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“The biggest and most important.” I pause for effect. “Jessie will need you to go horseback riding with her. It’s Thursday and she says it’s your day to go riding.”
Maverick smiles as he rubs his fingers over his chin. “I like that plan. But will they have a bed by the end of the night? I don’t want people saying that I don’t take care of my employees, and I especially don’t want them posting it all over social media.”
“First off, they’ll turn their cell phones in when they step foot onto the property. And two, you’ll see who handles controversy in a professional manner.”
I sit down as I look at the feed from the office. Sean is standing outside Vanessa’s door while talking to Mrs. Potts. Vanessa is hard at work typing on her laptop.
“I know. I just thought it was going to be activity based, you know, ropes and puzzles and stuff.”
“It will be, don’t worry. They’ll come to me, and I’ll act like there’s nothing I can do for the night. Then your employees will work it out. Once they decide where each person will bunk for the night, I’ll tell them another group has just finished up and we have accommodations ready and waiting for the six people.”
The bus pulls through the drive, and heads down to the cabins, which are far away from my house and home office. We have ten minutes before my group leader will meet them when they step off the bus. Maverick and I will arrive a few minutes later, and then he’ll use the excuse I gave him and leave.
“Sounds good. You’re sneaky.”
“Nope. It’s the way of the military—break them down and build them back up. Only the strong survive.”
I hand him the real itinerary, not the one he emailed to his employees. As he scans through it, he slaps my back. “This is going to be interesting.”
“They’ll learn how to trust and who to trust. But you might find the perfect person to delegate some of your responsibilities. How’s your dad?”
His dad has Alzheimer’s and his fiancée, Jessie, helps his mom take care of him during the day.
“Good days and bad. Luckily, we still have more of the good ones. I want to enjoy them while I can. I appreciate you helping me find someone to trust with my company.”
I lift up my hands. “It’s what I do. Solve problems.”
Now if I can solve the biggest one threatening my sanity. Rome Lennox. My search of Rome yielded nothing of interest. He’s an only child. His parents are upper middle class, live in Colorado, and he went to Vanderbilt on a scholarship. No prior record. Never been married. I can’t quite put my finger on it but something about him doesn’t add up, and I hope Vanessa isn’t buying into his game.
ChapterFifteen
VANESSA
Things between Beau and I are on a slow rolling boil, and eventually one of us is going to blow. He sits in my den, constantly on his laptop, checking the surveillance. Nearly two weeks have passed since he walked back into my life, and the fuck of it is, I would rather have Beau by my side, not speaking to me, than no Beau at all.
My cell phone rings. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Are you having sex with someone and haven’t told me?” Jessie’s voice is high like she’s in an animated movie.
Neither of us have a filter. If we did, we probably wouldn’t have ended up besties. “What? No.”
She sighs. “Seriously? So why did you ask Beau if he would be watching your bedroom feed?”
My mind spins. Maverick. Beau. Bedroom. Then it hits me. A couple of days ago, security cameras were hidden all over my house—including in my bedroom. I wasn’t suggesting that he watch me. I simply wanted to know if he thought it was his job to watch me every second.
“He’s not a stalker. Quite the opposite—he didn’t talk to you for years.” She draws it out, and a heavy sigh wafts through the phone.
I stand up and walk to the office doorway. The framing is up and the electrical has been run, but the plumbing, drywall, and the windows and doors need to be installed. Ben’s team has some surveillance equipment to place around the office before they can get to that. One thing at a time. Beau said they’re coming tonight, under the veil of darkness, probably in an ACME Electrical truck like in the cartoons.
Beau’s back faces me, and the shirt he’s wearing molds to the muscles across his back. He points out something to the construction manager. Beau accepts and delegates responsibility with ease. Men twice his age take orders from him, no questions asked. He’s mesmerizing, not just on the outside, but on the inside, too. Always has been.
“Do you know how it feels to be constantly watched? I’m not having sex with anyone but myself.”
She snickers. “So, you do want him watching?”
My intercom crackles, and Mrs. Potts’s hoarse voice booms through. “Mr. Fitch is on line two. Please answer because I can’t take this man annoying me any longer.”
Pressing the button on my archaic landline phone, I put my chipper voice on. “How are you?”
