Maybe her hands wouldn’t be shaking so badly if she had.
Blowing out a breath, she shook out her hands and then clenched them, trying to still the tremors. She ran her eyes over the building, noting that it had been kept in pristine condition. A good thing for a construction company.
Her eyes flitted up and down the street, seeing that some of the buildings were in disrepair, and some looked as nice as this one. And even the ones that weren’t in as good shape still weren’t too bad.
The buildings on this main strip were clearly old, but they’d been kept up well. A point in this small town’s favor.
A small group of women walked past on the sidewalk, casting curious glances her way. She forced a smile in their direction, wondering how long she’d been zoned out, consumed with irrelevant thoughts while she stared at the building in front of her.
No more stalling. She needed to go in and get this over with. Wishing that she’d taken Carlie up on her offer to accompany her, she squared her shoulders and opened the door. A bell dinged as she stepped through, and the innocuous sound made her nerves shoot right up into her throat.
Dammit, she had to get it together. She couldn’t talk with a throat this tight, and the nerves were making her so sick to her stomach, she was afraid that if she opened her mouth, all that would come out was her breakfast.
Fernandez and his men are dead, she sternly lectured herself. You’re safe. Get a grip and try to act normal.
Forcing her head up, she glanced around the room, absently noting how nice it was inside while she searched for someone who worked there. There was no one behind the counter, or in the room at all, but there was a set of gleaming swinging doors that probably led to the rest of the building.
Relaxing just a bit at the small reprieve, she gripped her purse tightly as she walked cautiously toward the counter. As much as she was glad she wasn’t immediately face to face with a stranger, she knew she had to push her fear down and find someone who worked there. Maybe there was a bell she could ring.
She was about two steps away from the counter when the doors swung open and a grizzled old man stalked in. He started scowling the moment he saw her, and her knees locked, keeping her from completely reaching her destination.
“Who the hell are you and why are you here?”
It felt like the blood in her veins froze. She couldn’t move, couldn’t look away, couldn’t breathe. His voice was harsh and angry, his eyes hard and narrowed on her. She could have sworn that was disgust—or maybe it was hate—in his liquid blue gaze, but that must be her fear talking, right? He didn’t even know her.
Tearing her eyes from his, she looked down at the floor as her fear amped up, bordering on terror that made her even more nauseous. It felt wrong to not be looking at someone who might be a threat, but she couldn’t risk her dragon showing through her eyes.
No. No, no, no. They weren’t hiring this construction firm. The fees to hire someone two hours away would probably be astronomical, but between her and Fiona, they could swing it. The other women would protest, wanting to be able to help pay the whole cost, but she doubted they’d keep arguing once she told them about her reception here.
The doors behind the counter swung open again, making her startle almost violently. She desperately wanted to raise her eyes and see if the person joining the old man was a new threat, but she felt frozen.
And she fucking hated it. She’d spent too many days and nights like this while she was locked up, and she’d be damned if she’d allow herself to feel like this again. She shouldn’t feel like this again. Her dragon wasn’t suppressed now—she had her animal and all her shifter abilities at her disposal.
“What are you doing, Pops? You don’t treat customers that way. Get on back to the workroom.”
Silence followed the words, and she got the impression they were glaring at each other. She, on the other hand, had started to calm down. Something about the other man’s voice soothed her ragged nerves and made her feel a little safer.
It was ridiculous, but still, she couldn’t deny her reaction. And she didn’t care why his voice had that effect on her, as long as she wasn’t completely frozen with fear anyone. Desperately wanting to see the men, she took a moment to make sure her dragon wasn’t near the surface, and slowly lifted her gaze.
Her eyes landed on the old man first, and no matter how much she wanted to look at the other one—whether it was to assess his threat status or to see the face that came with the calming voice, she wasn’t sure—she wasn’t able to tear her gaze away from him.
The old man tightened his mouth and turned his suspicious gaze her way one more time, and then turned and left the room. Breathing a sigh of relief at his departure, she finally turned her eyes to the other man.
“Sorry about that,” he said in that butter-smooth voice that had just a hint of gravel as he turned to face her. “My grandfather’s not good with people.” Pausing, the side of his mouth curled up as his eyes twinkled. “Actually, he’s pretty damned awful. He’s not usually allowed up front, but I wasn’t expecting anyone and asked him to listen for the door while I ran out for a moment.”
Olivia swallowed hard, trying to absorb his words, but she felt stunned—and frozen again. But it was for completely different reasons this time. This man was gorgeous. Tanned skin, dark brown hair and eyes nearly the same color. His jaw was covered with scruff, but it didn’t look unkempt on him.
It looked sexy.
The realization startled her so much that she dropped her eyes again for a moment, staring at the floor. Did she really just think he was sexy? She hadn’t imagined that she could feel like that about a man—not this soon after the horror Fernandez and his guards put her through.
Yet she did. And she wasn’t sure she liked that at all.
Realizing she wasn’t acting the slightest bit normal, she slowly raised her eyes again, taking in how tall he was, how his t-shirt hugged his muscular chest and broad shoulders. Sheesh, he was huge.
Swallowing hard, she met his eyes and tried to find her voice, but there was nothing there. All ability to speak had vanished. She just hoped it came back before she made even more of a fool of herself.
A wrinkle formed on his brow as his little half smile faded, and he searched her eyes. “Are you okay? I hope he didn’t make you nervous or afraid. He’s gruff, but he’s all bark and no bite, I promise.”