Текст книги "Checkmate"

Автор книги: R. L. Mathewson

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"How many men do you have working for you full-time?" Connor asked, drawing her attention away from her rather disturbing thoughts.

"Fifty and I have another ten men that I already screened and interviewed for the job," she answered, not caring if he knew any of this. They were working together, kind of, so they'd have to share a few things.

Connor nodded as he digested the information. He placed his now empty beer bottle on the banister behind him. "How many are certified?"

"All of them."

"Can paint?"

"All of them."

"Interesting," Connor mumbled, but she didn't think it was. Her father made damn sure that she knew how to build a house from top to bottom and she made sure that all of her employees did as well. If they didn't know how to paint, drywall, put up siding, or do masonry work then she made sure they learned. Since every man that worked for her knew how to do every job she didn't have to put up with delays or waste money by hiring outside help. She also didn't have to waste time stressing over schedules or try to figure out who knew how to do what since all of her men were trained to do whatever was needed of them.

"Anything else?" she asked, itching to get back inside and go over the plans.

"Are you in a rush?" Connor asked, chuckling.

"No," she said, shrugging. "I just don't like you."

"I'm the best part of your day and you know it," he said and she knew that he truly believed it.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, big guy. Are we done yet?"

But Connor wouldn't let it go, he never did. "Admit that I'm the best part of your day," he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he gave her a cocky smile.

"I can honestly say with absolutely no hesitation that you, Connor O'Neil, have never been the best part of my day," she said, wondering, not for the first time, what horrible things she'd done in a past life to deserve having him in her life.

"Puhlease, that's bullshit and we both know it. I bet you fall asleep every night thinking about me and wake up every morning smiling and eager to see me," he mused, sounding smug, too damn smug.

"Actually, you have that backwards," she said, taking a sip of her perfect hot cocoa.

"Really?"

"Mmmhmmm," she said around another sip.

"How so?"

"Well," she said, placing her cup of delicious hot cocoa on the small patio table, "I fall asleep every night smiling because I no longer have to worry about seeing you for at least eight hours and wake up every morning thinking about how to avoid you."

"But you're still thinking about me and smiling when you do it," he said with a wink, leaning over and swiping her hot cocoa before she could stop him.

"Hey!" she said, trying to grab it out of his hands, but the damn man simply cupped the top of her head and held her back as he downed her delicious hot cocoa. She hated when he did this to her. It made her feel foolish and little and as soon as she got the chance she was kicking his ass.

"You bastard!" she hissed when he made a big show of smacking his lips.

"That was a damn good cup of cocoa, Rory. Thanks," he said, handing her back the cup as he dropped his hand away from her head.

"How could you?" she mumbled as she looked longingly down at the now empty coffee cup where her delicious hot cocoa had once been.

"Are you ready to admit that I'm the best part of your day?" he asked, leaning back against the banister.

She glared up at him before looking back down at the empty coffee cup in her hand and then back up at him.

"Aw, shit," he said, turning and jumping over the banister, crouching down on his own porch just as she let the coffee cup fly.

When it missed his head by a few inches she groaned. So damn close, yet not close enough, she thought as it slammed into the side of his house and shattered.

"Well, I guess we'll have to continue this conversation tomorrow night when you're in a better mood," Connor said, standing.

"I'll make sure to bring plenty of coffee cups," she said sweetly.

"Good," Connor said, sauntering towards his sliding glass door, "because I could really go for another cup of that delicious cocoa," he said, laughing when his beer bottle sailed through the air towards him.

"Damn it!" She groaned when she missed him again.

When the hell was her luck going to change?

Chapter 4

Connor couldn't help grinning as he took the turn off for Strawberry Manor. His eyes darted to his rear view mirror to check on the long line of employee trucks and equipment following him and then to the dashboard clock. It was almost seven o'clock and there hadn't been a sign of Rory or her team anywhere on the way over here.

When he snuck out of his house an hour ago he'd been shocked to find her Jeep still in the driveway. He really thought the eager little thing was going to give him a run for his money, but she hadn't. Hell, she hadn't even rigged his truck so that it wouldn't start. It seemed as though she really didn't want this as much as he did, which was kind of surprising. After he let the air out of her tires he left for work, wondering if he even had to worry about her getting in his way after all.

As far as he was concerned, this early bird definitely caught the worm, the worm being Strawberry Manor of course. Clearly he wanted this project more than Rory. If she wanted it half as badly as he did, she would have had her beautiful ass up at the crack of dawn like he had so she could be here getting everything set up and making an official claim on the project. But, she didn't and hadn't, so this project was his. He couldn't wait to see her face when she realized that he stole the lead.

He thought of all the different ways to rub it in her face as he drove his truck over the rough broken road. The half mile road and parking lot would have to be replaced soon so they could get equipment and materials up here safely. The thick brush that hugged the private road would also have to be pruned back, but not too much. His client wanted to keep the little trip from the road to the hotel, beautiful. It wouldn't be too hard, he thought as he took the last curve on the private road. They could cut back the trees and shrub ten feet on each side to widen the private road. Then they could-

"Son of a bitch!" he practically shouted as the hotel and grounds came into view.

This was not happening! This was not fucking happening!

A horn honking behind him made him realize that he'd come to a sudden stop. Cursing Rory James to hell, he pulled off to the side where an impromptu parking lot had been created and parked between two pickup trucks. He jumped out of his truck and looked around in disbelief as his crew found spots and parked.

Not only had she managed to beat him here this morning, but she had the entire construction site set up. Where he'd planned to place his office trailer tomorrow, she had one with tan vinyl siding that looked newer and larger than his. Thanks to the overgrown vegetation and uneven terrain and large equipment there was nowhere for him to place his trailer.

His eyes quickly ran over the rest of the property. Her large trucks and equipment were lined up along the west side of the property. There were four large dumpsters placed close to each end of the mansion with a makeshift dirt road leading to the cracked parking lot. Hell, she already had several equipment sheds placed as well as latrines.

Was that a lunch truck?

"How the hell did she do all this?" he mumbled to himself as he grabbed his hard hat, briefcase, and tool belt before slamming his truck door shut and stormed off towards the trailer.

When he wasn't even ten feet away, the door to the trailer opened and Rory James stepped out looking innocent as she sipped what had to be a cup of cocoa.

"Good afternoon, Connor," she said brightly when her eyes landed on him.

"It's morning," he bit out as he stormed past her and into the rather comfortable looking trailer.

"Oh, is it? It feels like afternoon, but that probably has something to do with the fact that we've been here for hours," she mused.

"I can see that," he said, shooting her secretary, her male secretary he might add, a glare as he walked through what appeared to be the waiting room and into the back room that he figured would probably be the office and he was right.

The office was large, but not large enough. There was hardly enough room as it was for the large desk, drafting table, chairs and filing cabinets that took up the majority of the room. This wouldn't do.

Not at all.

He turned around, not at all surprised to find the little cocoa addict leaning against the doorframe, sipping the cocoa that he was tempted to snatch away from her.

"You need to have the trailer towed out of here," he explained in what he thought was a reasonable tone.

"No," she simply said with a shrug.

"Move it or I'll tow it myself," he snapped.

"Not going to happen," she said, taking a slow sip of her cocoa.

"Yes, you will," he said, getting into her face.

"It's so sad that you think that you can push me around," she said, patting his cheek condescendingly before she stepped past him.

"You're going to have to move your trailer, Rory. I need my office," he bit out through clenched teeth.

"So do I," she said.

"What for?" he demanded, tossing his shit on the small loveseat by the door.

"To work, what else?" she asked, throwing him a frown.

"To fetch my drinks and be at my beck and call?" he asked, shaking his head. "Nope, you don't need an office for that. All you need is a little chair in the corner and I think we can manage that."

"Be at your beck and call?" she asked, sounding amused and pissing him off.

Why in the hell would she think he was joking about something like that?

"Yup, and if you do a good job I might just let you wash my truck," he said, feeling generous.

"How long exactly have you been delusional?" she asked as she leaned over to grab something from one of her desk drawers.

"About a month, give or take a few weeks," he mumbled distractedly as he watched one of the first fantasies he'd ever had come to life.

Was he dead? he wondered, but decided he really didn't care as Rory pulled off her black tee shirt and tossed it aside like it was nothing, revealing a flat, lightly tanned stomach that he'd love to lick, kiss and caress. He swallowed hard as he took in the tight fitting black sports bra with the large breasts that threatened to pop out.

He should probably care or at least wonder why she was stripping in front of him, but he didn't. The only thing that mattered was that she was in fact stripping in front of him and none of the fantasies he'd had over the years about her body were even close to the real thing.

"Rory, I-" her secretary started to say as he walked into the office.

With a muttered curse for interrupting his fantasy come to life, Connor shoved the man out of the room and slammed the door shut on his very surprised face before turning a glare on Rory.

She frowned at him while she pulled on a grey Shadow Construction tank top. "What was that about?"

"What the hell is wrong with you stripping in front of your employees like that?" he demanded, barely resisting the urge to yell at the woman.

Rory rolled her eyes as she fixed her ponytail. "It's just a sports bra, Connor. Nothing to get excited about," she said and he just barely stopped himself from correcting her.

"You shouldn't be stripping in front of your employees. What if he sues?" he demanded, barely reigning in his temper when all he wanted to do was throttle the woman for covering up.

"I would never sue!" her secretary yelled from behind the door. "I'm willing to sign a waiver!"

"Go away!" Connor snapped in no mood for this bullshit. They had work to do and if Rory decided that she'd be more comfortable wearing something else then he would just have to suck it up and be a gentleman while she changed her shirt again.

"I need to get to work," Rory said, stepping around the desk and walked towards him, "so unless you can walk and bitch at the same time, I'd say this conversation is over."

He leaned back against the door, blocking her only exit. "You're not leaving until we get a few things settled." He crossed his arms over his chest as he glared down at her, hoping that for once she'd act like a damn woman and be intimidated enough to do as he asked, but of course he was an idiot for thinking that. With a small sigh, she reached up and latched onto both of his flat nipples and twisted.

Shit!

That was definitely one trick he hadn't showed her. No doubt she'd learned that from watching her brothers beat the shit out of each other. Biting back a pained groan, he quickly moved to the side, deciding that he'd let her have this round. When he was well out of the way of the door, she gave him a smug little smile and another twist that threatened to drop him to his knees before releasing him.

With a contented little sigh, Rory grabbed a tool belt off the small couch and put it on as she sauntered out of the room. When the pain in his nipples subsided he went after her. He caught up with her at the coffee truck.

"That was a violation of the code, woman," he bit out, barely resisting the urge to grab a handful of ice and press it against his poor abused nipples. The woman fought dirty and he'd been a fool to forget that.

A little smile tugged at her lips at the reminder of the “Code.” Neither one of them had been happy to call a temporary truce to their little war, but they'd had no choice after the eighth grade dinner dance when things may have gone a little too far.

No matter what the cops said, he really didn't think it warranted the two of them being placed in adjoining cells all night. Yeah, had everyone left the gymnasium screaming, there were one or two dozen minor injuries, but he really didn't think what they did justified being charged with inciting a riot. It had all been a simple misunderstanding that went horribly wrong.

So while they waited in their cells for their parents to kill them, well her father to kill her and his mother to bail him out, they'd come up with a few rules to help avoid a repeat of that night. They’d made up the “Code.” When they were done they decided to add a few extras into the mix.

"Your nipples are not protected by the code," Rory simply said as she grabbed the last Milky Way and a bottle of water and stepped up in line to pay the vender.

"Well, they are now," he said, deciding it was better late than never to protect his poor nipples.

"Sorry, veto," Rory said with a shrug, not sounding sorry at all as she paid for her snack and drink.

Damn. He'd forgotten about the veto rule. They were only allowed to change the code if they both agreed. Well, that was fine with him, he decided as he snagged her candy bar out of her hand and ripped it open as he headed towards the large hotel to make sure that Andrew was able to get all his men set up.

"Give me that back," Rory demanded as she walked by his side, not trying to attack him for the candy bar, he noted with satisfaction. He already knew that she was trying to keep up a professional appearance for the job. That was fine with him, but only because it worked for him as well.

"Nope," he said, taking a huge bite out of the candy bar. Maybe it was just him, but food stolen from Rory always tasted so damn good. Even those plain peanut butter sandwiches he used to steal from her when they were in preschool were out of this world.

"Bastard," she muttered as she opened her bottle of water and went to take a sip, but of course the chocolate made him thirsty so he swiped it out of her hand and downed it.

"Shouldn't you be hauling your little ass back to the office and arranging for your trailer to be removed?" he asked as they headed towards her brothers and his men, who appeared to be arguing.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," she said dryly as she sauntered past him.

His eyes dropped to her heart shaped ass and he just barely bit back a groan that would probably get his ass kicked by at least two of her brothers.

"What's the problem?" Rory demanded as she neared the men.

"Tell your men to get the hell out of the way so we can get some work done," David, a man he may have mistakenly promoted, snapped at Rory.

As one, all five of her brothers stepped forward as they scowled down at the much smaller man. "Watch how you talk to our sister," Bryce said softly, but the threat was clear.

David noticeably swallowed as he took a healthy step back. He shot a look of panic Connor's way and as much as he'd love to start shit just to piss Rory off, he couldn't. He needed to keep the James brothers happy if he was going to have any chance at getting them to come work for him when this project was finished.

"With our companies working together this might become a little difficult," he said to Rory, but his eyes were on the James brothers who looked more than eager to teach his foreman a lesson. That was one thing he learned early on, the James brothers had a zero tolerance policy when it came to their sister. They'd never gone after him, but that was only because Rory thought she could handle him.

Ridiculous, but true.

"Until we figure things out, David and the rest of my supervisors are going to check in with Craig and his men since they were here first and have a better understanding of what requires immediate attention," he said, shocking everyone into silence.

Rory frowned, but he didn't really care what she thought. As long she stayed out of his way, fetched his drinks and food, he would tolerate her presence. David looked pissed and ready to argue, but he didn't really care about that either. The only thing he cared about were the five large men sharing questioning looks.

He knew they hadn't expected him to give in so easily. Hell, they probably expected shouting, arguments and a lot of chaos, but they wouldn't get any. He wanted these men to work for him, and what better way to convince them to come work for him than letting them start now?

Chapter 5

"What are you doing?"

Rory didn't bother looking at Connor while she said, "Working. What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're getting in the way of my men."

She stopped what she was doing and looked pointedly around the large roof where four of her brothers were checking for weak spots and marking the areas.

"Exactly how am I getting in the way of your men if none of them are up here?" she asked, leaning over to mark a weak spot in the roof with a can of orange spray paint.

Connor glared at her as he stepped up onto the arched roof. Rory cocked a brow as she looked him over from his baby blue shirt with the dark blue tie pulled loose at the neck to his dark tan cargo khakis to his black leather hiking boots. Only a man as hot as Connor would be able to pull off that look, she thought with disgust as she turned her attention back to marking the roof.

They were going to have to replace the entire thing thanks to poor upkeep, but they liked to know which spots to avoid when it was time to rip it off. They'd learned that lesson years ago when they still worked for their father and Brian hadn't marked the roof before he started working. He fell through the roof, broke his arm and got his ass chewed out by their father in the ER while his arm was being set in a cast, scaring off more than a few nurses.

Brian sat there quietly, because he knew he fucked up and what was expected of him. He didn't even complain when their father made him do all the grunt work for the next three months. It was a job they all hated and worked their asses off to avoid, but once you got grunt work assignment you knew that you royally screwed up. They worked hard to avoid grunt work, real hard.

"Because they should be up here doing this, not you," he said, stepping onto the roof and gesturing for her to get the hell off. With an amused snort, she continued to check the roof.

"And what exactly should I be doing?" she asked, not bothering to look up as she tapped her blunt metal pole against another spot.

"Getting my coffee. What else?" he asked in that cocky tone that always rubbed her the wrong way and worst of all, he said it in front of her brothers.

She looked up, hoping they were getting offended on her behalf and moving to throw Connor's ass off the roof, but of course they only let out amused chuckles as they continued to work. For a moment she glared at them, wondering not for the first time, why they hadn't beaten the crap out of Connor for her since they beat everyone else up.

Whenever she asked them about that, they either shrugged it off like it was nothing or told her that she was handling Connor well enough on her own. She secretly suspected that they said and did nothing because they got a kick out of this sick and twisted rivalry she had going on with Connor. Even her own father, who hated it when a man looked at her the wrong way, never mind made her life a living hell, said and did nothing.

There was something seriously wrong with the men in her life, she decided as she marked off another area. When she stood up, she nearly jumped off the roof, but Connor's grip on her hips kept her firmly in place. That was good, because it meant that it wouldn't take a year to heal in order to kick his ass. She could do it right now.

She moved to turn and let him have it, but he held her firmly in place. "You don't belong up here, Rory," he said, keeping his tone light even as his hands tightened on her hips.

"I'm not fetching your coffee, Connor, so drop it," she said, taking a step forward only to have the jerk move with her.

"I don't care what you do as long as you get off the roof and let some of my men up here," he said, keeping his hold on her as they continued to move forward with her ramming the end of her pole against the roof with a little more force than necessary. When she found a soft spot she bent without thinking and placed her bottom firmly against the front of his pants.

As soon as the action registered in her mind she stood up, praying that no one noticed the blush creeping up her cheeks, and tested the area around the weak spot. Connor's soft amused chuckle in her ear made the blush worse.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she asked him as she tried to ignore just how good the brief contact had felt.

"Well, I do have about a hundred things that need my attention, but at the moment I'm stuck trying to get a pain in the ass woman off the roof so that my men can get to work. As soon as she moves her ass I'll be out of your hair," he explained, sounding amused.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said stubbornly as she bent, making sure that she bumped into him hard and was pleased by his pained grunt, and marked off another area.

"Then neither am I," he bit out tightly when she stood up.

She shrugged as she focused on her work and not on the large hands at her waist. "Suit yourself." It was a difficult task, but she somehow made it through the next hour without tossing him over the side of the roof. When they were done, the life ruining bastard insisted that he go down the ladder first and waited patiently until she moved her ass and joined him on the ladder.

"Careful," Connor said, making her grind her teeth together as she glared up at her brothers as they nearly fell off the roof while they laughed their asses off at her. It would serve them right, she decided as she was forced to move at Connor's snail's pace down the ladder. Once they reached the bottom, the bastard actually had the nerve to place his hands on her hips as if she needed the help.

She'd been seven when her last babysitter quit after a rather unfortunate incident at the playground between her, Connor and the McCaffie's dog, Snowflake. Since no one else in town had the guts to watch her, her father decided that she was more than old enough to work. He'd started her off with grunt work and he hadn't taken it easy on her because she was a girl or only seven.

It figured that the one man that treated her like a woman was the one that made her wish she was a man so that she could kick his ass. Ever since she could remember she'd been treated like one of the guys. Even her boyfriends treated her like one of the guys.

They never once told her that she was pretty, bought her flowers or chocolates or did a hundred things that other women took for granted. When they went out it was a fast food joint or the bar. For movies they always picked action movies or horror flicks, never once asking her if she wanted to see whatever romantic comedy was playing, she didn't, but it would have been nice to have been asked. For gifts, she got tools and nothing but tools. She liked tools, but she could have gone for some sexy lingerie or something equally as feminine.

The fact that Connor seemed to be the only man on earth that remembered that she was a woman, even as he tortured the hell out of her, annoyed her. She didn't want him to notice her and she sure as hell didn't like the fact that on some level she liked it. She hated him and always would.

"Where the hell are you going now?" he demanded as she shoved him away.

"I need a drink," she bit out between clenched teeth as she headed for her trailer.

"Hold up, we need to talk," he said, but she didn't stop. Oh no, she moved faster. If she didn't get a drink soon she was going to do something stupid like strangle the bastard. Then she'd lose the contract on Strawberry Manor and as good as she knew it would feel to do it, she couldn't. She'd waited too long for this project and she wasn't about to let him wreck it.

By the time she reached her trailer her nerves were frayed and she was trembling with the need to kick Connor's ass. She stormed into the trailer, ignoring Jacob's questioning look as he spoke on the phone, probably handling one of the hundreds of boring things that she hated doing. She walked over to the coffee cart that she paid Jacob well to keep stocked and turned on the electric kettle.

While the water was heating up, she scooped out a large amount of hot cocoa mix and placed it in a super-sized coffee cup. Once it looked like enough, she opened the small fridge and grabbed a small carton of coffee creamer and poured just a dab into the cup. She mixed the cocoa powder until the mixture was nice and creamy. Then she added a spoonful of fluff and mixed it until it was blended. When it was done she stood there with her hands on her hips as she glared at the electric kettle, urging it to hurry up.

"I hate to tell you this since you're already in a bad mood," Jacob said as he stood up and approached her.

"I'm not in a bad mood," she said tightly as she narrowed her eyes on the kettle, making all sorts of mental promises to sell it for scrap metal if it didn't hurry the hell up so that she could make her precious and much needed hot cocoa.

"Then why are you having a large hot chocolate during a work day, hmm?" he asked, stepping beside her and with an amused smirk that she could have happily bitch slapped off his face at the moment, he reached over and plugged the kettle in.

She clenched her jaw tighter as she fought against letting out a frustrated scream. Jacob smartly said nothing about the kettle as he leaned against the paneled wall.

"I have some bad news."

"Does it have to do with the life wrecking bastard?" she asked, wondering just how much more she could take before she lost it. The fact that the first day wasn't even over and she was close to a breakdown wasn't lost on her.

"No," Jacob said, shaking his head before frowning at her. "Are you ever going to tell me why you call him that?"

"No," she said evenly while she continued to direct her attention on the kettle that was just now starting to release steam.

"Alrighty then. I guess this is the part where I tell you that your father just called to let you know that he's on his way," he said, taking a healthy step back just as Rory's glare swung from the kettle to him.

"This is how you tell me?" she demanded in disgust.

Jacob shifted nervously under her murderous glare. "He just called," when she looked towards the door, wondering, heck hoping that she could make a run for it before her old man came, he added, "he was on his cell phone and less than two minutes away."

She couldn't do this. Oh god, she really couldn't do this. Not today. Not when Connor already had her contemplating manslaughter. Her eyes shot back to the kettle just as it began to whistle. Wasting no time, she picked up the kettle, filled the mug and stirred it until the creamy concoction was perfect. She picked it up, gave it the customary thirty second blow and sipped.

When she felt the hot creamy chocolate go down her throat and into her stomach some of the tension in her body disappeared. Three long sips later and she felt close to being able to face the day. By the time half the cocoa was gone she was in her special place, the place where everything was fine and she could face anything including Connor and a visit from her dad. By the time she finished the rest of the cocoa she'd be able to keep this calm going for the rest of the day, but of course she needed a second cup. She quickly made another cup and was just about to take a sip when the trailer door flew open and Connor stormed inside looking pissed.

"I told you that I had to talk to you," he said, tossing his hard hat on one of the guest chairs as he headed over to her. Her lips barely touched the rim of the cup when she found her large mug suddenly ripped out of her hands.

For a moment she could only stare in disbelief as Connor drank, more like chugged, her cocoa down. When he was done he handed the empty cup back over to her and gestured for her to go into her office, but she couldn't move. She just couldn't.

She looked down at her empty mug as her mind struggled with the knowledge that not only had he touched her hot cocoa, but he'd drained her mug, again. All those calm feelings she'd had a minute ago quickly vanished as she looked up and glared at the bastard who dared touch her much needed hot cocoa.

"You.......bastard," she bit out slowly in a harsh whisper as she took a step towards him, closing the distance between them. "Do you have any idea how much I needed that?"