Page 19 of Miss Fortune

A tall guy with a hard hat came over to address the group. “Okay, folks, thanks for coming out today. My name is Ben, and I’m in charge of the crew on this project. We have a lot to accomplish and have divided you into groups. If there is anything you don’t feel comfortable doing, let the group leader know, and we’ll reassign you. All tasks are important.”

The gardening group was my assignment, which suited me fine. Mulching beds, planting flowers, and me staying away from all power tools was in everyone’s best interest. And I didn’t mind getting dirty.

I was down on my knees planting a tree when I looked up to see Caleb operating a power saw across the yard. Damn. His handling of the tool was sexy in a way I hadn’t known was possible. I started chuckling to myself. Get a grip, Daisy. Lusting after a man because he could operate a power saw was an intro to a bad porn flick, not real life. Yet my gaze lingered.

As if he sensed my stare, he suddenly turned his gaze to meet mine.

I quickly averted my eyes, but not before I felt my entire face heat at being caught ogling my boss. I forced myself back to my task, finished planting my dwarf palm tree, and walked to the truck for the next line of plants.

The entire morning was spent planting, weeding, mulching. When we broke for lunch, I grabbed a sandwich and ate in the shade next to Eric. He chatted up a few of the others from the tech department who joined us. I couldn’t help noticing yet more glares shot across the yard from Wendy and her friends. Damn. I wasn’t flirting or touching Eric, yet I could practically feel the mental daggers thrown my way.

By late afternoon, hints of fatigue set in from the manual labor and working in the sun, but I pushed through. The progress was remarkable. My group went to work on laying sod for the yard while the inside crew installed the flooring.

I stood up from finishing up my roll watching the group supervisor come up. “Miss, do you have a minute?”

“Of course. What do you need?”

“Do you mind unloading the boxes of flooring nails in the truck over there? They need them inside.”

“Not at all.” I wiped my dirty hands on my pants. It would be nice to see how the interior of the house was shaping up. I grabbed two large boxes labeled nails and walked inside. They’d been busy in here. Over half the flooring was done, and the kitchen appliances had been installed.

This was where Eric had been assigned, but I didn’t see him about. I put the boxes of nails down on the kitchen counter, about to go outside, when the sound of my name caught my ears.

“Daisy. There you are.” Caleb walked up to me.

“What?” Oh, finally he was willing to acknowledge me?

“They told me to search for a bubbly blonde carrying nails. We need them in the bedrooms.”

I showed him the two boxes. “Guess I’m the blonde.”

He gave me a tentative smile. “Guess you are. I’m glad you came out today. It’s a good cause.”

“It really is. I heard you’re the one who organized it.” Charity work was a definite plus in attractive qualities in a man.

His neck started to turn pink. “Yes, it looks good for the firm to do some philanthropy.”

Poof. There went the thought he might be doing something good for its own sake and not in order to beef up the company website.

He took one box while I took the other down the hall toward the bedrooms. We’d just handed them off to a man in the master bedroom when raised voices from the bathroom had us both turning. Did one of them sound like Eric?

Deciding it was none of my business, I was about to leave when a woman’s voice brought up my name. “Daisy isn’t your type. She’s fat, and have you seen the shit she wears to the office? All those flowers and bright colors.”

If I was expecting Eric to come to my defense, I would have been standing there a while. He didn’t bother to refute her ugly comments.

I was a curvy, confident woman, but overhearing anyone call me fat was hurtful. And having the rude comment hurled in front of my handsome and fit boss— it was humiliating.

“I need to go.” I didn’t bother to make eye contact with Caleb, who was simply standing there, apparently stunned. All I wanted was to get out of there. But how did I up and leave the jobsite when Eric had been my ride here?

“Wait, Daisy.”

I turned to see my boss had followed me out of the house. Not what I needed right now.

Chapter Eleven

Caleb

I abhorred office gossip, but Doris kept me up to date on it nonetheless. It’s how I knew about Eric and Wendy and the ever-escalating drama of breakups and makeups over the last year. Seeing Eric show up with Daisy had set off alarm bells. All I could do was hope I wouldn’t end up witnessing the sort of heated exchange which had made her a target.