stay on top of what is owed to us and that we’re being paid in a timely manner and paid correctly. We also need to invoice as soon as a job is done. Sometimes those two knuckleheads don’t send out a bill for weeks, and by then, the recipient has forgotten what the hell he’s being billed for. They’re also bad about updating the ledgers and making sure their bank deposits and statements and activity match up with what their entries are.”
He turned to her, studying her intently. “Think you’re up for all of that?”
She nodded vigorously, eager to get started.
He smiled. “Okay then. I’ll go through the first few invoices so you’ll know what you’re dealing with. I’ll show you how we mark it down in the ledger and then give you the bank log-ins so you’ll know what’s already been paid and what needs to be followed up on. If the phone rings, just wing it. No better way to learn than to dive in and pretend like you’re the queen bee of the office. Before long, you’ll have everyone saying yes ma’am and tiptoeing around you.”
She grinned. “Thanks, Charlie. I really appreciate this. You’ve all been so kind to me.”
He reached over and patted her hand. “We all need help getting back on our feet from time to time. You’ve bounced back amazingly well, and I know you’ll continue to get stronger.”
For the rest of the afternoon, Elle worked tirelessly on creating a filing system that actually made sense. She organized invoices, work orders and pending contracts, as well as a pile that needed to be followed up on.
She even managed to bullshit her way through several phone calls and was proud of the fact that she actually sounded like she knew what the hell she was talking about.
By the time Cade and Merrick walked into the office, Cade’s desk was neat and tidy, and she could see the top in several places.
Cade and Merrick both stared at her with narrowed eyes, and then Merrick frowned.
“What the hell have you been doing? We don’t expect you to come in and work your ass off all day.”
She smiled. “I have singlehandedly made your lives easier. I’ve organized everything. Every single piece of paper, your contracts, invoices, checks, follow-ups. It’s all filed in folders marked accordingly, and I set up an electronic calendar with reminders that will pop up on your cell phones as well as your email and your desktop computers.”
“She’s scary,” Charlie piped up. “I hid in the corner.”
Cade laughed. “Sounds like you cleaned up after our slobby asses.”
Elle nodded. “I even answered the phones. I took messages and left them for each of you on your desks.”
“Well, hell,” Merrick muttered. “Looks like we owe you dinner at least.”
Her mood brightened. “Like go out to eat?” Then her face fell. “But don’t you have to go back to the gym tonight?” she asked Merrick.
Cade and Merrick exchanged surprised glances. She couldn’t blame them. She hadn’t ventured out of their home or their office in the three weeks she’d been with them. But today she felt freer and she felt safe. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life hiding, and as long as she was with Cade and Merrick, she knew they wouldn’t allow anything to hurt her.
So yeah, she wanted to go out to an actual restaurant and do something normal, like eat a good meal and discuss the day.
“You pick it, and we’ll make it happen,” Cade said, a smile broadening his features.
“I don’t have to be anywhere but where I want tonight,” Merrick said.
“Are you sure?” she asked hesitantly. The last thing she wanted was to interfere in Merrick’s routine.
“Absolutely,” Merrick said. “Now tell us what you’d like to eat.”
She pursed her lips a moment and then pondered what sounded good to her.
“Do you have any good Thai places local? I don’t know why, but right now I’d sell my soul for some really good Thai food.”
“As a matter of fact, there’s one three blocks from here,” Merrick said. “Charlie, you in?”
Cade’s dad shook his head. “You kids go on and have fun. This old man is going home to have a beer and some leftover pizza.”
He bent over to kiss Elle’s cheek, and then he waved at Cade and Merrick as he headed out of the office.
“You sure you feel up to going out?” Merrick asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, I want to. I need to. I can’t go on hiding in your house and your office. Not to mention, I’ll end up going stir-crazy. I know you won’t let anything happen to me. I trust you, so I’m not afraid.”
Cade reached over to touch her cheek. “That’s good, Elle. Because it’s absolutely true. Merrick and I aren’t going to let anything happen to you again.”
Merrick reached for her hand to pull her to her feet. “Let’s go, sweetheart. I’m starving.”
She walked out of the office and to the car solidly between the two men. And the hell of it was, it felt completely natural. Right there between them. Them flanking her protectively.
Just like she belonged to both of them.
And maybe she did. Maybe she already knew that.
But did they? And how would they react to such an absurd idea?
C H A P T E R T E N
ELLE’S STOMACH WAS FULL OF butterflies as she sat in the locker room where Merrick was preparing for his bout. Cade and Dallas were in the next room where Merrick was in the final leg of his routine when he mentally got set for the task ahead. Charlie sat next to her, along with a number of people Elle didn’t know.
They were all involved with Merrick. His camp, as Charlie called them. Oh they’d been introduced, but their names and faces had all been a blur to her. Quite frankly, she was terrified to be away from the place she considered her refuge.
Las Vegas was a glittery city, the likes of which she’d never experienced. She had no way to know if it was true or not, but she fully believed she was a small-town girl at heart.
Cade and Merrick had insisted that she accompany them for Merrick’s bout, and it wasn’t that she truly wanted to remain behind by herself, but the idea of being so…public…scared the holy hell out of her.
It had been a concern for Merrick and Cade as well. With the media coverage of the event and all eyes on his fight to see whether he’d be granted a shot at the title, the very last thing they wanted was for her to show up on television or in a photo that circulated the Internet and media outlets.
They’d been extremely careful. She touched the ends of the blond wig she wore and wondered if it was truly enough to alter her appearance. She wore dark sunglasses, even inside the arena, and Dallas stuck to her like glue to give the impression that she was with him.
Cade and Merrick largely ignored Elle when anyone else was present, but she could feel their gazes on her. Knew they watched closely.
“Nervous?” Charlie asked in a low voice.
She glanced sideways and then quickly looked in the direction of the other occupants of the small room.
“A little,” she admitted.
She’d watched Merrick train for a month. She’d even watched fights on television, but she’d never seen a live fight. She’d watched Merrick’s opponent when the guys had watched footage from previous matches over and over to monitor strengths and weaknesses.
The guy Merrick was fighting was the other leading contender for the heavyweight belt, and she knew from listening to the others that his style was ground and pound, whatever that meant.
All Elle knew was that Merrick was willingly walking into a ring with a man who wanted nothing more than to kick his ass.
Charlie reached for her hand and squeezed. “Don’t be. Merrick is ready for this. He’s focused. He’s confident. He’s going to win.”
“I just want him not to get hurt,” she blurted.
