by C. M. Steele
“Calm your ass down. Give her some time.”
“For what?” I argue. I don’t know what is going on.
“To get her shit together. I still want you to do the build with her,” he tells me, running his hands through his hair. The stern warning in his voice does little to calm my fucking burning need for answers. I’m not going anywhere until I get answers and I know he has them.
“Why? I want to know the truth. I’m going out of my mind trying to figure her out, and you’re hiding shit from me. You’re my brother.”
“I know. Close the door. What I say doesn’t leave this room.”
He pulls Crystal into his arms. “I love you, baby. You know that, right? I definitely don’t think of her like that.”
“I know. Duh, I wouldn’t have consoled her otherwise. I would have dropped her ass and punched you in the dick.”
“Okay. So, before we were rudely interrupted. I was learning something very important.”
“What? You’re fucking killing me.” I say punching the wall, then thrusting my hands in my hair.
“She likes you, Jackson. So much it’s fucking her up when it comes to working. She’s pushing you away because she has dyslexia. And it seems severe.”
“You mean she can’t read right?” I kind of know what it is, but hell, I have no clue what it means.
“Yeah, I don’t know how bad it is, but I’m guessing she has to concentrate. When I met with her and her father to sign papers, I noticed he kept reading the document aloud. I mentioned my observations, and she broke down. I know it’s hard to focus when she sees you. But that was as far as I got before you practically broke my damn door down.”
“Oh hell. Son of a bitch. I have to find her now. I’ve been such a bastard. I didn’t mean to call her a spoiled bitch.”
“No, you need to apologize for sure, but she knows she’s pushed you there.”
“It doesn’t matter. I have to find her.” I turn around and walk out the door. I don’t care about anything else. Making things right is the only thing running through me. When I get outside, I see she’s gone. Damn it, I jump on my bike and ride out of the gates, ignoring the calls for my attention. All I care about is Penny. Fuck, I feel like a total bastard. Damn, I play the way she treated me in my head and see her attitude, but I still don’t get it.
Anger, frustration loom in my head, mostly at myself. There has to be a reason she shielded herself from me. Somebody hurt her before, and I want to know who. Speeding down the road, I look for her truck. It’s nowhere in sight.
I don’t have her home address programmed in my phone, but I do know one place to check. I drive to the bakery. She’s not there. Damn it. I sit in my bike before deciding to ride around to spot her anywhere.
****
The workweek passes, and she still refuses to respond to me. I don’t blame her, but damn it something has to give. My phone rings and I pull it out hoping it’s Penny, but it’s just my brother. “What’s going on?”
“Hey, I’m assuming you two haven’t made up yet, but I want you to do me a favor, she went back to the old contractor on the project, and I don’t trust her meeting this guy alone.”
“What the fuck? She’s meeting the guy alone? Where at?”
“Yeah. Her father called me this morning because he couldn’t talk any sense into her. She wants it done yesterday, and I don’t blame her for that, but it’s not smart. The cameras are up down the street, but that’s not good enough. I’m probably crazy, but after the attack on my family, I just have a bad feeling.”
“Are they at the bakery?”
“Yeah, that’s what he said. I figured it would be better to send you instead of one of the guys.”
“Damn right. I’m on my way now.” I don’t want any of those fuckers around my woman. I’m only ten minutes away from the shop. I finished up my last meeting at ten and made my way to Steeleville. I planned to go to her bakery this morning anyway to reason with her because fuck if I can handle being away from her.
Chapter 10
Penny
I’m already regretting this meeting. My father let him go because he’d been too creepy, and it was the right call. Mr. Coleman jumped at my call yesterday. I should have been suspicious with his enthusiasm since we just fired him less than two weeks ago.
“Can you still do the project?” I ask, hoping that he’d change his mind and leave. I needed to find my brass balls and give him shit like I did so easily with Jackson.
“I can if you want to pay upfront and wait six weeks for the project.”
“What? More money and wait? I can’t wait that long. I want it done. We still have the plans from last time,” I plead.
“You can settle this faster if you’re willing to pay for the service, today.” Holy hell, did he just really suggest sex?
Why couldn’t I have just been nice to Jackson, or hell not run away like a scared little girl? Oh, that’s right because from the moment I looked him up online I was crushing hard. Then when we finally met, I became the worst possible version of myself.
“Are you even listening to me? Fucking rich little daddy’s girls don’t care about anyone else’s time. You have two choices, pay up or wait.”
“Actually, I heard you just fine, but I frankly don’t care for what you have to say. As a professional, double checking is your job, not mine. I told you what I wanted. I’m not a designer, or I would have done it myself. Hence me hiring you. Now if you’re implying more than monetary payment you can get the hell out of here right now.”
“You are probably easy as fuck. Girls like you only give it up to guys with big bank accounts. I’ve got a big one for you.” He grabs his crotch with a leering smirk.
“Mr. Coleman, you’re disgusting, and I want you to get out of here. Get out.”
“You can’t let me go. You don’t have any options. Now stop playing and pay up.”
“I just did.”
“You little bitch.” I felt the sting of the slap then his hands on my wrists, dragging me toward the backroom. I hoped to hell this wasn’t going to happen. I kick with my foot, but then he grabs me around the throat. Fuck. I choke instantly, gasping, I reach for his thumbs and pull them backward. He howls, and I see his hand come up again.
I didn’t get to feel his fists again because the door bursts open, and I see Jackson Steele of all people filled with rage. He rushes Coleman who lets me go and slams him to the ground. “Are you crazy? Get off me.”
“You haven’t seen crazy, you piece of shit.” Jackson punches him in the face repeatedly before I decide to stop him.
“Jackson, please stop. You’ll kill him,” I plead.
He looks at me and then Coleman uses it to his defense, punching Jackson in the jaw which catches him off balance and allows Coleman to get up, kicking Jackson in the nuts. I move to Jackson to see if he’s okay, but then Coleman makes his escape. Jackson and I share a brief gaze before he’s on his feet, running out the front door to go after Coleman. I follow only to see Coleman almost hit Jackson with his truck.
Jackson turns to me and says, “Inside now.” I do as he says as he leads me back inside. I pick up my laptop that got tossed in the scuffle, then he looks at me as he grabs my arms. “Are you okay?” He brushes my wrists with his thumbs as he stares into my eyes.
“I…I am now.” I can’t stop myself and fall into his arms. He wraps me up in his strong embrace as I let the moment overwhelm me. Tears stream down my face as everything that has happened hits me at once.
“What the fuck?” my dad roars. I pull away from Jackson slowly.
“Daddy, it’s not what you think.”
“Mr. Banks, I’m just making sure Penny is okay.” He steps back just enough for me to see my father looks panic-stricken. It’s then that I see the door hanging off the hinges.
“I’m okay, daddy.”
“Excuse me. I need to make a call. You talk to your dad. I’ll be right back.”
“What the hell is going on?�
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“That contractor Coleman tried to attack me. Jackson came bursting through the door and started beating him up.”
“Fuck, princess.” He pulls me in his arms, and I let go, sobbing uncontrollably. I feel safe as I rest in my dad’s hold, but something is missing. It feels so different than the way Jackson held me even though it was the exact same way.
“I’m going to kill that fuck.”
His arms tighten around me before I pull back and look up into his eyes. He’s torn between caring for me and going after Coleman who I’m sure is going to be on the run very soon.
“Daddy, you aren’t going to do that. You’ll go to jail.”
“You let me worry about it.” I heard a tone I haven’t heard from him in a very long time. He means business. Then he takes a step back to examine me. “How are you?”
“I’m okay. Really, I can’t say if I would have been if Jackson didn’t stop it.”
“I owe my brother big time,” Jackson says, walking up to us. “He told me that Penny was meeting with the fuck you fired the first time. I didn’t trust the guy, so I came down.” He looks at me and asks in the sweetest way possible, “Are you okay, Penny?”
“Yes, I’m okay,” I reply unconvincingly.
“Penny. Are you sure? Doc is on his way anyway.”
“Oh no. I don’t need one,” I protest, giving him a fake smile as if I’m not affected, but the pain in my face makes its presence known, and my smile falters.
“But I do,” Jackson says.
“He didn’t break anything on you, did he?” I reach for him touching his bruised chin.
He gives me a crooked smile revealing a small dimple, then says, “No, Sugar.”
“Mr. Steele. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done,” my Dad exclaims, interrupting the brief moment between us.
Jackson turns to him again and puts his hand up to stop my dad. “I’m just glad I happened to be here.” That’s when I catch a glimpse of a gun tucked under Jackson’s coat.
“You have a gun?” I ask him, staring into those relentlessly piercing eyes. I’m not afraid of it, but I thought he would have used it on Coleman. In fact, I should feel guilty about it, but I wanted him to shoot the bastard.
“It was in the truck. He’s lucky that it wasn’t on me.” He looks toward the door with a clear scowl of pure hatred.
“It’s a fucking pity.” I hear loud noises outside, then three large men enter the bakeshop.
“We’ll have this fixed soon, Jackson. How are you, bro?” A large guy I don’t know says. He’s got to be like six-five and three hundred pounds of muscle. He scans the room, looking for trouble then back at Jackson.
“I’m good, Blade.”
Another guy, a little smaller than Jackson comes into the room. He addresses me, “Ms. Banks. I’m Dr. Joseph Simmons, everyone just calls me Doc. Can you tell me where you were injured?”
“I’m fine,” I tell him.
“Penelope,” my dad grumbled.
I drop my shoulders and relent. “Okay. Can we go to the backroom please?”
“Absolutely, Miss.”
Chapter 11
Jackson
I want to follow Doc in there, but I know that I don’t have the right to see her like that just yet. I trust Doc. Besides, I’ve got a lot of shit to handle and thinking about her body won’t help the situation.
“Jackson,” Boomer calls my name from the door. Crystal is at his side, clinging to him. “What the fuck happened, bro?” He threw his arms around me.
“I’m good, bro,” I explain what went down and everyone in room tensed up.
“He’s a fool to think he’s going to get away,” Cyber says. “I’ve already loaded the footage from the cameras next door. He better pray that he leaves the country before we find him.”
“Where’s Ms. Banks?” Boomer asks, looking around the room.
“Doc is checking her out.”
“Good, when he’s done with her, I want you to be looked at. That fucking bruise is a good one.”
“I’m sorry about that Jackson,” Penny apologizes, walking toward me.
“It’s not your fault I took my eyes off of him.” I want her to know none of this is her fault. I brush her cheek that has a small bruise forming. “I could kill him for touching you.” In the back of my mind I’ve already envisioned twenty ways of doing it, and when I get a hold of him, I will.
“Okay, well we’ll fix the door. I’m going to have to go to the work yard and pull materials.”
“Um, can I have a word with you, Mr. Steele?” Boomer and I both look at him. “Sorry, Jackson.”
“I’ll be right back,” I tell her.
We walk to the backroom, and before I can react, her father pulls me into a hug. “Thank you. I can’t even tell you what it means to me. One day you’ll understand. A daughter is a precious gift.”
“It was pure luck. I’m not going to let her worry about that shit ever again. I’m going to take over the build.”
“Are you interested in my daughter, Mr. Steele?” He practically snarls at me. The friendliness is gone.
“I am. That’s not saying that I’m rushing her on anything. I thought my brother was mad for falling for his wife at first sight, but maybe there’s something to that crazy shit. Fuck, I wanted to toss you both out of my office, but damn I’m lost when it comes to her. I’d put up with that bad attitude if it means I could see her again.”
“You hurt her, and I’ll destroy you,” he warns me, narrowing his eyes and tapping his waistband.
“Hurting her would destroy me more than you could ever.” And I mean that. Today, more than anything has solidified that for me.
“Now, don’t harass her. If she doesn’t want you, then stay away.”
I answer, “Understood.”
“I’m taking her home. Sorry, but you’re going to have to wait another day to talk to her.”
He walks out, and I trail behind. I’ll give him that if that’s what she wants. “If that’s what she wants,” I mutter.
“You’re learning quick.”
“Penny, let me take you home,” her father says, slipping his arm around her shoulder.
“I can’t just leave everything is a mess. I don’t know what I’m going to do. My laptop is ruined,” she exclaims, holding it in her arms. I feel like a dick. I sure as fuck didn’t mean for that to happen.
“I’m sorry about that. I’ll get you a new one,” I say. It was probably when I attacked him that it fell. “I really hope you didn’t lose anything important on there.”
“No, most of my stuff is backed up in the cloud.”
“Well, let me know the specs, and I’ll get you one tomorrow then we can set up a meeting to finish your bakery.”
“What? You don’t have to do that. I can find someone else.” Ah, she’s cute. She thinks this was a suggestion.
“Sweetheart, I’m not trying to be a dick, but it’s not up for debate. I can have this baby done in two weeks from top to bottom. Now go home and get some rest. I’m sure this has been a fucked up enough day for you.”
“Thank you, Jackson.” She smiles at me, and my heart is fucking hers. I know it, felt it mark me completely. I’ll do anything for her, anything.
“Good night, Sugar.” Her father leads her out of the building, and my guys all say goodbye with a smile. As soon as they’re gone, I get the look from every one of them fuckers.
“Don’t say shit. She’s mine, and I don’t want to hear a thing but fucking congratulations.”
“Congrats, bro. Now, when are we going to string this motherfucker up from his balls?” Blade asks.
“Soon, I need eyes on him. I want it to happen right away. I want more on the guy. Then we’ll bury him alive.”
“Come on, let’s go get a beer and check out the footage at the clubhouse.”
I agree even though I should be getting back to Dallas and my condo because I have a meeting in the office tomorrow. I guess it’s time f
or me to finally move my company to Steeleville. I’ve hesitated because my business has done well based in the city for so long, but I spend many days working via my laptop, and I refuse to live without Penny anymore.
Chapter 12
Penny
My dad and I don’t talk in the car. It’s as if he knows I want to be alone with my thoughts. I feel bad as we make the trip all the way back to Irving where we live. I left my truck there, but I’m sure my father could give me a ride or one of my brothers will. As soon as they find out, I’m sure none of them will give me an inch of space. I love them, but I feel like being left alone.
“Daddy, can we leave this alone for the night?”
“I don’t think your mother is going to miss this on your face. You live with us.”
“Well if she doesn’t see me, can we please hold off? I can’t talk about it tonight.”
He nods, raising my hand to his mouth, kissing it. I love my dad. He’s the hero all girls dream about when they think of prince charming, or so my mother tells me. All my life, I’ve never seen her cry because of him. Of course, she had cried on a few occasions when someone in our family died, or we got hurt, but never by him.
Maybe it’s another reason I’ve waited for the one. At twenty-three, I’m not only a virgin, but I haven’t really dated either. It doesn’t help that I have a learning disability that made me the butt of jokes for years: typical blonde jokes, daddy’s rich little girl jokes, and of course slut jokes. I had a rough go of high school, but I hid it from my siblings. They would have killed anyone for picking on me.
We pull up to our family estate, and I sneak through the garage into the house while my father goes through the front door. I rush up to my bedroom, and before I close it, I hear my mother say, “What’s the matter with Penny?”
“Nothing, just extremely tired. Come, my love something smells good,” my dad says.
Their voices trail off as they go into the kitchen, but I don’t miss the little giggle from my mother. I lock the door and close my eyes, resting against the wooden surface. Suddenly, I remember the feel of Jackson’s arms around me. How am I going to work around that man when I’m already frazzled by his being alone?