Changing the bad boy

Chapter 13

VALERIE POV

"Hey, Paul," I say as I answer my cell phone. It's lunchtime and I'm spending it at my desk-as usual-immersed in the Marramount account.I've spent every lunch hour,and every other available time I've had over the last two weeks going through the copious amount of documents.

There have been many change orders over the years which have driven the overall price up. And while the numbers seem to add up overall, there appear to be errors I can't explain. I hate that. I'm way too competitive -even with myself-to let things go unresolved.And I'd be damned if I let a project this significant go before I figure it out.

"Hev Val. How's it going?"

my brother asks me cheerily,which I recognize is his attempt to sound casual, but he doesn't.

"Good," I respond and flip over an HVAC estimate,deciding not to question his cheerful attitude. "What's going on with you?"

"Uh, nothing..." he says hastily, but it comes out like a question. And that has me removing my eyes from what I'm reviewing and focusing in on my brother.

"Am I missing something?" I ask.

"No, no."

"Paul," I urge, knowing from his weird behavior he called me for a reason. "Just tell me"

He lets out a sigh thought you'd be upset, that's all. That's why I called."

"Upset?" I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out why I should be upset. There is nothing going on as far as I know. I paid back Fiona the money I owed her. The car is running, and the kids are good. I'm about to get paid again, which will give me a few hundred dollars'cushion in my bank account.I'd say things are better than they've been in a long time.

"Okay, great," Paul says hurriedly. "Forget I called.I'm just gonna go."

Now he's really acting strange. My brother might be a bit out there, but this is odd, even for him.

"Hey, hold on a minute,Paul," I say and straighten up in my chair. "Why did you call?"

He sighs again and then he says in a much gentler tone,"You know what day today is, right?"

"No," and then I glance down at the date on the computer monitor. October 8.

"Ohhhh..."

My wedding day.

It would've been eight years.

Paul hears it on the way my breathing changes when I finally figure it out. Last year this time I was an absolute mess for two entire days, but today, I haven't even thought about mv ex-husband once.

He hasn't even crossed my mind.

"Yeah," my brother's voice softens. "Are you okay?"

I only think about the question for a second before I reply. "Yeah. I'm fine.Thanks for checking on me,but I can honestly say that I'm good. Relieved even, that it's over." And that is the honest to God truth.

No more worrying about what my crappy ex-husband is doing, or who.

"I was planning on coming over tonight with dinner,"my brother says. "Do you not want me to?"

"Free dinner and time with my brother? Of course,I want you to "

He chuckles.

"Come over. The kids will love to see you."

"Okay." He sounds happier."Then I'll see you around six."

"Perfect."

We hang up and I return to my bologna sandwich and the old estimates. It doesn't take me more than a couple of minutes to be completely consumed in it again.

It has become apparent that things were not completed as directed by the original estimates. There have been so many change orders I'm having a hard time keeping track of them.

I get so involved in the records that I don't even realize when the door opens until I hear someone clear their voice in front of me. I look up to find a beautiful young woman,about the same age as Lydia and Alana, or maybe even younger than that,look down at me with a disappointed expression on her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I say and straighten up in my chair,my half-eaten sandwich and iced tea bottle in front of me,next to the estimates which are spread all over my desk.Not the image a high-end development company wants to display to their clients and customers. "How can I help you?"

"I'm here for a meeting."

I'm waiting for her to tell me with who or give me any additional information, but she doesn't say anything else. Just stares at me with her dark brown eyes.

I flash her a quick smile,which she doesn't return-not that I expected her to.She doesn't really radiate warmth and fuzziness-and open up Preston and Easton's calendars. A brief glance shows me what I already know; neither one has any meeting scheduled for the rest of the day.

"Who is the meeting with?" I ask, because I have learned how to access Pierce and the other brothers' calendars if needed, for instances like these, when everyone else is out to lunch.

"Preston," she says and c***s her hip.

I know she's lying. There's nothing on his calendar,which I'm certain about since I'm the one updating it. Not that I can call her out on it. I have no idea who she is or how important she is to Cartwright & Sons.

There's something familiar about her. I know I've seen her somewhere, but not in this office. She's beautiful enough that I would've remembered if she'd been here before. Especially if she was here for Preston.

"There's nothing on his calendar," I tell her while I search my brain in an attempt to figure out where I've seen her before. "What time was it scheduled for?"

She huffs out a breath, like I'm annoying her. "Just tell him I'm here," she demands as she uses a well-manicured hand to swipe her long, dark hair off her shoulder.

"He's not here right now," I inform her.Not that I could tell him, anyway.She hasn't even told me her name.

Her dark brown eyes flash my way. She does not like that answer one bit. Like it's my fault that Preston is out to lunch with his brothers.

I'm not sure what the protocol is in a case like this.It's not a scheduled meeting,I know that, but it might by personal. Usually, they have personal appointments on the calendars as well. I have added haircuts, dinners with friends cocktail

parties and even a late-night "engagement" for Easton,which I'm pretty sure is a code word for hook up.

Hook up?

Maybe this supposed meeting is to be some kind of afternoon delight...

Shit!

Would Preston do that? f**k a woman in his office? In the middle of the day?

It hasn't happened during the time I've been here, as far as I know, and I would've heard from Lydia and Alana.Even if I'm oblivious to some things that are going on,they're not. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it can't happen...

That thought pisses me off. I don't want to think of Preston banging someone on

his desk that's not me.

And... hold up.

Wait a minute.

My mind screeches to a halt.

My "cobwebs be gone"mission is at a standstill, and while I wouldn't say no if Preston offered me a ride on his fun stick, he's not mine.He's so far from mine I can't even see the line that would need to be crossed if I used a magnifying glass.

Another look at the beautiful but irritated woman in front of me tells me I'll never get that chance, which is a pity,because Preston Cartwright can have anyone he wants.

Including the stunning woman in front of me.

I don't know what to do about the situation. This was never included in any of my training.

The young woman clearly made it past security downstairs, so she must have a valid errand, or she's known to them.

Thinking it's better to be safe than sorry-I don't want to chase her away if Preston is expecting her-I suggest she take a seat on the couch near the entrance. She turns on her heel, flipping her hair over her shoulder, with a scowl, like a spoiled kid.

I get the feeling she's not use being told to wait.

I stifle a giggle, because seriously, she is an adult. It shouldn't be that difficult to sit down and wait?

It takes thirty-five minutes until the brothers return,and during that time I've watched her out of the corner of my eye and hoped several times over that Bella will never, ever act like that.

I'm still hungry because I threw out the rest of my sandwich after the young woman ogled it with disgust.I made myself another cup of coffee instead and offered her one, which she declined with a flick of her hand.

No surprise there.

I feel instant relief when the door opens, and Andrew walks through it followed

by his brothers. He does a double take at the woman on the couch and comes to a stop somewhere between her and me.

"Hello," he says to her. "Who are you looking for?"

The woman gets to her feet and flashes Andrew a brilliant smile that does wonders to her appearance.It's nothing like the grumpy scowls I've received.

"I'm here on behalf of my dad,Alonso Hernandez," she says and shifts her focus to Preston, who looks shocked to find her standing outside his office."I'm supposed to pick up documents for him."

"For Fifth Street?" Andrew asks but doesn't get an immediate response The young woman is reluctant to turn away from Preston,who she's currently eye fucking.And I get it. Preston in a fitted dark suit, with his bright eyes and naturally highlighted hair messy from the wind is like a GQ thirst trap.

Finally, she turns her eyes away from Preston and tells Andrew it is. Something about signed drawings.

And it dawns on me.I know who the woman is.The one that was seen with Preston on multiple gossip sites following Pierce's birthday party.People were questioning if she was the one for him, or just another hook up.

From what I've heard from both Lydia and Alana,as well as from Fiona, nothing ever came of it. In fact,Preston hasn't been seen out much at all since the birthday party.

"Those were sent over electronically yesterday,"Hayes adds, and I assume Alana did it. I could check the sent inbox if needed, but I don't have time to offer because Andrew takes over.

"I can give you the originals if you need them,"he suggests.

Ms. Hernandez nods, but I don't miss the way her gaze returns to Preston. Or how she checks him out.

Girl, you got it bad.

"Follow me," Andrew says.

She does, and the other brothers disappear into their respective offices.

I return to my own work.With the brothers back in the office,there is more for me to do. I answer some emails and follow up on a couple of things Easton had me look into.

When Alana and Lydia return from lunch, they're all giddy and tell me about this cute waiter who offered them free drinks along with his number.

They're planning to go back there tonight because his roommate is supposedly some hot shot DJ in town.I smile while I allow myself a couple of seconds to wish I was young and carefree and able to spend a fortune on new clothes before I push it back and return to reality.Bringing out the hard copies of the Marramount invoices,I take a deeper look at the initial change orders and the ones from the end of the first year that are troubling me.They do not amount to what was paid.

I double check everything again and barely notice Alana and Lydia leave for the day. I'm pretty sure I wish them good night,but I'm too consumed by the invoices to fully pay attention.There's something that's not adding up and it's frustrating me.

I go line by line and double and triple check every invoice.When the answer finally stares me in the face,I go rigid. It can't be.

Despite having been billed and paid for a lot of overtime, the labor rates stayed the same.

One thing has become very clear. There's a vast difference from what Demers, as the Construction Manager, was paid, compared to what he paid the contractors.

"What are you still doing here?" Preston asks.He's stepping out of his office with his cell phone in one hand and the keys in the other.

I look at the clock and realize I desperately need to leave to make it to the daycare on time.

"s**t," I say out loud and watch how his lips smirk up

into a smirk. I immediately apologize and ask "Do you have a second? Can you look at this?"

His expression turns serious,questioning, but he nods and steps up next to me.I point out the discrepancy to Preston and watch how his posture changes along with his expression as he sees it.His eyes go dark and stormy,like a thundercloud moving in.

"What the f**k?" he exclaims in a chilly tone I've never heard him use before, and I've heard him snap a lot.

"I haven't had a chance to check past the first year,but if this continued, that might be where all that extra money went."

Preston bends down so he can take a closer look at the invoices. In doing so,he comes closer to me. His arm rubs up against mine,and I inhale the fresh scent of his cologne. It's enticing.Warm,sensual, with a subtle undertone of sandalwood. It makes me want to close my eyes and inhale deeply, but I stop myself before I go that far.

"That's how we got over budget?" Preston states,mostly to himself. "It looks to me like someone lined their own pockets instead of paying the contractor's employees."

"Yeah." That's exactly what it seems like. And from the look of it, everything points to Demers.

Preston straightens up and looks toward the other offices.

"Did Andrew leave yet?" he asks.

"I don't know."

Preston goes to check, but it's empty. All the offices are empty.

I've been so engrossed in the documents, I failed to notice that everyone left.

"s**t," Preston sighs."I need to go through the rest of this." He doesn't say before s**t hits the fan, but that's what he means.And it's true. It's crucial that we determine what other discrepancies there are.

"Um, I can help if vou want."

I offer before I really think through what that means.

"Yeah?" Preston's eyes lit up like I made him an offer he can't refuse. I nod, because it's my chance to prove that I can handle this. And I want that shot, for several reasons, not all of which I'm willing to admit, so I say, "As long as my brother can get the kids for me, I'm all yours."