The Rule Maker (Rule Breakers) by Jennifer Blackwood

Author:Jennifer Blackwood [Blackwood, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: na, Forced proximity, client/employee relationship, the Rule Book, new adult, second chance, contemporary romance, coworkers, Jennifer Blackwood, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-01-15T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Ryder

Three days later, Jason ventured back into his office. I drove him and then made my way to the resort to oversee the gut job.

Did I need to be there? No. But a certain designer would be, and that was enough of a reason to make the two-hour trip.

When I parked my truck in the lot, I saw a large dumpster in the middle of the courtyard lawn, three men carrying an old, dusty sofa out to it. Zoey circled the men, directing them, waving her hands wildly. Her hair was pulled back today, and she was dressed casually in jeans and a hoodie. She’d be beautiful dressed in a garbage bag, I decided. My chest tightened as I took in the sight of her, so confident and at ease in her domain.

I made it halfway up the path before she zoned in on my presence.

She put her hands on her hips, but a smile graced her lips. “What are you doing here?”

“Wanted to make sure everything’s running smoothly for you.”

“We’ve hit a couple of snags with disassembling some of the furniture, but otherwise we’re good.” She swiped a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

I jutted my chin toward the lodge. “Need any help?”

“Careful what you wish for.” A rueful smile crossed her red lips, and I shifted restlessly.

Right now, I wished for a lot of things, none of them appropriate to mention to her. I’d respect her decision to keep things professional, even if it killed me.

After a beat of hesitation, she said, “You can help me sort through the clutter in the back closet.”

We made our way through the resort to the back of the building where there were bookshelves overflowing with garbage, brass figurines, and books. Zoey pulled a large metal trash can into the room and began plucking unusable items off the shelves and tossing them into the receptacle.

After a moment, she paused, put her hands on her hips, and took a deep, bracing breath while she stared at the room. “I was surprised Jason picked this place. It’s just so different from the building he had me renovate last year.”

I ground my teeth, deciding whether or not to tell her the real reason we were all working on this crap hole of a resort. I’d already let on that he’d bought it for personal reasons. It only seemed fitting she know the whole story. “This was one of my mom’s favorite places.” It came out before I could put too much thought into it. Zoey was easy to talk to, much easier than most people.

A golf ball bounced to the ground as Zoey continued to rummage through the shelves. “Was?”

I grabbed a plaque for the 1997 Bingo Championship and palmed it. “She passed away when I was ten.”

She frowned. “I lost mine when I was thirteen.”

The pain of losing my parents was there, but it had dulled over time. I could see it in her eyes as well.

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