Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
“What—” I start, but I don’t get my question out.
She’s already walking away. “I’m not telling you about it, Huddy. The less you know, the better.”
It’s obvious she wants to keep some distance between us. I don’t get the feeling she’s afraid of me anymore, but I do feel that she’s not going to let her guard down either.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her because I don’t know what else to say.
“For what?”
“You’re obviously not comfortable with me, but I sort of keep pushing myself on you and butting into your life. I hope you know that I’m no threat.”
She looks at me doubtfully.
“What? You think I’m a threat?”
She shakes her head. “Not the way you’re thinking, no. But yeah, you’re a little bit of a threat to me.”
Because I can’t stop myself from touching her, I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’m not going to hurt you, Ellie.”
It’s obvious she doesn’t believe me, but she nods her head.
We walk into the office. With a mumbled “Thanks for the ride,” she goes to her desk.
Lilian says good morning, and I don’t miss the curious look she’s giving me and Ellie.
I stalk down the hall and walk into Lucas’ office. “Hey, we need to talk.”
He laughs and leans back in his seat. “Good morning to you too.”
I stand with my hands at my side, unable to sit down. I’m on edge, and I know it’s crazy.
“Yeah, good morning, we need to talk,” I tell him gruffly.
“Okay. Talk. What’s up?”
“In the meeting yesterday, you mentioned wanting to work from home some.”
He nods.
“What are you going to do with Elle?”
He scratches his beard. “Honestly, when I let go of my last assistant, Lilian took over everything and worked between Ford and me. We were worried about overloading her with stuff, but Lilian’s pretty efficient, and I know she’s struggling to find things for Elle to do.”
“You can’t fire her.”
He’s surprised at my outburst. “I wasn’t going to. I was thinking about shifting her around a little. Maybe over to the distillery with Austin.”
“No.”
He seems taken aback. “No? What do you mean no?”
“Fuck, I know I have no rights here… I know I just got home and I’m trying to tell you how to run your company…”
Lucas cuts me off. “Fuck that, Huddy. This is our company. You have just as much say as any of us in what happens here. So don’t sell yourself short.”
I pull my shoulders back. “Fine. When she’s not working for you, I want to have her decorate my house. I’ll pay her for her time.”
Lucas crosses his arms over his chest. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Why isn’t it?”
“Well, because it’s obvious she’s got some shit going on.”
“What do you know?”
He holds his hands up. “Nothing. I know nothing. I was planning to talk to Walker about it and see if he could look into it, but I haven’t had time.”
“I’ll do it. I’m going to see Walker today.”
His eyebrows dip. “Is that what this is? You’ve always had a thing for helping people…”
“You act like that’s a bad thing.”
“No, it’s not, but it may be better if you weren’t involved. You have enough shit going on.”
I laugh incredulously. “Really? Because compared to my normal life, I feel like I have nothing going on.”
Lucas stands up and leans on his desk. “Look, Huddy. I get it. You’re bored, and this thing with Elle is something to help pass the time. You’ve only been home a short while. It’s going to take you time to get back into things, but filling your time with Elle’s problems is not the way to do it.”
I point toward the closed door. “I can help her.”
Lucas crosses his arms over his chest. “At what cost? It’s obvious she’s into you. You want to help her, and you’re going to end up hurting her. Just let it go.”
A part of me wonders if he’s right. Why am I doing this? Should I turn this over to Walker and let him figure it out? He’s a good guy.
“And in the meantime, Elle can go out to the plant to work for Austin.”
A pit forms in my stomach. I don’t know why I feel so adamant about this, but I do. I want to be the one to spend time with her. “No.”
Lucas is fed up and exasperated with me. “Huddy…”
I hold my hands up. “Elle will be working from her desk here when you need her. When you don’t need her, she will be working for me in my home. I will talk to Walker, and whatever the hell it is she’s running from, I’ll take care of it.”
“Hudson, I don’t think—”
I take a step forward, towering over him. He’s my little brother in every sense of the word. “Look, I know you’re worried about me, but I’m telling you, there’s something about Elle. I need to protect her. There’s no way I can’t.”