Boom - Sabrina Stark Page 0,32

had coldly announced that he'd be my boss, not her.

As if that were an improvement.

The funny thing was, Waverly didn't even put up a fight. Instead, she'd simpered up at him like he was the juiciest morsel in her favorite steak house. And then, she'd apologized for the mistake. To him. Not to me.

But in the end, both of them were wrong.

According to my contract, assuming that I'd be signing it, I'd have no boss, not officially anyway. The contract had been very clear about that, along with its final clause. If I didn't make it to the end of the season, I'd receive no bonus whatsoever.

Oh, I'd make it, alright.

It wasn't just about the money. For years, I'd dreamed of fixing up the house. And I wanted it done right, not just the mechanics of it all, but the feel of the place, too.

And now, by some miracle, I'd been given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to help make that happen.

So, after I hung up with Cami, I did the only thing that made sense. I added my electronic signature to the contract and sent it on its merry way.

Brody or no Brody, there was no going back now.

Chapter 19

Arden

Barely two minutes after I accepted the offer, I heard the sounds of rummaging in the kitchen.

Funny, I hadn't heard anyone come in.

Still, I had a pretty good guess who it was. Deciding that I might as well face the music, I left the safety of the bedroom and padded in my socks toward the kitchen, where sure enough, I saw Brody reaching into the fridge.

Without turning to face me, he said in a tight voice, "Welcome aboard." The words said one thing, but his tone said something else entirely. As I watched, he grabbed a bottle of water and shut the fridge before turning around to face me.

When our gazes locked, I felt myself swallow. His eyes were dark, and his lips, normally so full, formed a thin, angry line.

Welcome?

Not hardly.

Still, I said what needed saying. "Um, thanks."

Without breaking eye-contact, he twisted the lid off the water and said, "I was joking."

Terrific. Now I felt stupid. "Yeah, well…" I stammered. "You're not laughing."

He lifted the bottle and took a long drink before saying with no trace of a smile, "I'm laughing on the inside."

"Yeah. Me, too."

At something in his eyes, I felt almost guilty for barging in where I wasn't wanted. But then I recalled the scene from last night, and any remorse went straight out the window.

I couldn’t stop myself from saying, "And thanks for making me beg, by the way."

"You're welcome."

I did my best Brody impression. "I was joking."

"No shit."

"Why'd you do that, anyway?" At the memory of him making me kneel in the hallway, I felt like throttling him.

I'd so hated that. And now I hated it even more, because I'd come to realize something. Brody would never do me a favor, even if I was begging.

Cripes, probably I was just lucky he hadn't kicked me while I was down. And I meant that literally.

When his only reply was a tight shrug, I refused to let it go. "I'm just saying, you could've told me up front that you weren't planning to tear down the house."

"Yeah. But I didn't. So deal with it."

"Don't worry," I said. "I will."

His eyebrows lifted. "Do I look worried?"

Oh, please. He didn't look worried. He looked like every girl's fantasy. But that was hardly the point. I replied, "I don't know. Are you? Worried, I mean?"

"Me?" He made a sound that was almost a laugh. "Nah. This'll be fun."

The implication was obvious. It would be fun for him. Not for me.

Probably the script called for me to gather up my stuff and run for the hills. But that wasn't going to happen, no matter how unwelcome I felt.

I wasn't giving up. And besides, thanks to him, I had no place to go.

And even if I did have a home to return to, what would I do when I got there? Obsess over the house, anyway? Watch on TV as Brody turned my grandparent's legacy into something godawful, purely out of spite? Or worse, cry later on when he pulled a major plot twist and demolished the house anyway?

In my mind, I could almost see it.

Hello, Wrecking Ball.

Goodbye, any chance to reclaim the house.

But now, thanks to that surprising job offer, I wasn't without some degree of influence. Plus, the truth was, I needed the money more than I cared to admit.

So I stiffened