Читать книгу Courting Trouble - Kimberly Dean - Страница 8

‘But Margo, this is less than half of what you owe.’ Sienna kept her voice hushed as she looked at the wad of bills her roommate had just pressed into her palm. They were at the Apple Tree Grille, probably by intent. They couldn’t get into an argument here.

‘I know, but we had to drop out of a gig when our main amplifier blew, and getting a new one cost more than we expected.’ Margo looked apologetic, but not distraught as she tucked her curly hair behind her ear. If worst came to worst, she could sleep in the back of her band’s van or at her boyfriend’s place.

The two were still an item, Sienna knew. So were she and her vibrator.

Heart sinking, she smoothed out the bills and slipped them into her pocket. She could make up the difference with the money she’d been earning through training at Luxxor, but she’d hoped that for once she was going to come out ahead.

There was no hope of that now.

‘Jasper chipped in a twenty since he’s been staying there so much,’ Margo said, obviously thinking it would help.

It didn’t.

Sienna saw the high sign coming from her boss. ‘Pay me the rest as soon as you can,’ she whispered.

She was irritated enough that saying ‘please’ never occurred to her. If it had, she doubted she would have said it. Being nice hadn’t got her anywhere – except maybe at Luxxor. Thank God she’d gone against her instincts there.

Smoothing her hair back into its braid, she returned to work. Smiling at a customer, she picked up his empty plate and discreetly left the bill. She took the dirty dishes into the back. Surreptitiously, she pulled out the rent money and counted it. She sighed. It was even less than she’d thought.

‘Damn it.’

The slip in language embarrassed her, and she hurried back into the Apple Tree’s dining area, picked up the coffee pot and walked around to pour refills. Her roommate was a part-time musician, while she worked two jobs to make ends meet. She pulled full shifts here and then went to her paid internship in the evenings. She had enough to get them by, but she couldn’t keep carrying Margo.

They weren’t even friends. Her college roommate had got a job soon after graduation and had sublet her half of the lease to the first person she’d found who’d sign the paperwork.

Sienna topped off a travel mug for one of her regulars who’d soon be making a mad dash for his office.

What was she going to do when this internship ran out?

Making the extra cash had been a piece of cake. The topics that Nina considered important were second nature to her. Manners, cultural awareness and diplomacy had been drilled into her since birth. More interesting had been the self-defence courses and the self-awareness workshops Luxxor mandated for all employees. She’d passed every test the company had thrown at her.

But she wasn’t going to accept the job.

They’d offered it to her last week, a full two weeks before the internship was up. She’d told them she’d need to think about it, but there really was nothing left to consider. She couldn’t allow herself to be paid for going out on dates – sex-prohibited contract clause or not.

It wasn’t that the job was beneath her. It was simply something she couldn’t do.

She sighed as she put the coffee pot back onto the warmer. It let out a hiss that sounded an awful lot like the air going out of her lungs.

What was she going to do? Kick Margo out? Then she’d have to pay full rent until she found somebody to replace her.

Pasting a pleasant smile on her face, she headed to the cash register to help her harried businessman on his way.

‘See you tomorrow,’ he said as he hit the door.

Tomorrow. How many of those was she going to spend here?

Chin dipping, she went to clean off the empty table. With practised moves, she swept up the remaining silverware and water glass. She grabbed the morning paper, but stopped when a picture above the fold caught her eye.

It was him, the super-hot guy from the Aquamarine charity event.

She quickly read the caption underneath.

Jason Sloan.

His name was Jason Sloan. A sturdy, masculine name. A sexy name.

A puff of air left her lips. Wow, even in a photograph he still packed a punch. The black and white shot showed him exiting a building. He looked sharp in a dark suit that fitted his powerful form. He had a rangy build, muscular and lethal.

It was the look in his eyes, though, that set her heart racing. They were full of triumph. She scanned the article and quickly understood. The Senate Appropriations Committee had recommended continuing to fund the contract with Bodycheck, his company.

She scanned the other people in the photograph. There was Senator McHale, the man he’d been hounding at the Aquamarine event. Her stomach gave a little squeeze of pleasure when she couldn’t find the curvy brunette in the tight dress.

Sienna looked again at those eyes. She didn’t see happiness in her imaginary lover’s gaze. No, the look in his eyes was the satisfaction of a predator after a successful hunt. He’d got what he’d gone after.

Her thighs quivered, and she pressed them together tightly, remembering the feel of her vibrator deep inside her. Was that how he looked when he got a woman, too?

A sharp crack broke her out of her sexual trance. She felt dampness on her hand and realised the water glass had broken.

‘Shoot,’ she hissed. She grabbed a napkin and quickly began to clean up the mess – until she realised that the liquid was more red than clear. Turning her hand over, she looked at her palm, and her thoughts became muddled. She was bleeding.

‘Sienna!’ The manager caught her wrist in a firm grip. People were staring as he pressed a towel against the cut. One look at her face, and he quickly pulled her into the back.

She made it that far, but her knees were becoming more and more unsteady. Her boss pushed her into a chair in his office, wrapping up her hand and lifted it above her heart. ‘What happened?’ he demanded.

‘I don’t know,’ she said. Her head was getting woozy. ‘I squeezed it or it hit the table.’

She didn’t know, and she wasn’t going to admit where her mind had been.

Her hand suddenly began to throb. She tried to pull the towel back to look, but the manager refused to let up on the pressure.

‘Do you have a bandage big enough?’ she asked.

‘Honey,’ he said, looking her in the eye, ‘you’re going to need stitches.’

* * *

Sienna sat on one of the hard hospital beds in the emergency room, listening to the cacophony surrounding her and staring in disbelief at the virtual cast of gauze that had been wrapped around her hand.

‘He said you were lucky,’ Erin reminded her. She rolled the tray table closer when Sienna once again dropped her hand too low. ‘Here, brace your elbow on this.’

Sienna gratefully took the rest. The throbbing in her hand was now matched by the throbbing in her head. She’d had twelve stitches. The cut had been deep, but not so bad that ligaments or muscles had been injured.

It was her pocketbook that was taking a beating this morning.

‘Thanks for driving me here.’ Thank God Erin had been willing to drop her wedding planning for an hour or so.

Which was becoming more like three.

‘Your mom should be here soon.’ Erin sweetly ran her hand up and down Sienna’s back.

Sienna stared at the chart on the far wall showing the cardiovascular system. She wanted to see her mom. Who didn’t when they got a boo-boo? But that wasn’t what made her uncomfortable.

She was going to have to ask for help. Financially.

It was something she’d avoided for months and months. She’d scrimped and saved and had got by, but with an emergency-room bill added to the pile? Not even her Luxxor money was going to cover that. Benefits didn’t come until a full-time offer was accepted.

Sienna rubbed at the throbbing in her forehead. ‘I should never have opted for the high-deductible plan,’ she murmured.

‘The what?’

‘My insurance.’

‘But you’re covered, right?’

Erin didn’t understand these types of things. Her father took care of money and insurance, and Marty would pick up the responsibility as soon as they were married.

‘Yes,’ Sienna explained. ‘But I have to pay a high deductible before it kicks in.’

Erin’s eyes glazed over.

‘It’s fine,’ Sienna said, giving up on explaining. She caught her friend’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

The plan had seemed like a good deal when she’d signed up for it. It took the least amount out of her paycheck every month. She’d just never thought things through. If something were to happen – and it just had – she didn’t have enough money to cover that high … really, really high … first payment.

The sound of heels walking stridently over linoleum struck Sienna’s ears. It was a familiar sound and, for a moment, tears pressed at her eyes.

The emergency-room curtain wooshed as it was swept aside.

Her mother’s pretty face crumpled when she saw her on the hospital bed. ‘Oh, sweetie.’

‘It’s all right, Mom.’ Sienna leaned forward, but kept her wounded hand out of the way as she was pulled into a tight hug.

‘Does it hurt?’

‘They gave me a pain pill.’ She dreaded to think how much that would cost.

‘Oh, it just shakes me to see you like this. What happened?’

Sienna felt heat settle in her cheeks. She’d been distracted by an attractive man – a picture of one, no less. She’d flushed, her mind had wandered and her body had become aroused. ‘I got clumsy.’

‘That’s so unlike you.’ Reaching out, Amelia did that characteristic mom move of pressing the back of her hand against her child’s forehead. ‘You feel warm. Did they check to see if anything else is wrong?’

Sienna bit her lip. She was hard-up and horny. That was all that was wrong with her. Damn Margo and her enthusiastic drummer with the beat. They’d started this.

No, she’d started it when she’d first made eye contact with the man in the newspaper at the charity event.

She waved her hand in front of her face, trying to cool her embarrassment. ‘I really don’t know how it happened. The glass just cracked.’

Her mother’s hand hovered over the injury, a good five inches away. Beyond a kiss or a hug, she wasn’t good with bedside manners. ‘I don’t know how to help you.’

‘Can I get you some water, Mrs Blakely? Or some coffee?’

Sienna watched as her mother stood straight and smoothed her dress over her trim form. ‘Thank you, Erin. Coffee would be wonderful. Two sugars.’

Amelia looked at the hospital staff moving to and fro, some in a hurry, all of them distracted. ‘Is someone taking care of you?’

‘Yes, they’re just finalising the paperwork. Please, sit.’

Her mother took a seat in the orange-coloured plastic chair near the bed. In her Zac Posen dress and Jimmy Choo shoes, her outfit was probably worth more than all the orange-coloured chairs on the floor combined.

The realisation made Sienna swallow harder. She knew one way her parents could help, but she’d never wanted to ask. ‘Mom, I wasn’t expecting this to happen.’

Her mother patted her knee. ‘Of course you didn’t. It was an accident.’

Sienna tucked away a strand of hair that had escaped her braid. ‘What I mean, is, I didn’t plan for it financially.’

‘Oh.’ Her mother blinked and, for a moment, looked sympathetic.

‘Do you think you and Dad could help with these medical bills? I’ll pay you back as soon as I can,’ Sienna finished with a rush.

‘Of course,’ her mother said, leaning forward. But then she went still. ‘We’d like to …’

There was a long, awful moment before she pulled back. Her hands went protectively to the purse in her lap. ‘But we’ve been talking about this for a while now, Sienna. You need to find a good job and learn to stand on your own two feet.’

Sienna had to bite her tongue. She’d been standing on her own feet. She’d been working so hard, her arches were forever in a cramp.

Ashamed, she dropped her gaze. ‘I know. I’ve been trying.’

So hard. She’d been doing everything she could.

‘Did you send in an application for that job listing I sent you?’

The call centre?

‘Yes.’ And she had, because she was an obedient daughter. But that job wouldn’t help much with something like this.

Her mother made as if to touch her again, but instead crossed her arms over her chest. ‘I know it seems harsh. Tough love on our part, but we can’t always be there to catch you, darling. I hope you understand.’

‘I do,’ Sienna whispered. But she didn’t really. It was the first time she’d ever asked for help.

She braced her hand against the bed and shifted in discomfort. The pain pill she’d taken was wearing off. She settled back down against the hard mattress, and her hand brushed over the lump in her pocket.

Margo’s rent money.

Blinking, she stared at the ceiling again. She was going to have to keep her roommate. At least Margo helped out with something. And she’d need to finish the next two weeks of her internship at Luxxor just to rake in the extra cash.

She bit her lip as the answer appeared, plain as day.

There was only one way to make sure everything was covered. Take on a new job – the only one that had been offered to her.

She was going to have to become a Luxxor escort.

* * *

‘All right, Jason, I want you to push your toes forward like you’re pressing on a gas pedal. Push as hard as you can against my hand.’

Jason folded his hands around the edge of the exam table as he focused determinedly on his task. The doc wasn’t a little guy, but he had to take a step back when Jason pushed that imaginary gas pedal through the floor.

‘Good, good.’ Switching the resistance, the doctor folded his hand over the top of Jason’s foot. He braced himself again. ‘Now push up.’

That was more difficult.

Forehead crumpled, Jason set his jaw and tried to rock his foot upward.

The doc let up. ‘That’s good, too.’

Stepping back, he grabbed a protractor off the metal cart. ‘Let’s measure your range of motion.’

Sweat beaded on Jason’s brow. That was what always got him.

He went through the motions again, this time focusing on stretching rather than power. Toes down was easier. Toes up, not so much.

He looked at the numbers the doc scribbled on his chart. He was the same on the first one, but the latter had improved about three degrees from his last visit.

Not good enough.

‘Fuck,’ he muttered loud enough for the nurse in the room to flinch.

The doc had had him long enough as a patient to know he could get much more creative in his swearing. ‘Come on, now. Side to side.’

He went through that test and then the rolling one that followed. He glowered when his foot hit a hitch and refused to roll in a perfect circle.

‘When is that going to go away?’ he asked.

‘Now, Jason, we’ve talked about this. You went through a traumatic injury. You’ve made tremendous strides, but it’s been a long time. It’s probable you’ll never get that full range of motion back.’

‘Bullshit. I gained three degrees this time.’

Jason pulled his sock back on. Why they kept these damn examination rooms so cold was beyond him, and he didn’t like that he’d been kept waiting for twenty minutes. Time was money.

There was a low roar as the doctor pulled over a stool on wheels. He perched on it and rubbed his jaw. ‘I have to be honest. There’s not much more I can do for you.’

‘What about that hydrotherapy? Or acupuncture?’

‘You can try it. Are you still experiencing pain?’

He hated to call what he felt pain. It wasn’t like he’d been checked into the boards or high-sticked in his pro’ hockey days. ‘It aches on days when rain is coming through. Sometimes it stiffens up.’

The doc nodded. ‘I can give you some pills for the pain.’

‘No pills.’

‘Then I can set up some hydrotherapy treatments for you. I’m sorry, but I don’t know many doctors who practise Eastern medicine.’

‘I’ll find someone.’

The doc sighed and put aside his chart. ‘Jason, you ruptured your Achilles tendon and broke your ankle. Badly. I think you have to accept that it will never be the same again.’

‘I know that.’ But it would be the best it could be, which damn well would be better than everyone else’s. ‘Set up those appointments, and I’ll see you again in three months.’

‘Jason.’

He held up his hand, fingers spread wide. ‘Five more degrees.’

The doc had told him last time that he was at his limit, but he’d managed to eke out three more degrees.

He hopped off the table and reached for his cross-trainer.

‘Maybe you should take it easy,’ the doctor said. ‘Pushing all the time isn’t necessarily good.’

‘If you don’t push, others will start pulling you.’ Kneeling down, Jason felt the stretch in his calf, but he refused to acknowledge it. ‘Mind if I put in a workout in your PT room?’

The doc was shaking his head, even as he was smiling. ‘Go ahead. I know you’ll just go down the street to the gym if I say no.’

Jason smirked. The doc knew him pretty well after all.

* * *

He put in a good 45 minutes of circuit-training in the PT facility and then spent the rest of the hour stretching. He still felt that was what had got him in the end. Tough guys didn’t spend enough time stretching. They focused on building their muscles, pulling them tighter and tighter.

Until something just snapped.

When he finished showering and dressing, he was already thinking of the work that awaited him. Bodycheck had been awarded the federal contract to protect the nation’s soldiers. A lot of work had gone into preparing that proposal, but even more awaited now that they’d won the contract.

And his pet project was still out there … He still hadn’t heard from Mandy or Tandy … whatever the hell her name was.

He was lifting his phone to call for his car when he saw the restaurant across the street. The Apple Tree Grille.

Wasn’t that the restaurant that had catered the Aquamarine event?

He slowly tucked the phone away in his pocket. It was close enough to lunchtime to eat.

As he crossed the street, it was the first time that deals or technology weren’t the first things in his mind. Instead, a beautiful blonde had reappeared in his frontal lobe.

He shrugged. He had little time for women and he didn’t trust them, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like to look.

And he’d liked looking at her. A lot.

He’d liked even more the zing that had gone through his system and straight to his groin. Oh, he could get it up all right when he needed to. It had just been a long time since he’d felt that kind of surprise.

He walked in and glanced around the establishment. The place had a reputation that was growing. During breakfast and lunch hours, it was known to be somewhat of a throwback. It called to the sentimental side of hardened DC diners. In the evening, though, it upped its game to try to compete with the bigger names.

He liked the throwback feel more, especially if it was accompanied by a tall cool blonde with expressive blue eyes.

He didn’t see her as the hostess led him to a table. A waitress came up to ask for his drink order, but she was a sunshine blonde. Not an icy heartbreaker.

She took a cautious step back when he looked at her. ‘Is … is something the matter, sir?’

He stopped just short of grumbling. The delicate ones put him on edge, making him feel like a bull in a china shop. ‘Do you have any other blonde waitresses working here?’

The woman’s hand went self-consciously to her hair. ‘Blonde?’

‘She worked at the Smithsonian a few weeks back.’

‘Oh, the catering event.’

Sunshine looked around the restaurant. ‘There’s Sally.’

He followed her gaze. ‘No.’

He wasn’t looking for a tomboy with a short shock of hair. ‘Her hair was white blonde, and she was taller.’

‘Oh, Sienna.’

Sienna. Jason mulled it over. The name shouldn’t fit her, but it did. It sounded cool, but it could be a fiery colour when hit with heat. She’d interrupted his discussion with Senator McHale on purpose the other night, even though she’d acted calm and unaware. That had taken spunk, and he’d seen it in her eyes when he’d turned on her.

That spark. It had made his knees nearly as weak as his bad ankle. He knew she’d felt it too.

‘Sienna what?’ he demanded, tapping the corner of his menu against the table.

This time, the waitress knew she shouldn’t divulge any more. Her lips zipped, but he could see the gears turning in her head. ‘I don’t know,’ she finally answered. ‘I’m relatively new, and she quit a few days ago.’

Quit? Well, hell.

Sunshine stepped back when she saw the disgruntled look on his face. ‘I’ll give you some more time to look at the menu.’

Jason sank back against the cushions and for a moment stared at the cars going by on the street outside. Shit, he didn’t know what he’d expected. What would he have done if she’d been here? Would she have even recognised him?

Hell, Don Juan he wasn’t. He might be known as a tough negotiator, but women were the queens of manipulation. He didn’t know why he thought this one might be any different.

The truth was, he hadn’t been thinking. It had been the head in his pants that had led him across the street. He was probably lucky he’d missed her, and she was even luckier to be long gone.

He dropped his menu onto the table. Still, he wondered where she’d headed off to. New job? New city? A boyfriend?

He was frowning when a waiter with a receding hairline stepped up to the table, pad in hand. ‘Good morning, sir. Can I take your order?’

Jason smirked when he saw Sunshine on the far side of the room. OK, yeah. He was too intense. Too scary. He got it.

‘Give me a club sandwich and an iced tea.’ And while he was at it, a smack upside the head would be good.

His ice queen had been in his head for a while now, but that’s all she was. Pure fantasy.