Page 30 of Last Chance Seduction
Wait.How did you get added?Crap.This is the wrong group chat.
Dash:
Damn it.I knew I needed to name this one.Sorry about that Reece.
Reece:
I’m at the job site and now wondering exactly why you’re talking about a fake relationship.Though I hope the girl is real and the relationship is the fake part.
Me:
You don’t need to worry about it.Just get to work.
Reece:
Oh no.What the hell’s going on?
Ipinched the bridge of my nose as the family members that worked at Montgomery Construction proceeded to tell Reece, our fire restoration expert, exactly what the hell I was doing.Not that I knew what I was doing.
The laughing emojis that Reece sent after being told exactly what happened pretty much explained it all.
“The family has decided to butt in on what we’re doing.”
“Oh?What are they saying?”she asked as she leaned into my side.
I sucked in an audible breath, the vanilla scent of her hitting my nostrils.We were at the JW, hanging out in the open seating bar area of the large resort, waiting on other people to show up that I knew.For now it was just men in business suits as they strolled about, trying to one-up one another.I’d had three productive conversations with other estates and committees looking for companies in the future.The Burson representative had been receptive and while I knew they weren’t looking to add anything to their plate as of yet, I thought they could be a good fit for Montgomery Construction in the future.I’d make sure Jamie reached out later since she was fantastic at that part of the process.
We had only been here a good thirty minutes, and this was the first time that Mercy had been close enough to me that I could scent her since we’d changed for the event.The hour drive into the mountains for this resort when Mercy had been far too close to me in an enclosed space, had been long enough.
She smiled up at me and I finally brought myself out of my wandering thoughts.“Wait, do I know Reece?”
I shook my head.“He works for us.Well, the Montgomerys.He’s newer to the company, and I’m glad that we got him.”
“What does he do?”
“He’s a fire expert.”
She blinked up at me, and I slid my phone into my back pocket after ignoring the rest of the messages.It wasn’t as if my family could stop me at this point, nor could they help me figure out what the hell I was doing at this moment.
“He is great at restoration.If there’s fire damage in a house, he’s the one that can help facilitate any issues.Because restoring an older building to its once grander, or even updating anything, is completely different if there was fire or water damage involved.You have to deal with the sheetrock, any subflooring, as well as deal with the environmental and health impacts of it.”
“I never really thought about that.Your job can get a little scary, can’t it?”
“Well there’s risks with any type of job, but we as a company hadn’t fully dived into projects that would entail such difficult circumstances until we brought Reece along.He’s been at it for about twenty years now.”I pause, doing the math.“Actually, that number’s right.Well, I’m going to have to make fun of him for that later.”
Mercy’s lips twitched.“Ageist.”
“No, if I was an ageist, I wouldn’t have hired your friend Cullen or Reece at all.Instead, I hired the men with experience, who don’t mind working for a company filled with Montgomerys that are far younger.”
Mercy’s brows furrowed, and I had to resist the urge to lean forward and rub the little line away.
What the hell was wrong with me?Yes, I had always found Mercy hot, had always been attracted to her in some shape or form, but she had been my friend’s girlfriend, then fiancée, and now she was my neighbor.A neighbor who probably saw me and was reminded of the bullshit things my former friend had done.
It was just that damn kiss.That freaking kiss that had only been something to joke about for others, haunted my dreams.
And now, we were standing in a large area surrounded by people, and yet the only person I could focus on was Mercy.And it wasn’t lost on me that we were waiting on our room key, and I’d be forced to share a room with her overnight.
Thankfully we had a room with two beds, so it wasn’t as if I was going to have to sleep on the floor in order to get away from her, and whatever the hell feeling I was dealing with, but still.
