Rich Soldier (The Dirty Thirty Pledge 2)

I look over to find my father, and he’s looking at the plans, spread over a makeshift table of plywood and sawhorses. “Dad,” I say, walking over to him without dismissing Wallace.

He glances up with a smile. “Morning, darling. You get a late start?”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “I had a fight with my coffee. It won, but I’ll live.” He chuckles. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” he says, “but if it’s about the schedule I already approved it and it’s on your desk at the warehouse, along with the paperwork for the two new hires that we needed.”

I cross my arms. “It’s not about the schedule, it’s about why in the hell you hired Wallace Monroe to work for us.”

He looks up from the plans and pins me with a cool gaze. “I hired Wallace because he’s strong and capable and has construction experience. Is that a problem?”

“Of course it’s a problem,” I hiss, glancing back to make sure that Wallace is occupied on the roof before I continue. “You decided to hire the man that broke my heart and ruined my life to work for us without telling me. I would consider that a problem. It bothers me that you didn’t think to even ask if I would be okay with it.”

“You want to take over this company, Tia? Then you need to let this go. If you can’t get over a high school grudge, then you’re certainly not going to be able to handle it when clients back out of projects unexpectedly and leave you to handle the mess. Or when suppliers stab you in the back with last minute price changes. Someone running a company needs to be absolutely stable, and you’re not showing that right now.

“Wallace is a good man. Prove to me that you’re as strong as I think you are, and work with him. You went through something, but he went through something too. It’s not too hard to see that if you’re looking for it.”

I take a step back, really not expecting that kind of response. My father has always been on my side and totally encouraging. This is…different. “I wouldn’t say that this is a high school grudge.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” he says, and it’s not unkind. “It was a heartbreak. But eventually you have to move on from that. Not everyone gets closure. Some people never will, and you have to be stronger than that.”

I sigh. “Are you planning on keeping him on permanently?”

“I told him that we’d keep him on for the duration of the projects, and that we’d see after that.”

“Okay.”

There’s a moment of silence before my dad gives me a small smile. “You gonna be all right?”

I scowl at him. “I’ll be fine.”

“Good. Then I’m gonna head over to the greenhouse site and take some measurements. See if I can get the supplies dropped there by the end of the day so primary work can start tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

I take his place looking at the plans. It’s not a particularly complicated job, it’s just a big one. There are a couple of pitfalls, but nothing that I don’t think we can avoid. The guys seem to be moving at a good pace, and the few stripping off the old roof seem to be almost there. I can keep myself busy. I don’t have to interact. If my father wants me to hold myself above this, I think that I can. No reason he can work here without me engaging.

Or so I think.

The day seems to slip by quickly, and yet it doesn’t. Everywhere I turn, Wallace is there. He’s brushing by me to pick up an extra hammer, smiling at me whenever our eyes meet, and in the normal course of conversation is just…flirty. It makes me even more aware of him, how much bigger and built he is than when we were together, the way his shirt rides up when he lifts his arms to show a glimpse of perfectly toned stomach.

Every time I notice, my irritation at myself grows. First the dreams, where I woke up wet and gasping and wanting more, and now this. He’s practically shoving his hotness down my throat, and it makes me angry. Even the thought of him shoving it down my throat makes me angrier because now I’m imagining being on my knees with him, looking up and watching his pleasure because of me.

I climb down the ladder and grab a soda from the cooler, standing a few yards away. I need to cool off. Why is he doing this? Is he trying to make me mad? Is he just trying to flirt? Is he trying to get some kind of revenge? Because two can play at that game, I know. If he’s going to frustrate me within an inch of my sexual sanity, I can push right back.