Elevating Eve (Fairford Affairs #4)

6. Eve

CHAPTER 6

Eve

I t only took Jonathan and Aiden a week to choose two potential construction companies to finish the new building. And good God, they were eager to land the job. At both consultations, the company owners fell all over themselves in their efforts to suck up to Jonathan and Aiden. Eve spent the whole time on the verge of death by secondhand embarrassment.

She could only imagine the exorbitant amount of money on offer to get the project back on schedule. No wonder the two men made such fools of themselves.

She waited in the study on the Manor’s first floor while Jonathan and Aiden showed the owner of the second company out. Eve didn’t think it was her place to have any say in the selection process, but when Jonathan insisted, she’d agreed to tag along for the meetings.

Hopefully they didn’t pressure her into offering too many opinions, because she had a feeling they wouldn’t like anything she had to say.

Only a few minutes ticked by on the carriage clock on the mantle before the men returned. “Thank God that’s over,” Aiden said, dropping unceremoniously into one of the overstuffed leather armchairs. “I thought he’d never stop talking. My next guest is arriving in less than an hour. ”

Jonathan took one of the remaining chairs with much more care, careful not to wrinkle his suit. “Let’s not waste any time, then. What do you think?”

A contemplative look stole into Aiden’s kind brown eyes. “It’s tough to say,” he said, speaking slowly as gears continued turning in his head. “I think both would do a good job. LGF might be the obvious choice?—”

“Since they’re cheaper,” Jonathan supplied.

“Right. But Crane & Faber has a bigger team. I think they’d do the work faster.” Aiden shrugged. “So it all depends on what’s most important to us.”

Eve sat perfectly still in her chair, careful to keep any sort of reaction off her face. Not her money, not her decision. She repeated that over and over in her mind.

“Agreed,” Jonathan said with a thoughtful nod. “And given how far behind schedule we already are, I think it might be worth a little extra money to get us back on track.”

Aiden considered that in silence for a bit, and she could practically see a pros and cons list written in his eyes. “It would make Remy happy.”

That was certainly true. The Manor’s Director of Event Planning emailed her at least once a week asking for updates on his shiny new event space. Or at least he used to email her once a week. She supposed someone at Crane & Faber would soon have that honor.

How unfortunate.

She almost said something. Almost. She pressed her lips together and stayed silent.

“So is that it?” Aiden asked, peeking at his watch and wincing. “Are we going with Crane & Faber?”

Jonathan started to answer, but then stopped himself, finally looking at her. “What do you think?”

Well, shit. A ball of dread formed low in her belly. “I don’t really think it’s my place to say.”

Jonathan’s expression made one thing perfectly clear—he wouldn’t accept such a bullshit answer. “You’ve been in this business your entire life. I’m asking for your expert opinion. ”

“Aiden’s also an expert. You already have his opinion.” She knew it wouldn’t work, but she had to try.

Gracing her with a kind smile, Aiden said, “My area of expertise is a little different. But I appreciate you saying so.”

“God save me from stubborn men,” she muttered, earning a frown from Jonathan and a chuckle from Aiden.

“You’re the only one here being stubborn,” Jonathan said, giving her his full Dom look for the first time ever, and holy mother of God, it was a good thing she was already sitting down. She felt weak in the knees.

With a steadying breath, Eve forced herself to stay calm. “It would make me uncomfortable to make a decision that could have a major financial impact on your business. I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

“I’m not asking you to make the decision.” Jonathan ran a hand through his perfect hair, knocking several strands out of place. “I just want your opinion.”

He was really getting frustrated now, and all her experiences with Frank told her to give him what he wanted.

Fuck that.

She didn’t think anything on the planet would make Jonathan react the way Frank did. And after sixteen years of being a total doormat, she couldn’t resist the urge to poke the bear. “Well, as the saying goes, you can’t always get what you want.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Jonathan snapped. “Are you serious right now?”

A euphoric sense of power coursed through her, and a laugh bubbled up out of her throat. She clamped her teeth together, trapping the sound inside, but it was too late.

Something dangerous—and remarkably sexy—flashed in Jonathan’s eyes. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Um.” She looked to Aiden for assistance, but the man might as well have had a bucket of popcorn on his lap. He was too busy enjoying the show to come to her aid. “No?”

“No,” he repeated, his voice a low growl. “I see.” Standing, he crossed the space between them, until she had to crane her neck to see his face .

Fuck, he was tall. And this close, his scent seemed to surround her. So . Damn . Good . He had to be wearing the same cologne as last week, when he held her while she cried—woodsmoke and heather. It made her want to leap up and wrap herself around him.

“Now that I have your attention,” he said, the look on his face making her pussy flutter, “let me make one thing perfectly clear. I told you I wouldn’t take advantage of a hurt and vulnerable woman, and I meant it. But I’m an incredibly patient man. I can wait. So if you think you’re getting away with something right now, think agai?—”

“Neither,” she blurted.

Jonathan’s head jerked back in surprise. “Excuse me?”

Goddamnit. She didn’t mean to say that. But the way he looked at her made the word fly right out of her mouth.

Oh, well. In for a penny, in for a pound.

“I don’t think you should hire either of them. They both suck.”

A range of emotions crossed Jonathan’s face one after the other—shock, confusion, anger, frustration. At last, he looked over at Aiden, seemingly at a loss for words.

Aiden’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and one corner of his mouth twitched. “Be careful what you wish for.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Jonathan demanded.

The other man only shrugged.

He rounded on Eve again. “You’re just saying that to irritate me.”

“No, I refused to tell you my opinion to irritate you.” She resisted the urge to smirk. That wouldn’t help her case. “Now I’m just doing what you asked me to do.”

“But why wouldn’t I hire one of them?” The muscles in his jaw ticked. “They’re both well-known, established companies with hundreds of positive testimonials. I liked both of their presentations. They?—”

“Of course you liked their presentations,” Eve said, rolling her eyes. “You had your ass kissed for a solid four hours today. Who wouldn’t like that?”

Jonathan’s mouth dropped open. In all the months she’d known him, she’d never seen him look so uncomposed. This new side of him fascinated her .

Taking a step back, he pulled on the ends of his sleeves and the bottom hem of his jacket almost absently, as if he didn’t realize he was doing it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, trying to sound calm and in control again.

Arching her brows as high as she could, she crossed her arms and gave him a sardonic look. “I’m sure you don’t. People have been kissing your ass for so long, you don’t even know how to recognize it anymore.”

Jonathan couldn’t have looked more stunned if she spontaneously donned an ostrich feather tail and started doing the cancan.

Across the room, Aiden made a garbled choking noise and hurried over to the side table full of booze. His shoulders shook ever so slightly as he poured himself a drink.

“See?” Eve tilted her head in Aiden’s direction. “He knows what I’m talking about.”

“Hey, leave me out of this,” Aiden said, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. “I need to go get ready for my guest. Good luck.” A deep amber liquid sloshed in his tumbler as he sauntered out of the room, throwing a fleeting smile over his shoulder when he shut the door.

They stared at each other, the tension in the room so heavy, the air felt too thick to breathe. It sent a thrill down her spine that she hadn’t felt in decades.

“You’re used to people doing what you tell them to do.” She didn’t bother phrasing it as a question.

He snorted. “Of course I am. I’m a professional Dom. That’s literally my job.”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Eve said, shaking her head. “I’m not talking about your guests. I’m talking about everyone else.”

Jonathan frowned, but he didn’t answer.

“Everyone here defers to you,” she said, tilting her head toward the door Aiden just exited. “Even your business partners. I noticed it the first day I met you all.”

She could tell he wanted to deny it, but the truth was written all over his face.

“No one really challenges you anymore, do they?” Standing, she reached out a tentative hand, her fingertips brushing against his sleeve. “Doesn’t that get boring?”

“You never challenged Talley at all,” he shot back. “Didn’t that get boring?”

Eve let her hand fall back to her side. “Boring isn’t the word I’d use to describe it,” she said softly.

Shame washed over his face, settling in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“I stopped trying to stand up to Frank because everything always went to shit when I did.” She didn’t know why she felt a burning need to explain, but the words continued to pour out of her. “I couldn’t leave. So I made things as easy for myself as I could.”

“Why couldn’t you leave?” It wasn’t an accusation this time—just an honest question.

She looked down at her hands as she began fiddling with the heavy gold ring. “DHFT was all I had left of my dad. If I ended things with Frank...if I lost that job...”

“Oh, Eve.” So much understanding and compassion filled those two words.

Blinking away tears, she tried for a nonchalant shrug. “By the time I realized how much of myself I gave up for him, there was hardly any of me left anymore. And look what I have to show for it. No job, no home, no anything. Just this.” She held up her right hand.

“The ring was your dad’s?”

She nodded, finally giving in to her tears.

Jonathan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her gently against his chest. “No wonder it’s so important to you,” he said as he traced a gentle pattern on her back. “But it’s not the only thing you have.”

Her laugh was bitter. “Oh, yeah. My life’s just peachy.”

“I mean it.” He pushed her out to arm’s length, waiting until she met his gaze before continuing. “You may not have your job at DHFT anymore, but you still have every single thing your dad taught you when you worked with him. You’re the only person at that whole damn company I trusted to know the answer when I had a question. Did you know that? ”

Emotion clogged her throat, keeping her voice trapped inside. She shook her head instead.

“That’s why I wanted your opinion today. You know more about the construction business than anyone I’ve ever met.” Reaching up, he brushed her tears away with his thumb. “And that’s something Frank fucking Talley can’t ever take away from you, no matter what company you work for.”

God, she really wanted to kiss him now. She’d never wanted someone more in her whole life.

Soon , she promised her raging libido.

Stepping back, she took a moment to compose herself. “Thank you,” she said when at last she had her tears under control. Her voice still shook slightly, but it would have to do. “That really means a lot to me. I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

“Don’t let yourself forget it,” Jonathan said, voice kind but firm. “I obviously didn’t know your dad, but he must have been a hell of a man for you to admire him so much. A man like that would be proud of everything you’ve accomplished. He’d want you to be happy.”

“Oh, God, I’m gonna cry again.” She covered her eyes with one hand and took several deep breaths. “Change the subject before I completely lose it.”

Without missing a beat, he asked, “Why do both companies suck?”

Eve smiled as her hand dropped back to her side. She couldn’t help herself. “You don’t give up, do you?”

“It’s the first thing I could think of,” he said with a rueful smile.

She rolled her eyes. Of course it was. “Okay, okay. You win. LGF is too small for the project. They’ll hire a bunch of people really fast the second you give them their first check, but this is northern Vermont. They won’t have a talent pool deep enough to get actual skilled laborers, and they’ll have to take anyone willing to come all the way up here for the next several months. In the end, they’ll do a piss-poor job, and it’ll end up costing you a fortune to fix it.”

Jonathan’s eyes grew wider and wider the longer she talked. “Wow. Okay. LGF is out. What about Crane & Faber, though? They’re the largest construction company in the region. They were on our short list the first time, in fact.”

“Cole Faber is a decent guy, and he knows what he’s doing. If it was him who came today, and he’d be overseeing the project, I’d have no objections.”

“But?” he prompted.

“But Larry Crane is a raging alcoholic who can’t keep his hands to himself when he’s had too much to drink.” She’d been at the receiving end of his drunken advances more than once at conferences over the years. The fucker. After the first time she put him on his ass, she never went anywhere alone when she knew he was around. “That’s the last thing you want at a resort full of beautiful, half naked women. It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

“Jesus.” Jonathan raked a hand through his hair. “That’s putting it mildly.”

She sighed. “Sorry. I know you want to get a new crew in here as fast as possible.”

“I want to get the right crew in here as fast as possible,” he corrected. “Trust me, I appreciate the info. Is there anyone you would recommend?”

A few names popped into her head immediately. “Maybe.” She’d need to do some research and make a couple phone calls first. “Let me think on it. I’ll have some options in your inbox by tomorrow morning.”

Jonathan’s smile was more than a little smug once he finally got his way.

She wanted to kiss it right off his stupid, gorgeous face.

Soon, she told herself again. If he could be patient, so could she.

Enough lusting after someone she knew she couldn’t have yet. She had a shattered life to piece back together. First step: find a new job.

Exhaustion had seeped deep into Eve’s bones by the time she pulled into the parking lot behind her hotel. How was it that a difficult conversation drained her as much as a full day of labor on a jobsite, if not more?

Sighing, she climbed out of her car and headed around the side of the inn. As she rounded the final corner onto Main Street, she froze, her heart pounding like she was a rabbit caught in a fox’s gaze.

Frank leaned against the brick wall between her and the door, looking down at his phone.

Shitshitshitshitshit.

Options ran through her mind in a rapid-fire procession.

One: confront him. Yeah, fuck no. She tried that already. The still-healing gash on her face proved she shouldn’t try it again, at least not on her own.

Two: call Jonathan. She dismissed that idea even faster than the first one. It would take him twenty minutes to get here—maybe ten if he drove like a maniac. And the last thing she wanted was for him to get into an accident, especially when his arrival would be too late no matter what.

That left option three: turn around and run. And do what, exactly? Move to another hotel?

Go back to the Manor, her panicked brain insisted, and the thought calmed her ever so slightly. Jonathan wanted her to stay at the Manor anyway. He wouldn’t object if she had to spend a night or two there.

Mind made up, she started to creep backward into the alley between the inn and the boutique clothing shop next door. That’s when Frank finally decided to look up.

Their gazes locked, and she was back to being the goddamned rabbit. Every muscle in her body locked in place as her mind screamed impotently for her to turn tail and flee.

“Eve.” He used that ultra calm, I’m-the-one-being-reasonable-while-you’re-overreacting voice he always did after he screwed up big time. “Don’t you think this has gone on long enough? It’s time to come home.”

Fuck. You.

She was so fucking sick of all the gaslighting. It had to stop.

Now.

Forcing herself to breathe in and out, she waited for her heart to slow, for some of the feeling to return to her limbs. Not trusting herself to make it to her car before he caught up with her—not when her legs felt like jelly beneath her—she moved toward Frank with slow, deliberate steps. If this had to happen, she wanted it to be on a public street, not in an alleyway or secluded parking lot.

“Frank,” she acknowledged, trying for that same frustrating-ass tone he used. It sort of worked. “I know you already heard from my lawyer. I have nothing else to say to you.”

Jonathan’s lawyer had offered to represent her pro bono, and promised to be present during any future interviews with the police. So far, she’d only spoken to Tabitha via Zoom, but Eve liked the woman already. She somehow managed to have a no-nonsense attitude, getting straight to the facts, while also exuding a gentle kindness that set her at ease immediately.

In fact, Tabitha reminded her of that badass lady cop—the one who made the two male cops looming over her and barking questions fuck off and give her some space.

Lifting her chin into the air, Eve tried to walk past Frank and head inside. She expected him to reach out and stop her, but her skin still crawled when he did it.

With another deep breath, she forced herself to meet her ex’s eyes. “Let go of me, Frank.”

“Not until you talk to me. You’ve taken this too far, sweetie, and I think you know it.”

Stay calm. Frank had to know he’d be even more fucked if he hurt her again. Especially with a street full of witnesses this time.

“Don’t call me sweetie,” she said in the coldest voice she could muster. “I broke up with you, remember?”

His condescending smile made her want to scream. “We both know you didn’t mean that.”

She wanted to punch him in the mouth. To claw at his eyes. To scream every enraged thought she’d ever had about him at the top of her lungs.

But Tabitha had made it abundantly clear that she couldn’t give in to any of those desires. Right now, she had all the power. In a legal sense anyway. The dumbest thing she could possibly do would be to give it up.

With a calmness she didn’t remotely feel, she gave the hand gripping her upper arm a pointed look, and then glanced at the credit union across the street. “That bank’s security cameras are recording us right now. And as I understand it, it was a condition of your bail that you’re not allowed to contact me in any way. So I’m going to say it one more time, Frank. Let go of me.”

The smug confidence drained from his eyes more and more with each word. By the time she finished speaking, it had been replaced by something else—something she’d never seen in all her years with him.

Fear.

A feeling of power crackled and buzzed inside her with all the intensity of an imminent thunderstorm. When Frank pulled his hand away and took a step back, it was like lightning striking her heart, charging her, bringing her back to life.

“Don’t contact me again,” she said, striding past him and straight into the Fairford Inn, never once looking back.