her this morning.

  Shit. Off-limits. In more than one way.

  Penny had put on some makeup and carried a small backpack with a water bottle clipped to the side. She’d also plopped a green bucket hat over her braids. She gestured to the cooler next to Zinnia. “Everyone make sure to grab a bottle of water before we get started.”

  Zin sat in the chair with a cookie and a glass of water watching intently. “Check your sheet for your hiking partner. Everyone needs a buddy. Camp rules.”

  Diego hadn’t paid much attention to the paper Zin had handed him. He looked now and realized he was paired with Penny again.

  Which brought out conflicting feelings. But mostly happiness. He needed to apologize. But didn’t really want to do it in public.

  “Oh, since Jeffrey isn’t here, and you’re incapacitated, I can partner with Mr. Ramos.” Sherry smiled brightly, her gaze a tad too avaricious for him.

  “I guess that will work since Penny is leading the hike now.” Zin’s reluctant frown indicated how she felt about it.

  “Our schedule changed a bit due to some unforeseen circumstances,” Penny said to the group at large. “Initially we were going to have an informational session about the future of corporate gardens and then you were going to do your hike with Heather, but she has fallen ill so we decided to combine the two.”

  “We didn’t really come here for that type of thing.” Sherry all but sneered.

  Penny’s smile didn’t change but beneath her hat, her green eyes narrowed. “Well, you get a twofer today. Aren’t you lucky?” she chirped.

  Her smile said if she could strangle Sherry with that luck, she’d be a lot happier.

  “She’s lucky Jeff isn’t here, that’s for sure,” Sherry muttered.

  Penny began walking backward so she could face the group. All the employees were slated for this event, then for late afternoon they had free time with offerings of ziplining, an arts-and-crafts session, or plain old lazing by the lake.

  Raul came hurrying up to Diego’s side. “Hey. Apparently my partner has sunstroke so you two get me.” He turned his considerable charm on Sherry who glanced between them, looking as if she’d won the lottery.

  When Sherry stumbled, Raul linked his arm with hers. “To help you stay steady on your feet.”

  She shot him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

  Penny lectured the group. “As we go along, I’ll point out the flora and fauna native to the Berkshires. We live in a very ecologically significant place. You can also follow along on your bingo card. Each card has some squares with pictures of a tree, plant, bird, or wildlife we might see on the trail.”

  And so they set off. Most of Diego’s employees had gotten into the spirit and clutched the bingo card in one hand while they watched Penny and listened. London’s employees as a whole definitely weren’t as interested.

  Sherry chatt
ered at Raul. In fact, she never shut up, completely ignoring Penny’s trail guide lecture. So Diego subtly moved away from the pair, drawn forward by the lilting music of Penny Hasting’s voice.

  She gestured to various plants and birds as they walked along the gently upward sloping upward path. He could admit that he preferred her on her back crying out his name, to this crowd of people who were keeping her from him.

  Not that she’d have anything to do with him.

  Not that he should have anything to do with her. She could completely fuck up his deal with London Automotive.

  Penny continued. “While we’re hiking into the interior of the woods, let me tell you a bit about corporate gardens and why they’re a good idea.”

  For the next twenty minutes, Diego listened to Penny talk about her corporate garden project. Her enthusiasm for the project was contagious, and soon employees from both companies were asking specific, logistical questions about the idea.

  Alma, his human resources manager, wove between the pairs of employees to approach Diego. Her hands were clasped tightly like she was praying. “I want to do this.”

  “Now isn’t the time to discuss it.” But he smiled, letting her know they would talk about it later. Although he was already leaning toward the idea, they needed hard data and fiscal costs before they could move forward.

  Sherry interrupted their conversation. “No way will Jeff, um, Mr. London go for that.” She shook her head, the silky blond curls brushing her shoulders. “He’s all about the bottom line. He fired his brother-in-law last year because he was abusing the company credit card.”

  Her eyes rounded, she placed her palm over her mouth, her pink fingernails shiny and perfect. “Forget I said that.”

  For some reason, he flashed back to Penny’s short unpainted nails, her hand wrapped around his cock as she pumped him. And shit, not the place to go right now.

  “This is just a first intro. Nothing is off the table for CAR yet,” Diego said.

  Alma rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Diego.”

  “Oh! Look!” Penny paused on the trail.

  Cristo, she sounded just like she had when she’d come on his cock this morning.