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I’m not paying him to flirt with my employees and bother my customers.
I watch Jack open a bottle of wine, giving Penny explicit instructions on how to pour it and telling her she’s keeping the temperature of the chiller slightly too high. His arrogance makes me irate, but I let it play out just a little bit longer.
Again I watch as Jack attempts to wow the customers with his knowledge and for some reason, they are swooning over his every word, as is Penny. Jack’s hand slides down Penny’s back and before he can reach her ass, I clear my throat alerting them that I’m standing in the doorway.
“Jack,” I say, but it comes out harsh and like a warning. Penny instantly shies away from him and returns to being the professional I hired.
I don’t blame her for being attracted to him. He can be incredibly charming and listening to him with the customers kind of makes me swoon a little too.
As a kid he was nerdy and skinny, but that charm factor was always there. He just grew into it, and now the inside fits the outside.
I walk back down the hall that leads to my office with Jack following closely behind.
“Jack, I hired you to fix my crusher not flirt with my employees,” I say giving him a stern look, but when I catch his eyes, he’s grinning at me.
“Come on, Lulu. Don’t be jealous. You know you’re the only one I want to flirt with.”
I roll my eyes and walk toward the door giving him a shove and telling him to get back to work.
“That’s why I’m here,” he says, halting my shoving by planting his feet and slipping his hand to my hip.
When his fingers slide along my shirt, lifting it slightly, I feel the warmth of skin brush against mine. It’s like someone has set my skin on fire and the room grows suddenly hot.
I try to control my strange urge to press my body against him, but the gasp that leaves my lips slips out, letting him know he’s getting to me.
“Have dinner with me tonight,” Jack murmurs, his hand now resting on my lower back. The pressure of his hand forcing me to step closer and now the space between us is barely existent.
Goosebumps rise up on my skin despite the scorching temperature in the room and I swallow hard, trying to force back my obvious attraction to him.
I chalk it all up to loneliness. I haven’t been this close to a man in months, and at this point I’m certain anyone could elicit this response from my body.
When I finally regain my ability to speak all I can get out is a breathy, “What?”
“Have dinner with me,” he repeats and I shake my head, but my damn body betrays me and I brush against him as I try to move away. I need to put some distance between us.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he says, reaching for my hand as I make my way to the door. His fingers glide along the inside of my wrist and brush the center of my palm, lingering for a second on my fingertips.
I don’t argue with him because the most important thing I need to do right now is get away from him before I do something stupid.
I leave out the side door and nearly run into Ellen as I do. Jack is hot on my heels and when she takes in the look on both our faces she laughs out loud.
“Jack was just filling me in on how things are going with the crusher,” I tell her, but my voice is high and I sound like I’ve been running.
“Oh really?” Ellen questions, her eyebrows going up in surprise at what seems like an obvious lie.
“It looks like I have to order some parts. Could be a few weeks before they arrive. The machine’s gonna be down for a bit though.”
Without waiting for Ellen or me to respond Jack walks off and I curse under my breath because I didn’t have a chance to clarify that I absolutely am not having dinner with him. Probably all part of his plan.
“So, did you finally get your rebound bang in with Jack?” Ellen asks, laughing, and I storm away from her. I can’t even deal with her constant teasing and Jack’s ability to make me weak in the knees.
Ellen’s teasing doesn’t end there, but I continue to avoid her until our day ends. It turns out it’s hard work avoiding two people despite the size of the vineyard, and by the time I grab a beer from my fridge and park my ass on the couch, I’m exhausted.
A knock comes on my door only a few minutes after I begin to relax and I let out an annoyed huff as I peel myself off the couch.
I open the door to find Jack standing there with a bag and a bottle of wine. I look down at the bag and see takeaway containers from the small restaurant we have on the property.
“Tell me you didn’t con my restaurant staff into making you dinner.”
