I lean against the house as Jessa drops down onto the wooden bench.
Her eyes stay downward. “I don’t want things to be awkward between us, y’know?” She picks at her polished nails. “I shouldn’t have walked in on you in the shower. We shouldn’t have kissed. You’re my boss, and I really need this job.” Her doe eyes finally flick up to mine.
Logically, I know all that. Every word she’s saying is true. But I can’t help but feel bitter at the fact that she’s the one shutting this down, drawing a boundary in the sand. I feel…rejected. Dammit—when it comes to this girl, my feelings make no sense.
I scoff bitterly. “Nothing to feel awkward about.” I say, shrugging. “All good girls have their bad boy fantasy and you clearly got it out of your system last night. You’ve satisfied your curiosity, so I don’t expect you to come sniffing around the ex-con again.”
Jessa’s jaw nearly drops into her lap. Her face quickly transforms from utter disbelief to pure fury. She goes from sweet, innocent butterfly to little angry pixie in a flash.
She rushes to her feet, stepping right up to me. So close her tits are nearly brushing against my stomach. “You really have some nerve, Eli Kingston—”
The sound of tires crunching on my gravel driveway interrupts whatever she was about to yell at me. I don’t know whether to be annoyed or relieved. I kind of want to feel her wrath. If I can’t allow myself to indulge in her light, I’d settle for playing around in her dark side.
But Cannon’s pretentious sportscar is rolling to a stop right by the porch. He slams the door and climbs out. My brother approaches, his eyes darting between me and Jessa where we’re standing on the porch, ready for a showdown. “Hey guys…Everything okay here?”
I swing my gaze back to Jessa. Now’s your chance, baby, I tell her with my glare. But instead of letting me have it like I deserve, she backs down. I’ve got to admit—I’m a little disappointed.
“It’s my day off—thankfully,” she grits out. “I have to go get ready to leave. Excuse me.” She glares at me until I move out of her way, freeing her path to the door.
My brother and I stand in silence for a bit. He leans against the pillar opposite of me and we both stare out over the woods. “Those Robson sisters are something else, huh?”
He’s married to Jessa’s older sister so I guess he would know. In any case, I don’t know what he thinks he saw a few moments ago, but I’m not going to give him anything to run home about.
I cross my arms over my chest and eyeball him. “What are you doing here, Cannon?”
“Well, first off, thanks for the warm greeting.” He snorts.
I don’t share his amusement. I give him a stony face in return.
Huffing, he slides his hands into the pockets of his slacks and cuts to the chase. “There’s an executive position at Kingston Realty for you. If you want it.”
I laugh bitterly. “How fucking generous of you to offer employment to your criminal brother. After the way you all just threw me out, now you want to come here with your pity and your handouts? Unbelievable.” I shake my head again.
Cannon turns to meet me head on. “Oh, so you’re still in petty bastard mode? Maybe I should come back once you reset to your factory settings.” One corner of his mouth hooks up into a smirk.
Is this guy serious? He finds me petty? I stand a little taller, taking a step toward him. “Cannon, I was running that company. I was CEO. Nobody even told me you took over. And now suddenly, you're my boss?”
Cannon lets out an exasperated sound, all amusement finally draining from his face. “I could care less about being your boss, bro. This isn’t some power trip. I did what I had to do to save the family company when you were gone, and trust me, it wasn’t fun.” My brother begins pacing. “I want us to be partners now. So we can share the workload. I have so much on my plate. It’s overwhelming. Kingston Realties, my company back in New York, the non-profit my wife and I set up to help the small businesses around town. Hell, I even have to manage the guy running my fishing boat in Tortola.” He pinches the bridge of his nose.
“And obviously, I don’t have anything on my plate,” I bite.
“That’s not what I meant. God, you’re being difficult.”
“Well, what do you expect when you’re shunned from your family and your own company? Am I just supposed to bow down and thank everyone for treating me like crap?”
“No one is shunning you, Eli. Plus, you know this is what Gramps wanted...for the family to run the business together. I think being in prison messed with your head or something. I’m just trying to help!”
I can hear the volume on Callie’s cartoons grow louder as if someone is trying to tune us out. If I can hear the TV, my daughter can sure as hell hear us. When I glimpse at the window, I see an innocent little face peeking through the curtains. Jessa comes up and places a hand on Callie’s shoulder and leads her away. I grind my molars together, unwilling to make my child frightened of me again right when we were starting to make progress.
I drop my voice low and growl, “Well, I don't need your handouts, Cannon. Go back to wherever you came from, and consider your ‘good deed box’ checked for the day.”
I stomp across the porch, ignoring my brother’s arguments as I head inside and slam the door in his face.
16 Jessa
Where’s he taking you tonight?” I use a shimmery rose-toned blush to carefully contour my mother’s perfect cheekbones. Lexi was blessed with these high cheeks, too. My mom and sister are both just gorgeous, even without makeup.
It’s
