Page 11 of Reckless Intentions
Chapter Six
“Hello? Anyone here?”
Olivia stepped into the relative coolness of The Roca Bar. Despite it not being high season, the heat was still much hotter than the UK and it was taking some acclimatising. Being able to escape from it for even a few minutes was bliss and she took a moment to enjoy the blast of cool air.
When she’d woken shortly before six, she’d taken a walk around the bay. It had been considerably cooler at that time of the morning and she’d enjoyed the relative peace of a morning stroll, with only a few fishermen and keen exercise bunnies for company.
After checking some emails and following up with Eva on a couple of things, she’d decided to head down to the bar. She didn’t know if Caro had given the architect a time that she would be there, but she assumed that morning would be better.
The bar looked like a total disaster area.
Everything had been pulled out and the walls had been stripped back to brickwork, with dust, bits of wood and various tools scattered everywhere. A set of architect plans laid on what had once been the main bar. No wonder Caro was worried things had slipped, she had every reason. She tiptoed around the floor, trying to avoid stepping in the debris, and wondered where everyone was. There was a door to what looked the office on the back wall, and Olivia headed towards it, hoping to find either the architect or the builder there.
She pushed open the door, which banged loudly against the wall. All of a sudden, she didn’t know where to put herself. Faced with a bare arse, attached to a muscular body which was plunging into a female bent over the desk, Olivia let out an involuntary squeal.
“Jesus, fuck, shit!” The man jumped and grabbed at his shorts around his ankles, trying to pull them up. His companion screamed and fixed Olivia with fiery dark eyes.
Olivia turned and ran back into the bar, her heart beating out of her chest. The sight was unexpected, although there was no denying the attractiveness of the man’s naked arse. Whoever he was.
It was a couple of minutes, before the woman strolled out of the office as though nothing had happened, her dark gaze giving Olivia a cursory up-and-down glance. The woman picked up her bag from the bar and sauntered out into the street, as if this sort of thing happened to her every day.
It seemed like an eternity before the man appeared, although in reality it was less than an minute. Olivia’s breath hitched. The front of him definitely lived up to his rear. His t-shirt clung to his body, and Olivia could fully appreciate him, tanned from the Mallorca sun and evidently used to hard labour.
“Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?” His green eyes were wild.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I have a meeting with the architect. I wasn’t expecting the builder to be here.” Olivia tried to keep her tone business-like, and her eyes fixed firmly on his, mainly to prevent them from straying downwards.
His expression softened slightly, and he laughed. “You’re right, I am the builder. I’m also the architect too. You don’t look like Caro Flynn though. She’s my usual contact.”
“That’s because I’m Olivia Cole.” Olivia held out a hand and the man grasped it. His fingers were calloused and rubbed against Olivia’s smooth skin. She wondered what his hands would feel like if they skimmed over her body. She gave herself a mental slap to regain some focus. Where had that thought come from?
“Pleased to meet you, Olivia Cole. I’m Brody Fox.”
Never has a name been more apt, thought Olivia, swooning inwardly. What was the matter with her? “Pleased to meet you. Now, shall we get started?”
She walked over to the bar, brushed dust off one of the bar stools and perched on it, her cobalt blue summer dress riding up her bare thighs. Brody pulled up a stool next to her and reached for the plans.
“Where do you want to start?” he asked.
“Why don’t you tell me how the project plan is going?”
Brody snorted, and Olivia thought that was probably the most honest answer she’d get. He began to speak, and several minutes later, Olivia knew she was right and wished she hadn’t started the meeting. Brody was being deliberately vague about everything and it was clear he didn’t like being checked up on.
“Caro didn’t say anything about having a spy onsite here.” His eyebrows knotted together as Olivia outlined her plan to be there for the week.
“She was going to come out herself, but something came up.”
“Delegated to the hired help, did she?”
“It’s nothing like that. We’re friends.”
“Sure, a nice gig in Mallorca, what’s not to like?”
Given the circumstances that had prompted her visit to Mallorca, being taunted by some meathead builder was the last straw. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I needed to get away from North Ridge after I got dumped.” Olivia flustered as she flushed. Why on earth had she revealed something so personal to someone she had only just met? Particularly someone like Brody, who clearly wasn’t in touch with his feelings. Although he was clearly in touch with another part of himself...
“Sorry to hear that. The guy was clearly an idiot.” Brody’s gaze made its way from Olivia’s eyes, right down to her toes, lingering somewhere around her exposed thighs.
Her face flamed. It had been a long time since someone had paid that much attention to her. “He wasn’t, but thanks anyway.” She took the opportunity to study Brody more closely too. His dark hair was cropped close to his head and his eyes were the dark green of olives. She’d already seen more of his tightly muscled body than she would have expected to on a first meeting. It was clear that as well as having a physical job, he worked out. As he reached across her to grab one of the plans, his fingers brushed her arm and a shaft of electricity pooled in her groin. She shivered, reminding herself she wasn’t there to ogle the help, she had a job to do.
