So Tough to Tame

by Victoria Dahl

  She couldn’t look it up, because her personal files were at her new apartment, safe from prying eyes. Then again, she didn’t really need to look. The arrogant smile on Dawn’s face made clear she was telling the truth.

  “After the things you did in Tahoe, we had to protect ourselves.”

  “I was cleared of any wrongdoing,” Charlie said, her voice still calm, but her heart was picking up speed.

  “I know, sweetie. And we want to believe in you. We’ve known you for years. You’re like family. That’s why we gave you a chance. But that doesn’t mean we have to bury our heads in the sand.”

  “I did not break the law in Tahoe and I won’t break it here. Anything else I do with my life is none of your business.”

  “Oh, not anything.”

  Charlie sighed. What she wanted to say was I don’t want your boring-ass husband, so you don’t need to worry. Instead she gritted her teeth and said, “Is there anything about the work I’m doing that concerns you?”

  “Aside from the fact that you decided to abandon your post? No, not so far. But I’m having Eli train me on some of the video surveillance so I can understand what you do better.”

  Charlie blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “I want to be the best executive manager I can be,” Dawn added with a heavy layer of false cheer. “To do that, I need to understand everyone’s work.”

  “You can’t just play with the surveillance equipment! One wrong move and you might erase important files. Those videos might be needed in court if there’s ever a crime committed here.”

  “I absolutely understand. That’s why I want you to take over the training from Eli. Make sure I’m learning everything I need.”

  Charlie stared at her in disbelief. Dawn wanted Charlie to train her on the surveillance equipment. So that Dawn would be able to more thoroughly spy. On Charlie.

  This was her life. Good God.

  “Sure,” she forced herself to say. “I’d love to train you.” Dawn could spy away. She wasn’t going to find anything.

  “Great. We’ll start now.”

  “I...I need a few minutes to wrap this up and answer some emails.”

  “I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

  Charlie held her breath as Dawn stood, smoothed down her perfectly pressed pink skirt and patted her hair. As soon as she stepped out of the office, Charlie hunched over her laptop and typed “morality clause” into the search engine.

  A few clicks and she was pretty sure she could relax. Dawn couldn’t control her with a morality clause. She couldn’t be fired for just having sex or staying out all night, even if that offended Dawn’s puritanical sensibilities. The morality clause could only be enacted if Charlie’s behavior adversely affected the resort’s ability to be successful. And hell, hotels made a big chunk of money turning a blind eye to people’s sex lives. They really wouldn’t want to take a stand against that.

  Her relief didn’t remove any of her determination. She quietly closed the door of her office and dialed her brother’s cell phone number. She hadn’t seen him since she’d returned to Jackson. She still didn’t want to see him, but maybe he knew something about Dawn and her husband that would help make things clear.

  “Hi, Brad. It’s Charlie.”

  “Hey. What’s up?” He sounded neither surprised nor pleased to hear from her.

  “Do you have time to grab a bite tonight? I’d like to catch up.”

  “Sure. Sounds good.” Again, no surprise or pleasure on his part. Just flatness. It was the story of their relationship.

  “How are you?” she ventured, but he only responded with an impatient grunt, as if he had nothing to say to her.

  Charlie gave up and they made arrangements to meet in town. She doubted he could help, but he was a commercial developer. He likely knew the Taggerts or had at least heard things about Dawn from other people in his circle.

  As soon as she hung up, Charlie opened the site of her preferred background investigator. She’d done a quick background check on the Taggerts before she’d accepted the job, because she damn sure wasn’t going to end up working for a criminal again. But Dawn’s behavior called for more insight.

  With a glance at her closed door, she typed in the information she knew about Dawn Taggert and ordered a more specialized report. Maybe signs of a personality disorder would turn up.

  A thorough hundred-and-twenty-five-dollar report might solve this mystery. She should have done it days ago, when things had begun to feel fishy. But it felt like treason. Even though the receipt for the report wouldn’t show the name of the person checked, Charlie still paid for it herself just to make sure the report wouldn’t be discovered.

  Despite her precaution, a chill ran down her spine. She felt she was being watched, but that was an old familiar paranoia. After all, she spent her days watching people. It only made sense that she’d live with that feeling herself.

  Still, Charlie carefully closed the window, deleted all her search histories and caches and even destroyed the email receipt that popped into her in-box. A girl could never be too careful, after all.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “CHARLIE,” HER BROTHER said as she gave him an obligatory hug. “You look good.”

  “Thanks. So do you.” That was a bit of an exaggeration. Brad looked tired, but that was hardly a surprise. He was currently on his third divorce at age thirty-four and losing a lot of hair.

  Her older brother had never been good at relationships of any kind. He was as selfish as their father had always been, but he lacked the charm that helped keep people attached to arrogant bastards. Charlie couldn’t imagine why even one woman had agreed to marry him in the first place, much less three different women. Then again, she’d seen a lot during her time in Vegas and Tahoe. It was amazing the kind of men women would date for money. And sad just how little money it took.

  She and her brother made small talk as they looked over the menu, pretending to care what each had been up to since they’d seen each other three years before at their dad’s funeral. That had been an even more awkward visit, surrounded by family that neither of them knew. Their father’s other grown children, who offered polite, distant smiles. Aunts and uncles and cousins Charlie and Brad should’ve known but didn’t.

  Their father had been their mom’s first husband, and she’d quickly moved on to several more. There’d been way too many relatives in their childhood, and none of them permanent.

  Once the small talk degenerated to a discussion of her brother’s divorce, Charlie tuned him out. She didn’t care about his latest wife’s attempt to “rob him blind,” and he looked equally impatient with her whitewashed version of the past year.

  “So, how’s the new job?” he finally asked.

  Ah. The crux of the matter.

  “It’s interesting. I’m working for Dawn and Keith Taggert.”

  “Right. The new resort. It’s gonna be a big deal.”

  She nodded as if she cared. “What do you hear about them?”

  “You mean like divorce rumors?”

  “No, not necessarily. It’s just that Dawn has been surprisingly difficult to work for.”

  He shrugged, more interested in the fact that his burger had arrived.

  Charlie pressed harder. “We were good friends in high school, but she seems sort of...odd now.”

  “Odd how?”

  “Odd like she’s watching me every second. She seems paranoid that I’m going to do something that will ruin her life.”

  He shrugged again. “Seems logical,” he said past a mouthful of beef.

  “What the hell? What do you mean it seems logical?”

  “You helped your last employer embezzle money, right?”

  Her jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe this. Not from her own brother. “Are you kidding me, Brad? Is that what you think? I didn’t do anything wrong. I was cleared in pretrial, for God’s sake.”

  “Yeah, I get that. But everyone knows you turned a blind eye.”

/>   “I did not! Maybe I trusted the wrong people. Fine. I was an idiot. But I didn’t do anything to help them, and I didn’t ignore anything!”

  Brad rolled his eyes. “Fine. I apologize, but you still can’t blame Dawn for keeping a close eye.”

  “Oh, I can’t?”

  “You were screwing your married boss, right? And her husband is now your boss. Do you two get along?”

  Charlie had been shocked at Dawn’s animosity and paranoia, but these casual swipes from her brother nearly knocked her off her chair. She couldn’t imagine how he could be so harsh about it.

  “Where did you hear all this?”

  “First of all, it involved a commercial development scandal in a state that a lot of people I know do business in. Some of them had ties to that company. They all wanted to find out what I knew about it.”

  Charlie blinked hard against a sudden burning in her eyes.

  “Second, I’ve done business with Keith Taggert. We talked about him bringing you on.”

  Her mind was spinning. “You did?”

  “Yes. I told him I’d talk to you about it if it came down to it, but you guys worked out an offer, so I stayed out of it.”

  “You knew they were offering me the job?”

  He took another bite and shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Did you ask them to?”

  “I told Keith I thought you’d do fine. I figured you’d probably learned your lesson, and you’d keep your head down and be a solid, loyal employee.”

  She nodded, thinking she should thank him for that, and hating that those were the most positive things he’d had to say about her. “I just... You should know that I didn’t know my boss was married. I’d never have...I’d never have done that.”

  Brad shrugged again, that infuriating, dismissive movement that told her he couldn’t care less what she did. “I guess you should be more careful who you sleep with. If you’d taken Mom’s advice and settled down, none of this would’ve happened.”

  “Seriously?” she whispered. Then repeated it more loudly. “Seriously? You’re telling me about settling down, Mr. Successful Marriages?”

  “Hey, I’m willing to try instead of just living some party lifestyle.”

  “My party lifestyle doesn’t hurt anyone! You, on the other hand, have treated three women like shit.”

  Another shrug. “I’m an asshole when they marry me and the same asshole when they leave. How is that my problem?”

  “Oh, my God. You are so...just...”

  “Get off your high horse. You slept with the boss and got a promotion. I don’t have a problem with that. I’d do it if I could. But then the guy used you the way you used him. It happens.”

  Her vision went blurry for a moment as her blood pressure spiked. “I didn’t get that job because I slept with him!”

  “A twenty-eight-year-old woman in charge of security at a Tahoe resort? That just happens?”

  “Are you kidding me? Could you be more of an asshole? How can you just talk about my problems like I’m some story you heard about at a dinner party? I’m your sister. Why can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt? Why would you assume I didn’t deserve what I worked for?”

  “Charlie, it’s no big deal. You screwed up and someone got caught while your pants were down. It happens. You asked why Dawn would be leery of you, and I gave you an answer. I’m sorry it wasn’t the one you wanted.”

  She stared at him, still in utter shock. “Brad... Just... God, I just wanted to know if she was a psycho or not, because she’s sure acting like one. And if I’m so damn awful, why did they hire me? Just to make my life hell?”

  “Dawn Taggert is a woman. So yeah, I’m sure she’s a little psycho. Aren’t all of you?”

  “Wow. You have really turned into a steaming pile of shit, you know that?”

  For the first time, he looked irritated, but he still managed to pop another fry into his mouth.

  “What? Aren’t you going to ask if I’m PMSing now?”

  He snorted in a way that let her know that was exactly what he was thinking.

  Charlie glanced down at the Cobb salad she’d ordered. She’d been starving earlier, but now her stomach turned. What a tragedy. The salad looked so good. At that moment, she cared a lot more about the salad than her brother.

  A waiter walked over when she met his gaze. “I’m so sorry, but can you box this up? I have to go.”

  “Come on,” Brad said as the waiter whisked the bowl away. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “You didn’t hurt my— Actually, yes, you did. You hurt my feelings, and I’ve had enough of that shit from strangers lately. There’s no reason I need to sit here and hear it from my brother, too. I’m the only sister you’ve got. Someday all you’re going to have is me and half a dozen ex-wives and none of us will want to talk to you or take you to the doctor for outpatient surgery. You should think about being nicer to me.”

  She stood up, started to reach into her purse for some cash, then changed her mind. Screw him. He probably didn’t want her dirty money anyway.

  “By the way, you know how you can be sure you’re being an idiot, Brad? Because you’re advising me to take relationship advice from our mother. Think about that, you asswipe.” She took the box from the returning waiter and walked away. She’d go home and eat her salad in better company. By herself.

  * * *

  WALKER STARTLED WHEN he heard Charlie’s keys in the hall at 8:00 p.m. He’d been nervous on the drive home, realizing he might run into her and sure that he had no idea what to say. Her windows had been dark when he’d pulled up, so he’d bought a little more time, but his brain hadn’t offered any ideas in the past hour. No big surprise.

  He turned down the volume on the television and waited. He didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until her door closed and he exhaled. That momentary possibility of seeing her had shaken him. Charlie had shaken him.

  Last night, he’d been in a mood. A bad one. Pissed and frustrated by the latest turns of his life, he’d reacted by trying to distract himself and by jumping to conclusions about Charlie. She’d struck him, suddenly, as the same as every beautiful, successful woman who’d ever hit on him, so he’d run with it. Why not? The outcome would be sex, after all. A damn good distraction if he needed one. So if she’d wanted sex, he’d planned on giving it to her. His mood had made it that simple.

  Thank God she’d put the brakes on. It seemed Charlie wasn’t quite as fast as she pretended to be.

  The smile that tugged at his mouth was impossible to stop. It was damn sweet that she’d only wanted to make out.

  It had also been insanely hot that her version of making out had included sitting topless on his lap to jerk him off.

  The twinge of lust that jolted him at the memory was nearly painful, but his moan sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Wild or sweet, that had been hotter than any dirty movie he’d ever seen.

  “Damn,” he muttered, shifting his erection to a more comfortable position in his jeans. It had been a long day on that horse being plagued by memories of what they’d done. He’d worked hard all day, pushing himself, trying to wear himself out so much that he’d be too tired to remember. It hadn’t worked for more than a few minutes at a time. And now they were both home, only a few feet apart. He could hear the water run in the bathroom when she turned on a tap.

  He had no idea what to do.

  How should he treat this new Charlie? He’d always considered her a friend. He still did. But friends didn’t jerk friends off. Did they?

  No, he couldn’t just treat her like a buddy now. He couldn’t ruffle her hair and tease her and pretend he didn’t want to strip her naked and bend her over his bed.

  He shifted again, eyes darting toward the door. Should he go over? Take her a beer? Or maybe grab some flowers and...

  “What the hell?” he muttered to himself. “Flowers?” He’d lost his mind. She’d left his apartment with a friendly “Thank you,” as if he�
�d done her a service. And that’s probably all it had been to her. He’d heard that same “Thank you” before. More times than he cared to count, actually.

  Thanks, cowboy, that was just what I needed.

  Yeah. He was just what the doctor ordered, apparently.

  But...it hadn’t felt like that with Charlie. First of all, because she’d made them wait instead of taking what she had clearly wanted. Second, because it had felt so...comfortable. He knew her. Who she was. How to make her laugh.

  He liked women. He liked to bring them pleasure, and he damn sure liked to lose himself in his own. He liked their bodies and the sounds they made and the way they smelled and tasted. He liked their smiles and touches and looks. But sometimes...sometimes in the middle of all of that, he felt a little as if he was outside looking in. As if he was watching. But it hadn’t felt like that with Charlie.

  Ironic, considering that last night with Charlie he actually had been watching.

  That smile took over his mouth again. The one he couldn’t stop.

  He was being an idiot, worrying about Charlie. She was just Charlie.

  Walker switched off the TV, grabbed two beers and headed over.

  “Hey there,” he said when she opened the door. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of her in nothing but a black skirt and black bra.

  “Hi, Walker. Is that for me?”

  Keeping his eyes on her bra, he handed her a bottle and followed her in.

  “I’m eating my dinner. I hope that’s not rude.” She plopped down onto her couch and picked up a box filled with salad.

  Yeah. This was definitely comfortable. He grinned. “In your bra?”

  “Well, you know, I don’t want to unleash these bad boys. I probably wouldn’t be able to reach past them to eat. Better to keep them contained for now.”

  “Clearly. But I was more wondering what had happened to your shirt, rather than why you hadn’t gone full topless. Not that I’d mind. I encourage that whenever possible.”

  “I didn’t want to get salad dressing on my shirt.”

  “Makes sense.” He twisted off the cap of the beer and settled onto the couch next to her.

  “I saw my brother tonight. It’s been a while.”