Page 21 of Forged in Peril

“Your car was destroyed while parked on company property,” Cameron said calmly. “Ergo, I will charge the company account to buy you another one.”

“That’s crazy,” she protested, her face suddenly warm. “No, that’s way too generous. A week of paid car service out to Silver Grove was more than adequate.”

“I don’t aim to be merely an adequate employer,” Cameron said. She could almost see the smirk on his face. “And, for the record, neither does Gabe. We’re replacing that car. I’ll be up at your office in ten minutes.”

Without another word, he hung up on her for the second time.

CAMERON

Cameron inhaled deeply.

The January sun was bright, and the air had a fresh taste to it. The streets of downtown San Antonio were busy and cheerful, with small groups of people dotting the sidewalk and darting in and out of boutiques, probably still spending whatever was left of their Christmas money. Altogether, it was a perfect morning to escape the office for an hour or two.

The only problem was the stubbornness of the woman who currently walked beside him.

Well, beside him was a stretch.

Bristol trailed a couple of steps behind him as they made their way down the street, largely ignoring his attempts at making casual conversation. She’d made it clear that she didn’t need nor want his charity, and he’d tried to make it clear that charity had nothing to do with it.

As her employer, he wasn’t letting her take three buses to work every day until she could save up to replace Boris.

“It’s just around this corner,” he said after another long silence, gesturing ahead. “A family friend owns the lot. It’s not a big one, so it should be nice and quiet, especially at this time of day.”

He tried to sound confident, but he couldn’t help but to notice that his words came out a little too firmly, a little too forced. No matter what he tried to tell himself, he longed for her to open up to him, and her subtle rejection, especially since the night he’d taken her to the Screaming Peach, bit at his pride.

“Sounds good,” she said after a while, making a show of checking the flow of traffic in both directions before following him out into the crosswalk.

“Jaclyn will kill me if I steal away her new minion for too long, especially with Melanie out today, so I’ll try and have you back no later than lunch,” he continued, trying to find anything to say that would fill the silence.

Fortunately, before he had to think of anything else, they reached the lot.

It was a decent place with a variety of vehicles on display, everything from a brand-new Lexus to a collection of rust buckets hiding out near the combination office and service garage.

He caught the eye of the owner, Randy, who gave him a quick wave before continuing to chat with another customer. He’d already called ahead and let his dad’s old friend know that he was coming, and he knew he’d have the run of the place, including any test drive keys he needed.

“So,” he said, turning to give Bristol a bright smile as her green eyes roved over the selection, “What about a Jeep? They’re super reliable, and they’ve got a bunch here.”

Bristol crossed her arms over her chest, a gust of wind sending her brown hair whipping across her face. She stared at him for a long moment, giving him a half-smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Honestly, Cameron, the fact that you can so casually have this conversation is something I can barely comprehend.”

He stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Look, Bristol. I know my family has always had money, and that I’m extremely privileged not to have to worry about finances, even if FBS went under tomorrow. I’m not stupid.”

“I never said you were,” she said, the hint of a challenge in her eyes.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, and he caught her glancing over her shoulder before stepping out farther from the row of vans she had been standing in front of. He’d seen her doing the same on their walk, silently taking in her surroundings every few minutes.

He could hardly blame her after the damage done to her car, but the situation still frustrated him. She clearly knew more than she was letting on about who could be behind the attack, but he couldn’t exactly force her to talk. All he could do was beef up security while she was in the office, and hope that whoever was threatening her would leave her alone.

“Anyway,” Bristol said at last. “That Ford Focus over there looks like it’s in decent shape. And it’s a 2014 that still has reasonable mileage.”

She strode in the direction of the car, not bothering to wait as he rushed to catch up.

“Absolutely not,” he said as soon as he realized which vehicle she was talking about. It was a black hatchback and one of the cheapest cars on the lot, which was hardly surprising.

The back of the car looked as though it had been in more than one fender bender, and one of the front panels had been changed out entirely with a bright red replacement.

“It’s got character,” she argued, running her fingers over the roof of the car.

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