"She's checking the attic," said the deep voice that used to give him nightmares as a kid. It was a little unnerving that the man still had the power to make him want to run and hide.
He forced himself to relax as he turned around and once again forced himself to stay where he was when blue eyes very much like Rory's, but colder, so much colder, locked on him.
"She shouldn't be up there by herself," he said, ignoring the disbelieving snorts from her brothers.
"Oh? And why's that?" Mr. James asked in a bored tone as he crossed his still impressively large arms over his chest.
"Because she could get hurt," he said with an annoyed sigh as the James boys once again snorted and chuckled. "She's also getting in the way and holding back this project," he said firmly, never taking his eyes off the man in front of him. He wasn't an idiot after all.
"Oh puhlease," Brian said, chuckling. "You're acting like she's some chick."
Connor blinked. "Because she is," he said slowly, wondering what the hell was wrong with these men. Of course her brothers laughed while Mr. James considered him with a hard glint in his eyes.
What in the hell was wrong with them? They overprotected her everywhere else in life except for this when they should be dragging the damn woman away from the tools and dangerous conditions. Hell, it was taking everything he had not to run up to the attic and drag her ass away from his job site. She had no business here.
He wasn't a sexist pig or anything, okay, maybe just a tad, but Rory had no business working here. It wasn't because she was a woman, but because it was Rory. He had several women working for him that could easily keep up with the men, but Rory.........
For some reason he just couldn't stomach the idea of her doing this. Not only because she was going to get in his way, but because he didn't want to see the damn woman hurt. Sure, he liked to torture her and make her life a living hell, but he'd never done any permanent damage and that was really all that mattered.
This was the biggest project of his career and if he could pull it off it would mean bigger and better things for Highland Construction, but that wouldn't be happening as long as Rory James was around. He didn't want her screwing with his site and he sure as hell didn't want to have to worry about the stubborn woman getting hurt. Judging by the amused smirks on her brothers' faces he was the only one that was concerned.
Hell, he was never going to get any work done while she was around.
The only choice he had was to drive her off, just her. He still needed her men and equipment if he was going to finish this project on time after all. With an inward sigh, he decided that he was going to have to go ahead and make her life a living hell.
"Sunday," Mr. James said, interrupting his thoughts.
"Sunday, what?" he asked, unable to hide his confusion even as he noted the looks of shock on the rest of the James men's faces. They'd all stopped working to stare at their father in wonder and shock.
"Dad, you can't be serious," Johnny finally said.
Mr. James never took his cold eyes away from him as he addressed his sons. "Last time I checked, I was still head of this family and if I decide that Connor needs to join us this Sunday then he's going to join us," he said firmly, giving Connor the impression that he wasn't exactly being asked to come, but commanded.
Since this actually worked in his favor, Connor didn't argue. "What's going on Sunday?"
"Every Sunday, rain or shine we go fishing as a family at six," his eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he added, "no women allowed. We take our fishing seriously. If you bring a woman you better make sure that she knows that she stays at the house with the rest of them. While we're fishing you can tell me about the plans you have for this old house."
He nodded even as he thought that over. Huh, no Rory......that could actually work for him. He'd be able to get her old man on his side and work on starting to convince the James brothers that their lives would be so much better if they came to work for him. This could really work in his favor, he thought as he looked at the men in question and had to bite back a smile. Oh yeah, the James boys were as good as his.
* * *
"We're having Dad committed," Bryce said in way of a greeting as he climbed up the rickety steps to the enormous attic that she was even at that moment making plans for. The client wanted the roof fixed, a new attic floor, fix the stairs and update the utilities, but they were passing up a golden opportunity with this space and she was going to convince them to allow her to make three very large, luxury suites out of the space and she was going to make damn sure that Connor stayed away from the area.
It was going to be her signature touch to the hotel, the thing that drew people to this hotel and the thing that came to mind when Strawberry Manor was mentioned. It was going to be Shadow Construction that got all the glory. She had a meeting set up this Friday and she was going to convince them to stretch their budget just a little more to accommodate her dreams.
While other little girls were day dreaming about their wedding she'd been thinking about all the things that she would do to this large old mansion to make it perfect and now that it was all hers, well, half hers, to remodel she was going to make damn sure that it lived up to her dreams.
"Did you hear me? I said we're having Dad committed," Bryce said as he carefully stepped up onto the plywood she laid down for safety and glared at her.
"Yeah, I heard you," she said distractedly as she looked at the ceiling and frowned at the structure beams that were going to have to be replaced. She'd hoped that they could salvage some of them to help get the new roof on faster, but it looked like they were going to have to tear the entire roof off and start from scratch. Actually, that could work for her because-
"Don't you even want to know what he did?"
"Nope, just tell me where to sign," she said, wondering if she would be able to convince some of Connor's men to do a little side work for her, only the ones that met her standards of course. She didn't tolerate sloppy work and she sure as hell wouldn't tolerate substandard work on this project. Unfortunately, she already had a feeling that she was going to have to have some of her guys double check Connor's men's work.
"You really don't care?" he asked, eyeing her cautiously as he stepped up to stand beside her.
"Not at all," she said as she considered using skylight windows and just as quickly dismissed the idea. The whole point of this project was to give it that eighteenth century feel and placing modern day skylights on the roof would wreck the effect. No, it was better to go with her original plan, she decided.
"Fine. Then I won't tell you," Bryce said, clearly fighting back a smile as he crossed his massive arms over his chest.
"Uh huh," she said absently, earning a loud drawn out sigh of annoyance from Bryce and probably an eye roll.
"Shouldn't you be working?" she asked as she checked her watch. It was a quarter to five and she was too excited to call it a night. Not that she would and she doubted that her brothers would either. They'd probably put in another three or four hours until hunger forced them to head home.
"Probably," Bryce mused.
"Is there a special reason why you're not working?" she asked as she turned to face him.
He shrugged. "We wanted to know if you wanted us to handle Connor's men the next time they pull any bullshit or just let him deal with it," he said, reminding her of the earlier mutiny that she'd been forced to handle in front of their father.
"What the hell happened?" she asked, walking over to a rotting post and to grab her bottle of lukewarm water. "And most importantly, why didn't you guys handle it?"
He gave her a “duh” look as he said, "We had our hands busy with the fire inspector."
"The fire inspector was here?" When he nodded, she gave him her own version of the “duh” look. “Why the hell didn't someone come get me?"
"Because they were all fighting over petty bullshit. It wouldn't have been too bad, but Connor's foremen are incompetent and started bitching about being i
n charge. We got sick of their bullshit and decided to let them beat the shit out of each other while we made sure that we weren't shut down."
She bit back a groan. Being shut down this early in the game would kill their schedule. They needed to get off the ground running. "Did he shut us down?" she asked, trying to stay calm.
Bryce snorted. "He almost did, but lucky for you Dad showed up."
"Shit."
"Yup, seems the fire inspector wasn't too happy having to duck out of the way of morons shoving each other and leaving equipment running and unmanned. Lucky for you that dad took him aside and convinced him to ignore the bullshit. He's coming back Monday so I suggest that you and Connor come to some sort of an agreement before this bullshit gets us shut down."
She sighed heavily as she ran her hands down her face. "I don't want to have to deal with Connor. Can't you do it?" she asked, knowing that she was whining and not really caring.
Bryce chuckled as he reached out and hooked his arm around her neck, pulling her tightly against his side as they headed for the stairs. "Relax, Rory. I don't think it will be that bad."
"But I hate him," she mumbled pathetically. "He makes my life a living hell."
"I know, but if it makes you feel any better, I think that you do a fair job of making his life a living hell, too."
Well, that was something, she thought as she carefully stepped over a missing step.
"At least you'll probably get a break for the next five months from all of his bullshit," Bryce said, sounding hopeful. "He'll be too busy with this project to give you a second thought."
"Oh, I'm sure I can make time for you," Connor drawled from the bottom of the stairs. Their gazes locked and in that moment she knew, just knew that there would never be a break from the daily bullshit. In fact, if that little wink he sent her way before he sauntered off was any indication, she could count on it getting worse and there wasn't a damn thing that she could do to stop it.
Chapter 8
Later that night.......
"Looks like he let the air out of your tires," Sean said, chuckling as he pulled up in front of Rory's house.
"That's not too bad," she mumbled, shooting glances around her dark property, wondering what else he had in store for her. At this point in their lives, letting air out of her tires was child's play and she knew, just knew, that he wasn't done. Oh no, not Connor, especially not since that look he shot her earlier told her as much.
That was fine, more than fine actually. She could handle anything he dished out and probably do worse. She no longer got nervous at the prospect of Connor settling a score, because she knew that he would at least make sure that he didn't do any permanent damage. That was something at least, she mused as she grabbed her lunch cooler and empty hot chocolate thermos.
"Are you going to need a ride in the morning," Sean asked, sounding amused.
"Yes, and an apple fritter or two," she said, throwing him a wink as she climbed out of his truck.
"I'll see what I can do," he said, chuckling as she shut the door.
She sent him one last wave as she walked towards her Jeep and sighed. She was just too tired to mess with the air compressor right now and was glad that Craig had given her an AAA membership last year for Christmas. Bunny came running around the house as she pulled out her cell phone. He jogged over to her and sat by her feet, obediently waiting for her to finish her phone call.
With a promise of an hour wait she gave Bunny his customary behind the ear scratch and headed for her front door, forcing herself not to look around like some paranoid chick in a horror flick. Whatever happened, happened. She wasn't about to live the rest of her life looking over her shoulder. He just wasn't worth the effort. Besides, she was too tired at the moment to really care.
After feeding Bunny she went upstairs and took a quick shower. Normally she would have taken her time and allowed the hot water to ease the ache in her sore muscles, but tonight she really needed a hot cocoa fix. She quickly dried off, pulled on a light blue tank top that ended just above her belly button and pulled on a pair of Craig's old grey gym shorts with the fading Mickey Mouse on the leg and tied them off so that they wouldn't fall off and headed towards her much needed fix.
Ten minutes later she was carrying an extra large mug of cocoa as she walked up the stairs with Bunny on her heels. She walked down the hall, letting out a loud yawn as she gestured Bunny towards her bed. As she pulled back the thick curtain she sent up a silent prayer for a Connor free night and nearly cursed when she spotted the bastard in question lounging on his deck with a bottle of beer and a magazine.
Hopefully, he was too exhausted to annoy her. For a moment she considered going downstairs and relaxing on her couch, but it wasn't the same. She liked relaxing on her deck after a long day and wasn't about to let Connor take that away from her. She took a sip of her cocoa for fortification, opened the door and stepped out onto her porch.
Connor didn't so much as bat an eye in her direction. Hmmm, that was interesting, she noted as she took another sip from her cocoa before setting it down on the small table. Well, maybe she got her wish and he was too tired to do anything, she thought as she sat down on her lounge chair and stretched out.
When he still didn't say anything a few minutes later she became a little nervous and shot him a look only to find him taking a sip of his beer as he continued to read his magazine. It was a little unsettling and unexpected, but if he was willing to let it go for one night, then so was she. Perhaps he realized that they needed to get along for the sake of the project.
"Are you going to move your trailer tomorrow?" Connor asked in a bored tone, never taking his eyes off his magazine.
Maybe not.
"No," she said on a sigh.
"Okay," he said, shrugging.
She cocked a brow at that. "Okay?"
"Yup," he said absently as he took another sip of his beer.
She narrowed her eyes on him, wondering what the hell he was up to. He never gave up this easily, never. Not even when they were fourteen and she may have pantsed him in front of the entire school one afternoon and he may have broken his arm in an attempt to pull her out of the air duct where she might have been hiding. He simply waited until the cast was dry and his mother was looking the other way before he snuck out of the exam room at the clinic over on Chestnut and made his way to the waiting room where he knew her father would make her wait so that she could give him the customary muttered "sorry."
As soon as Connor stepped into the waiting room she knew that she was in deep shit. She'd barely turned to run and hide when he clamped his good hand around her wrist and dragged her kicking and screaming into the staff kitchenette where he found a strawberry yogurt three years past its expiration date in the back of the fridge. For the next ten minutes he sat on her back while he forced her to eat the brown concoction and even when the doctor, three nurses and his mother tried to drag him off of her, he still managed to shove a large spoonful of the fuzzy gunk into her mouth.
No, he was definitely up to something, she thought as she picked up her mug of cocoa and gave it the attention that it deserved. Since there really was no way to prepare herself for his little antics she didn't even bother trying. Whatever he did she would make damn sure that she did something ten times worse to him.
"I'm drawing a blank here and I was wondering if you could help me out," he said in a thoughtful tone and just like that the small hairs on the back of her neck stood up, but she refused to visibly react to him in any way.
She didn't answer and he didn't seem to care as he continued, "What was the name of that guy, you know the one that you bitch slapped at McGill's Bar last year for no reason at all?"
Rory wasn't sure where he was going with this, but she was sick of people, especially Connor for some weird reason, thinking that she attacked the jerk for no reason at all like she was some crazed bitch with a bad case of PMS. She hadn't told her brothers why she slapped the man, because she thought that she'd taken car
e of it, but obviously she'd been wrong. By the next morning he'd spread rumors all over town that she begged him for a quickie in the bathroom and that he turned her down, making her look pathetic and slutty. Her brothers' fists had taken care of the rumor, but men still thought she was easy thanks to him.
"Oh, you mean the guy that cornered me in the small hallway near the jukebox and grabbed my breasts while demanding that I give him a blowjob in the bathroom?" she asked in a bored tone even though the memory of that night still had the power to make her feel weak and vulnerable, something she didn't like.
Connor paused just as he brought the beer to his mouth. He looked thoughtful as he took a slow sip and placed the beer down on his small table. "He attacked you?" he asked in a deceptively calm tone that didn't match the way his jaw clenched tightly and the little muscle that ticked just below his eye.
"You didn't really think that I would slap some jerk for no reason, now did you?" she asked with a shrug.
He sighed heavily as he took another sip of his beer. "No, I didn't, but I didn't know the asshole was that stupid," he said, shifting in his seat to look at something over his banister. "Speaking of the asshole, you called triple A to take care of your tires?" he asked, conversationally.
"You mean for my tires that mysteriously deflated sometime after I got home last night?" she asked dryly. "Yeah, I hoped they'd send someone else, but it figures that they'd send him," she said, not even bothering to get up to look since she didn't need to sign anything for him to fill up her tires.
She didn't need any added drama to her night and she sure as hell didn't want to face Barry tonight. The guy was a prick and took being shot down a little too personally. As far as she was concerned the man should just be grateful that she hadn't told her brothers what he'd done, because the man would still be eating through a straw if she had.
"Hmmm, looks like he's towing you," Connor said in an innocent tone as he watched Barry do whatever the hell he was doing.
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