Her Boss by Arrangement. Teresa Carpenter
turned to look unseeing out the window, feeling as if he’d spanked a puppy. She was the one in need of a spanking. If she’d gracefully accepted the blame when he’d first arrived, he would have left immediately and been sitting down to a nice meal at Antonio’s right now.
On cue his stomach rumbled.
Ignoring it, ignoring her, he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
* * *
Tori kept her eyes on the road. In another ten minutes she’d drop his ungrateful hide off at the curb. She couldn’t wait.
Thank heavens the meds finally kicked in and he fell asleep, lifting the need for conversation. If you counted grunts and sarcasm as conversation. She got it. He’d had a bad year. But there was no reason to take it out on her.
She took the off-ramp that led to Obsidian Studios and The Old Manor House. He deserved to live alone in a spooky old place. The house got its name shortly after it was built because the house and grounds were used in an old black-and-white movie of the same name. The movie became a Gothic horror classic. It scared her spitless as a kid.
Only a few more blocks.
Then she heard it again, the rumble of his stomach. Her brow puckered as she tried to recall if he’d mentioned staff. He probably had a cook and a housekeeper, right? She had no doubt whatsoever that his father would have had a staff. But Garrett spent several months in the hospital. It was totally possible the staff had been let go. Especially as Garrett had his own home.
Dang it. Sometimes she was too nice for her own good, but she couldn’t leave him at the curb both hurt and hungry.
Dark had fallen and she panned the street in front of her and then in the rearview mirror. Spotting the pink neon sign of a fast-food Chinese restaurant, she whipped a U-turn and zipped into the parking lot. Perfect.
She glanced at Garrett, who didn’t move. Good. She may be willing to feed him, but she was done talking to the man. Grabbing her purse, she went inside. The savory scents of East Asia immediately enveloped the senses. The smell of garlic, ginger, onions and chicken made her mouth water.
Yes, this would do nicely for dinner. Having no idea what Garrett liked, she requested both beef and chicken items. He didn’t strike her as a vegetarian. Too much the predator.
Back in the car she tucked the bags behind the passenger seat and reengaged the GPS. A few minutes later she turned into a gated drive. Of course it would have security.
Man, she’d really been anticipating the curb.
“Mr. Black,” she called, hoping to rouse him. He didn’t move, so she said his name again, louder. Then she shook his arm. “Garrett!”
His pale eyes opened, appearing silver in the glare of the spotlight aimed at the SUV. The light triggered when she pulled up to the security display situated just short of the ten-foot-high brick wall. Garrett blinked at her and then the house.
“We’re here.” His voice was thick with sleep.
“Yes. I need the code.”
He rattled off a number, the gate began to open and she inched forward. A groan sounded next to her as Garrett shifted in his seat. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw him scrub his hands over his face.
Once she cleared the gate, streetlights came on showing the way to the house in the distance. She drove a quarter mile curving around to the front of the house, where the drive circled a large fountain. Six steps led up to an extensive porch. That presented a problem.
“Is there a better spot to drop you?” she asked. “An entrance without steps?”
“Yeah, pull around to the back. There are only two steps up to the back porch.”
She followed his directions and stopped so her lights shined on the steps. A gray cat sprang up and darted away.
“No cat, huh?”
“I’ve never seen it before.”
“Of course not.” As if she believed that.
“And it hasn’t been in my car.” He opened his door and slid out. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Wait.” She hurried around the front of the SUV to reach his side.
“I don’t need your help.” He advised her, the short nap unfortunately not improving his disposition.
“Probably not.” She agreed and took his arm. “You’re getting it anyway. It’s dark and the ground is uneven. I prefer not to take any chances.”
A put-upon sigh filled the chill November evening. Once they reached the porch, he made a point of climbing them unassisted. Irritating man!
But good. She didn’t need to worry about leaving him. At the bottom of the stairs she waited until he opened the door and turned on the light.
“Good night, Ms. Randall.”
“Good night, Mr. Black.” Good riddance, more like.
“Oh, wait.” She ran to the SUV and came back with the white bag of food. Climbing to the porch she crossed to him and pushed the package into his arms. “Bon appétit. You probably shouldn’t feed the cat.”
LAUREN WALKED AROUND Tori’s Mustang and slid into the passenger seat as her sister made her way to the back door of The Old Manor House. She heard Tori’s knock just before she closed the door.
Lauren wasn’t sure she bought Tori’s explanation that Black had been driving by and decided to stop by their showroom to introduce himself. But there had to be some truth to the part where he hurt his leg and couldn’t drive or he never would have left his Maserati.
The light over the back door came on and Garrett Black opened the door. He stepped outside wearing only a pair of low hanging gray sweatpants and nothing more. Oh, my. She found his muscular physique impressive even as far away as the vehicle where she sat. The two exchanged words and for a moment she envied Tori her closer view.
But then she felt the warmth growing in her chest. Her eyes went wide as the feeling grew. It dimmed as Tori moved away from Black, stomped down the steps and got back in Garret’s car. Across the way a garage door opened. Tori drove the Maserati inside.
She reappeared, returned to the back porch and dropped the keys into Black’s outstretched hand with more force than necessary. The closer Tori drew to Black, the stronger the warmth bloomed in Lauren’s chest. Distracted by the discovery, she jumped when Tori suddenly opened the driver’s door and slid inside.
“Ungrateful beast.” Tori slammed the Mustang in Reverse.
“He wasn’t happy to have his car returned?”
“Not in the least.” Gravel sprayed as she headed for the gate. “Nobody drives his car but him.”
“You drove it the other night.” Lauren pointed out.
“That’s what I said. It appears valets are an exception.”
She laughed at Tori’s outrage and decided to test her. “You like him.”
“Are you insane?” Tori exclaimed, sending Lauren a sideways glare. “The man has the manners of a mule.”
“And the body of a stud.”
Her twin remained silent until they cleared the gate and turned toward the freeway.
“Come on, Tori. You’re not blind.”
She rolled her eyes, but Lauren saw the corner of her sister’s mouth twitch.
“OMG, he’s hot.” Tori fanned herself. “He had to repeat himself because I was staring. It was mortifying.”
Oh, yeah. There was no