Capsizing Her Billionaire Boss - Sarah Gay Page 0,17
stop chain to her shirt. She flew off the back of the treadmill. Luckily, there wasn’t anything behind the machine and she managed to escape with minimal injury. Long carpet burns ran down the side of her body, and perhaps a few bruises which would surface throughout the day.
Down. And fall. Yep the gossip reporter was right. Poppy laughed while she picked herself up off the floor. This requires more than a shower. This calls for a bath.
An hour later, she stood on the sidewalk of her hotel in her lightweight, one shoulder jumpsuit. The nippy air reminded her that she needed to get to the mall and purchase a set of warmer clothes. Her metal bracelets jangled as she rubbed her cold arms. She cursed Kai’s name. He’d told her to pack for two days in the tropical West Indies, knowing he wanted to send her to Dallas. She couldn’t fault him though; that’s the only thing she’d ever heard anyone say about Dallas—how hot it gets. Liars, she said to herself. Her black sandals tapped against the concrete as she scooted over to a spot of morning sunshine.
A red jeep zipped up to the curb next to her and Damian jumped out. “Good morning,” he said, running around his jeep and opening the passenger door for her.
She took hold of the grab handle inside the door and pulled herself up. It felt like home, climbing up into a high vehicle again. There weren’t many cars in her hometown. If you didn’t have a truck or an SUV, you didn’t get very far in the winter, or on a muddy, rainy day.
Excitement lit Damian’s eyes as he jumped back in the jeep. “Are you ready?” he asked pulling away.
She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Something tells me you are.”
“Don’t you feel it?” he asked with a broad smile. “A new adventure. A new start.” He threw a fist in the air. “Today marks the first day of our new life together.” His speech sounded like a wedding toast.
“New life together?” she asked.
He did a double take and released a nervous laugh. “New lives together. Kai said the papers were ready to sign.”
“Our business license was approved?” Her stomach fluttered with trepidation and excitement. “I hadn’t heard. How is that possible?”
Damian stretched out his back. “I guess when you have a billionaire’s stamp on it, plans get approved quicker.”
“I would have thought the opposite. I’ve had to deal with so much red tape in the past.”
“Welcome to Texas,” he said with a more pronounced drawl. “Ranked number two in America by Forbes for best states for business.”
She pointed out the window. “I think I’m gonna like it here.”
Damian whistled, low and long like her daddy used to when he was impressed by something. “Did you get that road rash when you fell?” he asked, motioning with his eyes to the rug burns on her arm.
“Yep,” she said with a nod. “…when I fell.” She wasn’t about to tell him that it was from falling off a treadmill. “Do you mind if I turn up the heat? I’m a little cold.”
“Sure thing,” he said. “You can also press the seat warmer button.”
It only took a few minutes for the jeep to heat up to a comfortable, beach-going temperature.
“Heaven,” she said with a happy sigh, sinking into the warm leather seat. “I didn’t think Jeeps were supposed to pamper you like this.”
Damian cleared his throat and gave her a serious look. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but how’s your tailbone?”
Her arms and legs tingled, remembering him bulldoze into the camera guy. “Healing,” she said. “Did you, um…get my note, thanking you for taking that guy out?”
His face slowly lifted. “Yeah. But you didn’t have to thank me. Any man would take a hit for you.”
“But not any man would hit for me.” She caught his eye and smiled. “Thank you.”
“I’d say don’t mention it. But I’m not gonna lie, knowing I helped you out, and hearing the appreciation in your voice…it does me right.”
She turned off the blowing hot air; she no longer needed any outside heat to keep her warm. “You sound like you’re straight off an Idaho farm.”
“Farm boy,” he repeated, speaking more to himself than to her. “I kinda like that title. It’s so much tougher than computer nerd.” He turned into the parking garage of a tall high-rise building. “You grew up in Idaho?”
“Born and raised,” she said with hesitation, waiting for the potato jokes to start rolling