‘But not in mine,’ I replied, drawing myself up. ‘Which means if you do work, I pay you.’
‘And if you insist on paying me, I won’t be here at all.’
‘What?’ My voice pitched up in panic, much to my annoyance. I cleared my throat.
‘If you insist on trying to pay me for something I feel duty-bound to fix, I won’t come at all.’ He lifted the mug to his mouth, his eyes remaining fixed on mine.
‘Fine! Then I’ll just hire the people myself.’ I crossed my arms, feeling pleased with myself.
‘And I will tell them if they take up any offers of work from you, there won’t be any more work from me.’
My eyes widened. ‘You… you can’t do that! You wouldn’t!’
One dark brow quirked. ‘Watch me.’
For a beat, we both stared at one another, neither blinking, neither wanting to back down.
‘Ugh!’ I allowed myself to slump for a moment. Nanny would have been horrified.
‘Do we have a deal?’
‘What sort of person doesn’t want to be paid for work?’
‘What sort of person lets a friend buy a house when they’re clearly drunk?’
I swallowed and looked away.
‘Seriously? Did this ex not question your decision at any point or was he just focused on the bottom line and the hefty commission he was obviously going to earn on a swanky flat in London?’
‘How did you know I sold a swanky London apartment?’
‘The village is a small place. People talk and others listen. Word gets around.’
I squinted at him.
‘There’s something else. Tell me.’
‘You’re very demanding, anyone ever tell you that?’
‘Once or twice.’ That made him smile but he looked away to hide it.
‘I can see you smirking and I wasn’t referring to where your mind has clearly taken itself.’
OK, there were a few times there too but sometimes, you have to jiffy things along a bit, don’t you?
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Jesse replied, in control of his features now.
‘Liar. Anyway, tell me whatever it is you’re hiding. Believe me, I can take it, and I’ll find out anyway.’ I folded my arms across my chest. ‘As you said, it’s a small place and people talk.’
He shook his head. ‘I knew you were going to be trouble when you clocked me with that two-by-four the first day I met you.’
‘I apologised for that,’ I replied, glancing at his brow where the cut was now healed over but still obvious.
‘You did, and I forgave you. But the point remains. You’re trouble.’
I stayed silent and waited, fixing him with a laser-like stare. Jesse blew out a sigh, reached into his pocket for his phone and pulled it out. Laying it on the table, he pressed a couple of times on the screen then scrolled around a bit before bringing up an email and pushing the phone across to me. I looked up at him.
‘You asked,’ he said.
