The Bookworm's Guide to Flirting (The Bookworm's Guide 3)

“I think it’s a good idea. I like it a lot, and if you opened the gym up to residents on certain days, it’d save a lot of people having to drive out of town.”

“That’s fucking genius.” He paused. “I know you have to be working to stay, so until it starts making money, I can put you on a salary. More than what the team are paying you now, and you can still do your own sessions on the side. We’ll get the first barn converted and the gym put in place so you can work from there.”

“I can’t take your money, Seb.”

“You’re not taking it. You’re earning it. I could find a hundred guys who’d want to do this with me, but I want to do it with friends. You in?”

I considered it. I did want a job that was more stable than what I currently had, and I didn’t really want to leave White Peak. I was at home here, more at home than I’d been since I moved to America.

The idea was also brilliant. A one-stop shop for sporting needs? Sessions where kids could stay a few nights? A gym?

“We’re putting in a basketball court,” I said, keeping a straight face.

Seb grinned wider than I’d seen him smile in several days. “You’re in?”

“Yeah, fuck it. It’s a good plan, and I don’t want to move out of White Peak. I like it here. Bloody cold, but it’s home now.”

He drew me in for a hug and clapped me on the back. “Shit. You just made my day. All right, let’s go back. I need to call the realtor and buy the land. Let’s go!”

CHAPTER NINE – SAYLOR

RULE NINE: JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN, DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD. APPLIES TO BOTH GUYS AND COOKIES.

“Did you know Piper is moving back?”

I frowned at Ivy. “What?”

“Yeah, she called me this morning.” She reached over and put Teagan’s pacifier into her mouth when she fussed, then used her toes to gently rock her carseat. “She bought the bakery.”

“That was Piper?” Tori blinked. “Shit, I wonder if that’s why she called me. I had a missed call from her but I got distracted.”

I smirked. “By Colton?”

“Go fuck yourself, Saylor.”

“I’d be happy to,” I replied, slicing the box open with a penknife. “When’s she coming back?”

“Couple weeks,” Ivy answered.

“How the hell did she get the money to buy the bakery?” Tori questioned, tapping away at her laptop. She was working on new designs for some of our merch and I was already pretty sure they weren’t all going to be Holley approved.

I didn’t care.

I thought they were funny.

Personally, I was dying for a sweater that said, ‘I take a different man to bed every night’ with the silhouette of a girl reading on a bed.

“Um, she said there was this incident at work.” Ivy’s brows drew together. “She didn’t go into too much detail, but her boss was harassing her. She went to human resources, but they didn’t do anything until after he followed her home one night and tried to break into her house. She’d already been to the police then and had a restraining order, but I think the bosses were pissed. Turns out human resources had been ignoring staff saying it and not investigating, and she wasn’t the only one he’d gotten obsessed with. The CEO was so apologetic they gave her a pretty hefty settlement as they were at fault. So she invested it into the bakery here.”

“That took a dark turn,” I muttered, pulling the books out of the box.

“No shit,” Tori replied. “Is she still in Vegas?”

“Yeah. The guy went on trial for a few of these cases—the company paid the legal fees—and she had to give evidence. It was earlier this week. She kept it a secret from everyone, even Josh.”

Wow. Why wouldn’t she even tell her brother?

Tori voiced that exact question.

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. She had to run.”

“Wait, wasn’t she waitressing out there?” I leaned on the stack of books. “That’s all drastic.”

“Yeah, but it was in a casino.” Ivy grinned. “They have a chain in Nevada and are actually pretty clean and tidy for, you know, mob central, so they had to come out swinging and make sure they put their foot down. I believe all the harassed staff got large payoffs in exchange for them not suing the company.”

“So they bought their silence.”

“Nope. Just the agreement that they wouldn’t sue the company, and in return, the company would finance their legal bills if they pressed charges.”

“Damn,” Tori said, clicking away with her mouse. “I need to move to Vegas. I could use a nice payout.”

“Yeah. Just a little harassment to deal with for your troubles.” I rolled my eyes. “So dramatic. We’re paying you for these designs.”

“I know, I know. Here. What do you think of this one?” She turned the laptop toward me.