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Boyd looks at me with interest in his eyes. “You gonna introduce your lady friend?”
“Miss Guthrie is just here to help us with the signatures. Miss Guthrie?” Cole looks at me, arching a brow. “Will you fetch the papers from the car?”
I have no idea what Cole is talking about, but Boyd is staring at me with such intensity that it makes me squirm.
“Sure!” I say with a smile, eager to have this over with. “I’ll grab them, Mr. Bennett.”
I open the door and see that Cole has left the contracts on his seat. Reaching in and grabbing them is the work of a few seconds. I stuff them inside my trench coat for the walk up to the door just as the young woman carries the toddler back out of the house. They are both bundled up in what look like matching blue snowsuits. The woman gives me a nasty glare as she stomps down the steps toward the sports car.
Boyd rolls his eyes and jerks his head toward the house. “Let’s get out of the rain.”
He grabs the door and holds it open, making eye contact with me. I swallow and hurry toward it, glancing at Cole. Cole’s eyes are fixed on Boyd, watching him like someone would eye a caged tiger.
I shiver against the gust of wind and rain that chases me inside the house. When I step inside, I admit that I’m shocked by what I see.
Sleek black couches, a huge TV, and everywhere I look are piles and piles of brand-name shopping bags, their contents spilling half out of them. Designer gowns, high-tech toys, and expensive watches lie in puddles around the living room. A marble statue of two cherubs in flight sits in the corner. A copy of Everything You Need To Know About Investing In Tech Startups sits on the end of the couch.
Whoa. I guess I expected to see an extension of the white trash lifestyle displayed in the front yard, not a mixture of nouveau riche and wise investment strategies.
Boyd follows my bewildered gaze to the book on the couch. He grunts, “That’s Belinda’s. She’s the keeper of the purse strings around here. I just catch footballs.”
He leans down, scoops a football from amidst the toys and priceless items on the floor, and heaves himself onto the couch. Then he pats the spot beside him.
“Why don’t you come sit beside me, Miss Lady?”
Cole cuts in. “We’re just here for your signature, as you requested. You said you don’t trust the messenger service I used last time.”
“I don’t. Damn idiots clipped my Chevy Camaro out there. It might not run, but it’s still a gem.” Boyd flips the football in the air and eyes me speculatively.
Cole holds out his hand to me. I open my trench coat and hand him the contract. He smiles at me and then takes it over to Boyd.
“Here you go. All the terms are what you agreed to when you were last in my offices in Atlanta.”
Boyd sucks his teeth. “How can I be expected to remember what we said? How do I know that you didn’t change any of the terms?”
“Your lawyer already signed it. You got sick suddenly and had to leave. I’m sure you remember.” Cole smiles wanly and shuffles the pages for Boyd. “Sign right here so I can start making deals on your behalf. I can’t talk to anyone for you until I get this signed. Your team already sent an offer over to my office last week. I’m curious as the devil, but I can’t open the letter until you sign this contract.”
“Maybe I won’t sign this year,” Boyd says. “Maybe I’ll represent myself.”
Cole’s smile turns icy. He leans down, putting his hands on his knees. “You could.”
“Maybe I will!” Boyd crows. He glances at me. “What do you think, sugar? I could take you out with all that money I saved. I’d treat you real nice.”
It takes everything I have not to shudder in disgust. “You’re sweet, but I’m taken.”
“Shoot, so’m I. You just saw my old lady.”
“She said she’s not interested,” Cole interjects. “Don’t make her say it again.”
Boyd stares at me hungrily for several seconds.
“All right. I’ll sign. Get me a pen.”
Cole frowns and pats his pockets. “I don’t have one. Miss Guthrie, could you run and get one out of the car?”
“I think you should do the runnin’,” Boyd says. “Miss Lady should come sit on the couch with me. I can keep her company while you’re gone.”
I swallow and edge toward the door. There is no way in hell I’m going to stay here alone.
