AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He set up the sprayer anyway, giving her instructions as he did. Mr. Mansplaining. Since he was already wearing safety glasses, he didn’t have to fetch another pair. He put on one of the masks and painted half of a wall to show her the right way to do it. “Think you’ve got it?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Good.” He handed her the sprayer. “If any men come into this room to try and help you, spray them.”
“What?”
“They’ve all got their own stuff to do, but every time I turn my back, they’re messing around with you.”
That was a bit much. The crew had only helped her to make sure she knew what she was doing. Did Carson want her to fail so he could yell at her? She readjusted her grip on the sprayer. “Ricardo and I weren’t messing around. We were working.” Hard. Her shoulders ached. “What does it matter if we were tiling the same shower or doing separate ones?” Talking made the time go by faster. Did it bother Carson if she had an ounce of fun while she worked?
Carson’s eyes traveled over her in a deliberate manner, taking in her shorts and T-shirt. Checking her out. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m guessing that Ricardo wasn’t working as quickly with you there.” Carson’s eyes went over her bare legs again. “Don’t you own any jeans? The guys pay more attention to you than to their projects.”
Well, that would teach her to try and look good for Carson. He’d noticed her legs, all right. And he disapproved of them.
“I brought you here to work,” he went on, “not to flirt with my crew, so from now on—” He didn’t finish because she sprayed a line of paint across his torso.
She smiled sweetly at him. “You told me to spray any man who tried to help me. You were being a little too helpful with your advice just now.”
He stared at her, mouth half open, then looked down at his shirt. He pulled it away from his skin. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
She shrugged, unrepentant. “Sometimes I do impulsive things I regret later. You already knew that about me from high school. I’ll apologize for this tomorrow. Probably.”
He slapped his gloves on the step ladder and pulled off his shirt. Olivia didn’t mean to stare but couldn’t draw her eyes away. That physique. How much time did he have to spend lifting weights to get that ripped?
He noticed her staring. That was fine. She ran her eyes over him the same way he’d done to her—checking him out. “You know, I take back all the negative things I said about jocks when I was a teenager. Playing football clearly has its advantages. Of course, now I’m too distracted to work.” She waved a hand at him. “I guess you’ll have to take your rippling pectorals somewhere else.”
He tossed his shirt on the step ladder and stepped toward her, hand raised. “Give me the sprayer.” His expression was determined, but she couldn’t tell what he was determined to do.
She took a step backward. “Why?”
He took another step forward. “Because I’m your boss and I told you to.”
She edged away. Perhaps spraying him had been a mistake. “Are you going to fire me or spray me?”
His eyes locked onto hers. “Give me the sprayer and you’ll see.”
Spraying then. If he was going to fire her, he could do that without taking the paint from her. Unless he was worried that if he fired her, she would empty the entire contents of the sprayer on him. Which, granted, would be tempting. If she kept retreating, she’d back herself into a corner. She moved to the right, still keeping space between them. “I was just obeying your orders. You shouldn’t be angry at me for that.”
He continued to slowly follow her around the room. This was probably how panthers stalked their prey. “I’ve made a simple request, Miss Travers. Do you not understand how a boss-employee relationship works?”
Now she was Miss Travers. Was that worse or better than being Leelee-bug? She gestured to his shirt, sitting in a wet beige lump on the step ladder. “You should put that in some water so it doesn’t stain. And then after that’s done,” and he’d had time to cool down, “we can talk about your expectations for employees.”
“Thank you for reminding me. You’re not actually my employee. You’re my construction slave. You’ve already promised to do whatever I asked.”
“Within reason,” she reminded.
“I think giving me the paint sprayer is within reason.”
“Is it, though? Because you have this sort of evil glint in your eyes right now that seems unreasonable.” She was nearing the door to the hallway. She considered putting the sprayer down and dashing out. But what would she do after that? What would she tell the rest of the crew? She had to deal with Carson sooner or later, and it was better to do that now. She passed by the door.
He smiled and that was panther-like too. “You’re only making this worse the longer you don’t give me the paint sprayer. Before, I was only going to spray you an equal amount in retaliation. Now I think you deserve more.”
“If I start screaming, people are going to rush in here. How are you going to explain to your crew that you’re dousing me with paint?”
“Good point.” He leaned out of the door. “Hey everybody,” he yelled, “I’m letting you leave early today. You’re free to go.”
“What?” she chirped. “You shouldn’t do that. You’re behind schedule. Remember?”
