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Bright sunlight beats down from a clear blue sky, baking the city. The smell of warm asphalt hangs in the air, and sweat trickles down my spine even though I’m only wearing a short skirt and a light top in a thin white material.
If we had bothered to check the weather forecast, we would’ve known that there was a heatwave coming this week, and then we wouldn’t have decided to pick this particular day. But we didn’t check the weather forecast, so here we are, traipsing across the city and doing lots of odd jobs for businesses in exchange for them donating something to our silent auction.
Not that I’m doing much of the work. Or any of it, really. I took one look outside this morning and decided that I would not be performing any sort of demanding tasks in this kind of heat.
So I made a deal with Jace. In exchange for him doing all of the work today, I have promised to not sneak away or ditch him for the entire rest of the week. And given that it’s only Monday, I’d say that he is getting one hell of a great deal out of this bargain. But then again, given the size of the lawn he just mowed, I suppose that I am too.
“You’d better hold up your end of the bargain, little demon,” Jace threatens as he casts me a look from the corner of his eye while we continue towards the next business on our list.
We decided that it would be more efficient if our entire event group split up so that we could cover four times as many businesses instead of going to one at a time as a group. Right now, I’m very glad that I pushed for that strategy since it means that the rest of my group will never know that I didn’t actually do any of the work.
“I don’t know what you’re complaining about,” I reply as I flick a nonchalant glance at him. “It’s not that hot.”
He turns to face me, that glower still on his features. “Not if you’re standing in the shade, no. But if you’re walking back and forth across a damn field with a lawnmower…”
“It was just a lawn.”
“The size of a football field!”
“Now you’re just being dramatic.”
Locking eyes with me, he stabs his finger at me in warning as he repeats, “You’d better hold up your end of the bargain. No bullshit this entire week. Or I swear to God, I will fucking handcuff you to your bed and leave you there.”
Lightning shoots through me at the memory of what he did the last time he handcuffed me, but I manage to keep the expression off my face as I instead flash him a smile full of challenge. “If you handcuff me again, I’m going to call the police and tell them that you kidnapped me.”
A villainous smile curls his lips. “Good luck with that. My family owns the police department in this city.”
“Oh really? I bet I could buy them out from right underneath you.”
“You forget, my family is rich too.”
“Not as rich as mine.”
“True. But we can also threaten to kill their loved ones if they don’t do as we say.” His eyes gleam as he gives me a wicked grin. “And money plus the threat of a dead loved one trumps just money every day of the week.”
I scoff.
He smirks. “Face it, little demon. You’ve been outmaneuvered. So keep your end of the bargain or find yourself handcuffed and with no police coming to save you.”
Scoffing again, I make a show of rolling my eyes at him. But I can’t stop the smile that pulls at my lips.
Usually when I flaunt my wealth or power, people get uncomfortable. Especially men. They grimace faintly and shift their weight and try to change the subject as quickly as possible. But not Jace. He never seems to find it off-putting when I throw my weight around. Instead, he just meets me with the same energy. And I have to admit, I quite like that.
With that smile now fully on my lips, I try to turn away so that Jace won’t see it. But it’s too late. He has already seen it. Thankfully, he doesn’t point it out. Instead, a soft smile blows across his own lips.
We close the final distance to the next business in comfortable silence.
It’s a car dealership. Not one of the fancy ones. Just a regular one that normal people buy their cars from. I spoke to the owner, Richard Dalton, on the phone last week, and he has agreed to donate one of his cheapest models in exchange for some help. And for the publicity that comes with being featured at a silent auction hosted by none other than the Ashford heir, of course.
“Ms. Ashford,” Richard Dalton exclaims as he comes bustling out of the door the moment we set foot on the massive parking lot in front of the building.
We weave through the sea of cars while he hurries towards us. He reaches us halfway across the parking lot. His brown hair is damp at the temples, and sweat slides down his neck. Given that he is wearing not only a dress shirt but also an actual suit jacket on top of it, I’m not surprised.
“I’m so honored that you want to include my humble business in your venture,” he says as he shakes my hand.
His palm is also a bit damp. I smile while discreetly wiping my hand on the side of my skirt after we finish shaking. Jace, who as usual misses nothing, doesn’t even bother hiding the amusement on his face.
“Of course,” I reply. “I’m so glad that you wanted to be a part of it.” Clearing my throat, I motion towards Jace before he can start outright grinning. “This is Jace, he is the one who is going to be helping you with…” I frown. “I’m sorry, what was it that you needed help with again?”
