Page 13 of Pain in the Axe
When I popped in, he was swamped with work. Chloe was demanding maintenance records and had some guy from Vermont coming in to inspect equipment. So rather than distract him, I wandered back to the office, feeling useless and unmoored.
I’d just settled in to read my emails—fuck, there were way more emails now than ever before—when a knock sounded on my office door.
My heart rate spiked. Jude didn’t knock, and neither did Sam or Mike or any of the crew.
So that left one possibility.
“August.”
When I forced my attention away from my computer screen, she was standing in the nearly empty office, wearing a black skirt that hugged her hips and accentuated her small waist. Her hair was pulled back into a messy knot on her head with a scrunchie, showing off the smattering of freckles on her collarbone. Like a punch to the gut, I was hit with a memory of kissing and licking every single one.
She cleared her throat.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m calling an all-staff meeting for this afternoon. I’d like to give a brief presentation to the field crews, and I need you to review it for me first. Add details specific to your operation and let me know if anything is unclear.”
I nodded. Sweet. There was nothing like a PowerPoint to inspire a bunch of wilderness-hardened lumberjacks.
She shifted from foot to foot, the movement drawing my attention to her shoes. They were purple today. And massive. She was tiny in stature, but the way she held herself and the calm confidence in her expression exuded power and authority. Even so, beneath the business suit and the cold, professional exterior, she was still my Chloe, the steely, sad girl with the fiery hair who had completely captivated me.
No matter how many decades had passed, the spark inside me came alive only when I was with her.
If the way she regarded me from across the room was any indication—brown eyes darkening and full of curiosity and heat—she felt that spark too.
She crossed her arms and lifted her chin, challenging me. In return, I watched her, waiting for her to speak. She could push me all she wanted, but I wouldn’t budge. I didn’t mind silence.
“The FBI called,” she said after an excruciating amount of time.
I nodded, ignoring the sharp pain that lanced my chest. “Those fuckers never go away.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thanks for your commentary. They’re coming next week to meet with us.”
“Us?”
“Yes, August. Since I’ve only been here for two days, we’ll need you there in order to answer questions and provide themwith the information they need. Our lawyers will be present, of course, but we’ve been assured that this is a friendly visit.”
Fuck. We’d had more than our fair share of run-ins with law enforcement, not to mention hours upon hours of questioning. Late nights searching for documents and early mornings filled with despair became routine around here after my dad was arrested for drug trafficking. For years, I’d been dealing with the brunt of it.
I grunted. “No such thing as a friendly visit when it comes to the feds.”
The sigh she let out was filled with exasperation. “This company has nothing to hide.” She said nothing further, but she arched her brows and homed in on me. The subtext was clear. She wanted my confirmation that her statement was true.
“I do not, and have never had any involvement in illegal activity,” I said. “I understand the full extent of my father’s crimes, but let me be clear: I had no idea.”
She nodded. “I believe you.”
Those three words made my heart twist. Was she being kind? Doubtful. She’d made it clear the moment she arrived in town that we were not friends.
“We both know you’re not smart enough to run an international drug trafficking operation.”
There it was. Of course she had to wedge in some bitchy insult. To underscore that I was the help here and remind me of how deep her disdain for me ran.
Clem took that moment to poke her head out from under my desk. Of course my dog, who avoided anyone and everyone, would be curious about the woman who’d just ruthlessly insulted me. She probably wanted some tips on how best to break my spirit.
Eyes widening, Chloe slowly knelt.
Clem trotted over to her and sniffed her hand while Chloe spoke softly to her. It only took a moment for her to move in close and nudge Chloe’s hand. As Chloe pet her, Clem lifted her head, looking like she was in heaven, and damn if I wasn’t irrationally jealous that my dog preferred her over me.
