Page 31 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

I followed her gaze to find an elderly-looking man who was standing there, not even trying not to stare at us.

I could feel Allie’s embarrassment radiating off her, but I didn’t let her go, cocking an eyebrow at the man standing there.

“Can I help you?”

He had the decency to look away then. “Um, I’m the electrician. I was told there was some wiring that needed fixing.”

Allie frowned at me, embarrassment forgotten. “Why are you working on the wiring when you’re tearing down the place?”

I cocked my eyebrow at her. “The drillers need somewhere to plug in their equipment.”

She gaped at me, then spun around and left the room. Politeness made her stop and nod at the man in greeting before continuing on her way.

I noticed the man watching her for far too long as she left. But my growl had him looking up in alarm.

Don’t fucking look at my woman, I wanted to growl, but that was something savages did. And no matter how much I felt like one, I was still a civilized human being.

“I’ll show you the place,” I grouched instead. The sooner I did, the quicker he could leave.

As we walked, I noticed the man keeping a safe distance from me, and I didn’t blame him. I knew I was probably radiating angry vibes, the possessive heat still churning around me.

And also the heat of another kind. Because part of the reason I was so pissed was that the asshole interrupted me before I could taste her again.

Fuck, I needed to get a grip.There must be something wrong with me because Allie was making me feel unhinged.

It was why I called the electrician in the first place, despite knowing that this place was likely beyond salvaging. Sure, the foundation was strong, but just about everything else was falling apart. And my biggest concern was the fact that several of the plugs didn’t work, and it was a potential fire hazard.

Plus, even if I wanted to keep the resort, what on earth would I do with it? My options were to renovate it and keep it running, which would either require me to stay in town or relegate control back to the Bestons, who hated my guts. I didn’t mind the second part as much as the first. I wouldn’t give myself any more attachment to this town than I needed. Besides, it would likely be a money sink.

I had no experience with owning resorts, and the Bestons couldn’t be trusted with how they mismanaged their business the first time around.

I knew all this, had already run all the numbers in my head, and yet here I was, inviting the elderly electrician to take a look around the premises and run me a quote on how much it would take to fix it.

The same way that I had invited the consultant earlier to discuss how much all the repairs would cost.

It was in the millions, but it wasn’t the money that bothered me. It was everything else.

It was Allie, and the fact that being this close to her was too much of a temptation. I should leave town.

Later, after the electrician was gone and Allie was presumably somewhere in the building, still seething, I relaxed in the office chair.

That was when the phone call came.

“What are you doing right now?” Sean asked the second I answered.

“Why?”

“Well, if you’re standing, you better be sitting because what I’m about to say is going to piss you the fuck off.”

I sighed. Lately, it seemed Sean only called when he had bad news.

“Not only is Darryl trying to drag this into a lengthy court process invoking all kinds of fucking clauses,” Sean began without prompting, “but the bastard son of a bitch is also trying to pay someone to forge a criminal record of you.”

“Hmm.” That was at least original. “How’s he managing that?”

“Turns out he’s buddies with the police chief and lawyers. They’re trying to use the murder case in the past as the cornerstone of their case and to also say that you may have tampered with the will.”

“I see.” I was quiet for a few moments, considering the predicament. It was unlikely they would be successful, but the bad press was bad for business, and that was all they needed. I knew the prick was trying to force me into negotiations, so I would give him a bigger share of the company.

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