by Dorlana Vann
Neal stared down at her and blinked his eyes. When he finally realized what she’d said, he pushed himself up with his hands, climbed out of the tub, and then offered his hand.
She accepted his help and said, “Can you turn it off?”
Neal reached in and within one second the spraying stopped. His gaze casually surveyed her body and then moved back up to her eyes. “You have a way with showers.” He didn’t smile, and there was something in that look that made his statement less of a joke and more like a compliment.
Brenda shook her head and exhaled, realizing she stood there soaking wet and practically naked . . . again. She took the towel off of the rack but it was soaked, like the rest of the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.” She went to the bedroom, took a T-shirt out of her still-unpacked bag, and slipped it on over her wet underclothes.
When she got back to the bathroom, Neal was at the tub. “Old plumbing. I think this is the original bathtub. See the wall here? Mold. It must have been leaking for a while.” He peeled away the wall with his hands. “See here, the pipe’s busted.”
“I should have known this place was going to be a money pit.” Brenda sighed through her sentence as she ran her fingers through her wet hair and stared at the inch of water on the floor. “I’ll go get some towels.”
When Brenda made it back with a stack of towels, Neal knelt down on the floor with her and helped sop up the water. “You know,” he said, “I can save you some money.”
Brenda stopped and shot him a look. “What now?”
“I happen to be really good with my hands.”
“Oh brother. Are you seriously trying to seduce me right now?”
“No, not like that.” He raised an eyebrow. “Would that work?”
Brenda stole a glance at his soaked shirt that was now glued to his chest muscles, and acknowledged the way he made her tingle. “No,” she said, and put on her hard lawyer face, hoping he didn’t ask again because seriously, he was gorgeous. And it had seriously been awhile since a man made her have to pretend to be annoyed.
“No, really, just hear me out. I’ve got the feeling that this isn’t the only leak around here. I’ve also noticed quite a few other problems with this old place. They gave it a rearranging facelift years back, but no one bothered with the insides. They probably just connected new stuff to the old. I bet it’s not only the plumbing. There’s probably a lot of wiring issues too. Didn’t you have the place inspected before you bought it?”
“It was kind of a rush thing.”
“Well, any serious buyer you’re going to have is going to want one first. So that means to get the house in order, you’re going to have to hire a contractor, who will then need to hire an electrician, a plumber and who the hell knows who else. We’re talking a shitload of cash.” He stood up and wrung his towel out in the bathtub. “I’m sure you have the money, but are you wanting to spend it on this place? Don’t you want to wash your hands of it all?”
“Okay, what are you getting at?” She handed her towel to him to wring out.
After he wrung it out, he handed it back to her and sat back down on the floor, cross-legged. “I’ve got an idea.”
She wanted to look away, to get up, and tell him where to put his idea, but his translucent blue eyes were intense, and she didn’t want to get up. It felt as if his body heat was a magnet she couldn’t resist. She cleared her throat. “Fine, I’m listening.”
A hint of a smile crossed his lips, and Brenda wanted to take it back. But it was too late, he was already talking.
“Let me be your contractor. I’ll do it all for free. I have contacts and can get you discounts. I’ll take care of everything.”
“In exchange for you staying rent-free, I presume?”
This time, his smile was broad and it made his eyes kind and gave Brenda a little chill up her spine. But she sat still and inhaled, controlling her need to shiver.
“So?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. “Do we have a deal?”
As she exhaled through her nose, she pressed her lips together, trying to think it all through.
“I know you don’t owe me shit. But culinary school is the only chance I have at a real future. I’ve invested everything I have monetarily and mentally.”
After a quick glance at Neal, she said, “You’re right about me wanting to put all of this behind me, but how long would a project like this take?”
“Truthfully, I don’t know how long it will take to fix everything in this house, could be weeks, or it could take months. But if it’s finished before I finish school, maybe I could stay here and be like the manager and rent out the other two rooms, bringing in some extra cash, until I graduate—then everything will be fixed, and you can do you want.”
Brenda stood up, thinking about how fast he thought on his feet and admiring his determination and passion to do whatever it took to get what he wanted. However, she needed time to think. They had just tried to con her a second ago. And she hated that Neal did something to her sense of reality when he stood in front of her. “Thanks for your help. I’ll get the rest.”
Neal shook his head, a sad, somewhat defeated expression crossed his face. He stood up and squeaked out of the bathroom.
After she heard the front door shut, she relaxed into her confusion. If she agreed to this, she would have to work closely with him. She’d see him every day. She really didn’t know him. Could she even trust him? He didn’t have a great track record with her so far.
She walked into the bedroom and almost sat on the edge of the bed. The bedspread was surprisingly not animal print, but it still reminded her of being in the jungle; it was brown and furry like an animal. And animals had bugs. She pulled the blanket and sheets off the bed and then searched for sheets, which she found in the closet next to where she had found the towels earlier. The sheets were still ugly, but at least they couldn’t hide any creepy crawlers.
She made her way to the living room and stared at the door Neal had walked out of. One thing she should really consider was that food. If the taco meal was any indication of how good of a cook he was, well, he’d make an extraordinary chef if he had a little classical training. She sniffed the air. “My goodness, I can still smell the tacos.” And then she spotted a foil-covered plate on the coffee table. That must have been how he’d known to come into the bathroom to help.
He was probably right about the house, she thought as she opened her leftover tacos. She couldn’t afford a loss right now. The truth was, she had used a good portion of her savings for the down payment, and she really needed to recover the money.
Huh . . . was she actually considering his offer after everything that had happened? After he’d tricked her and lied to her? Yeah, she was. A sudden thought made her smile. “I just might have to add a few little things.”
Chapter 6
“What happened to you?”
Neal guessed he should have gone to his apartment and put on dry clothes before going to Zadora’s, but he didn’t want the food to get any colder than it already had. “I brought you food.”
Zadora left Neal at the door and ran to the back. She came back a few seconds later with a towel, exchanging it for the plate. “Thanks!” She took the food to the dining room and sat down in front of the huge window. As she removed the foil covering, she said, “Yum. Tacos.”
She took a bite and smiled as she chewed, which made Neal smile despite his sour mood. Nevertheless, before taking a second bite Zadora asked what had happened, which put the frown right back on Neal’s face.
“I blew it.”
“Oh,” she said but not in a disappointed way, more like she’d expected it not to go well, which, to Neal, made it worse.
“I’m sorry.” Neal stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “You did your part, and then I totally screwed up. It has bee
n the screwiest morning ever. A naked woman surprised me in the shower—”
This snapped Zadora’s attention away from her food. She stared up at him as she chewed, not questioning the comment.
And if she wasn’t going to ask, he was in no mood to tell, so he continued, “Everything was going fine, and Brenda seemed to like my food and there even seemed to be this second when she chilled out. But then I had to go and screw it all up. I guess I should’ve waited and not blurted it out like that.”
“What did she say?”
“She accused us of playing her and then stormed home without finishing her food.”
“Oh,” she said again, but this time the disappointment was clear. “But that still doesn’t explain why you’re all wet.”
Neal walked toward the table, drying himself with the towel. “I was taking her the leftovers, hoping I could try and apologize or something stupid like that, and I heard her scream. I ran in and found her in the bathroom, water pouring out from behind the bathtub.”
Zadora stared, wide-eyed, as she brought the taco up to her mouth.
“An old pipe busted.” Neal sat down at the table. He thought about telling her about the offer he’d made Brenda but decided not to. If he said anything, it would only get Zadora’s hopes up again. “So that’s why I’m all wet. I got the water turned off and . . . you know.”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll think of something."
“Right.” He tapped the table. “Enjoy your food. I’m going to go change. See you around.” He stood up and draped the towel over the chair before walking to the door.
“Thanks. Best tacos ever.”
Lot of good they did me, he thought as he gave a slight wave and then left Zadora’s apartment.
Out in the hallway, suddenly a bit chilled, he pulled his wet shirt over his head.
Brenda, now dressed in a tank top and a pair of tights, walked out of her apartment. Her hair was damp and drying in waves. If he hadn’t been so weary, he might have enjoyed the scenery a little more.
“Hey, can we talk?” she asked.
Neal shrugged his shoulders, waiting for her to ask why he hadn’t packed already.
“I’m sorry. Okay? I’m sorry I’ve been so disagreeable and, one might even say, a little bitchy.”
“Say what?”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“Uh-oh.”
“I’ve been thinking that maybe . . .” She stared at his chest and then whipped her head to the side. Making a quick recovery, she looked back up at his face.
Neal was confused for a second, and then he remembered he didn’t have on a shirt. He ran his hand over his mouth, hiding the smirk. Being around Brenda had made him forget that he often had that effect on women.
“You know,” Brenda said, “maybe I should talk to you and Zadora at the same time, so there is no misunderstanding. I’ll go get her while you can go put on some clothes . . . so you don’t catch a cold, and we’ll have a little meeting in your apartment.”
“Okay.” He frowned, feeling the beginnings of a headache right in the center of his forehead.
“Okay.” Brenda walked to Zadora’s door and knocked.
He watched, still frowning, until she’d disappeared inside, and then went to his apartment.
While in his bathroom, Neal noticed a small black wad of material with pink flowers on the floor. He would have recognized what that was, no matter what color. Women’s underwear. He picked them up, surprised he hadn’t noticed them before.
A grin grew ear-to-ear as he imagined how Brenda must had slipped them off right there while he showered. He gave a low whistle.
He hated to admit it, but she excited him. Brenda was a woman who was not afraid to initiate an afternoon of fun. She knew who she was and knew what she wanted and went after it. And she was sexy as hell.
He let his imagination go wild for a second and fantasized that Brenda had been there for him. She had left to go to work but come back because she forgot something. Her hair was up in a bun, and she wore those librarian glasses she’d worn that first day he’d met her at Larry’s book signing. She heard the shower and immediately kicked off her high heels. She slinked into the bathroom, removed her glasses, pulled the pins out of her hair, and took off all of her clothes, slowly. In his mind, she didn’t swing the curtain open, instead, she quietly slipped in the back of the shower. He felt her soapy hands on his body before he was aware of her. The sensation ignited an urgency to have her. He turned around and kissed her furiously as he ran his hands down her back to that nice ass he had watched run away earlier.
The sound of voices in the front room jolted him out of his daydream. He shook his head and splashed cold water on his face. What the hell was that? Nonsense. Thinking like that would only drive him mad, and he had no intention of doing that ever again. Not over a woman. It had almost destroyed him before.
“Why do I do this!” he said through his teeth. Brenda was unobtainable: successful and rich. He was neither of those things. He didn’t like feeling insecure in a relationship. Not that Brenda would ever want one with him, but the way she’d flirted and then eyed him earlier let him know that there was at least some attraction.
But so what?
He thought about handing the underwear to her with a wink and a “You forgot something this morning.” However, if the meeting was going to be about them making a deal, well, he didn’t want to piss her off. He would figure out what to do with them later. He knew for sure that he couldn’t keep them in his sight where they would trigger more sex thoughts. Nope, they had to go. He tossed them in his laundry basket.
By the time he made it back into the front room, the women were sitting on the couch, silent and, most likely, miserable.
When Zadora noticed him, she jumped up and said, “Neal, there you are.”
Neal gave her a slight nod, letting her know that everything would be okay. He would do all the talking. She arched an eyebrow, glanced at Brenda, then sat back down.
Neal sat in the recliner and eased back in the seat, trying to give off a nonchalant attitude. He didn’t want to look at Brenda after he’d been imagining her naked in the shower with him, but he had to. When their eyes met, he felt his resolve melt and he darted his eyes over to Zadora, who gave a slight frown. Maybe this was good, all of them sitting down and talking - all their cards on the table. “What’s up?’ he asked, giving his attention to Brenda.
Brenda’s hair had dried now, wispy and carefree. She didn’t look uptight at the moment. Instead, she seemed almost comfortable. Almost.
“I want to apologize to both of you,” she said. “It was very inconsiderate of me to come in here and think of this as a business transaction. Clearly, y’all have made a home here, and I should respect that.”
Neal sat straight up. “So what are you saying, exactly?”
“I have an offer.”
“I’m listening,” Neal said.
Brenda uncrossed and recrossed her legs. “I think you’re absolutely right with your observations about the house. This place needs a lot of work before I can sell it for a decent price. I want to take you up on your renovation offer.”
Neal glanced at Zadora who, understandably, appeared lost. She frowned as she glanced from Neal to Brenda.
“In exchange,” Brenda said, “the consideration is that you get to live here, free of charge, until you finish school. I may be a bitch, but I’m also a food snob. I know talent when I taste it, and I would hate for you to waste it because of me.”
“Thanks?”
“Zadora still pays rent.”
“Wait a minute . . .”
“No, that’s fine,” Zadora said.
“You sure?”
She nodded with a firm, wide-eyed stare that said, Take
the offer, you idiot.
“Okay, you have a deal,” Neal said.
“That’s not all.” Brenda’s direction changed to Zadora. “You said you’re an accountant. You’re in charge of keeping up with receipts and keeping him in line.”
“This isn’t her problem.”
“I don’t mind,” Zadora said.
“Of course she doesn’t mind,” Brenda said. “Do I need to remind you that she doesn’t have a lease and Maximilian’s ends soon? I’m not throwing her out on her ass. She can stay without a lease for as long as you’re here, or she can leave whenever she wants to. But for some reason, I don’t think she will. Is there a reason why you don’t want to have your name on the lease? Do we care to discuss that reason now?”
“No,” Zadora said and glanced up at Neal.
The truth was, Neal was curious too. She had the money to pay for rent elsewhere. Something was up for Zadora to sit there and take this condescending tone from Brenda.
Brenda was saying, “You’ll have a fifty-thousand-dollar budget. I’ll have a list of things I want done. Don’t let him sway from the list without asking my permission first. If you do, I’ll consider it a breach of contract.”
“Oh come on. Fifty grand? Have you seen the size of this house?
She snapped her attention back on Neal. “Is this a problem? I can hire a real contractor and find another tenant who will actually pay rent. Better yet, I can go back to my original plan and just sell, cut my losses, and run. I’m doing this for you. This was your idea. Remember?”
He exhaled. “I’ll figure something out.”
“And,” Brenda said, “that scarecrow thing you offered, well, I want that too. However, I want you to find someone other than you to be the scarecrow. So I’m willing to pay twenty bucks an hour plus drinks.”