Coldhearted Boss(14)

His eyes cut up to me and then narrow, studying my face. I sit perfectly still, waiting. Hoping. Prepared to call his bluff. I know he’s about to say something like, Uh, lady? Scram and stop wasting our time, but then someone walks up behind him. He’s a short, squat guy with a thick beard, wearing a Lockwood Construction shirt. He leans down and whispers something into the recruiter’s ear. The man behind the table nods quickly and reaches for my application without hesitation. Then the bearded guy turns on his heel and climbs the stairs to the trailer so he can disappear inside once again.

“What was that about?” I ask, more paranoid than ever. There’ve been no whispers in ears about any of the other applicants, at least none that I’ve seen.

“Nothing for you to worry about,” he says with a clipped tone.

I laugh. “Oh, well…that sounds slightly ominous.”

He doesn’t find me funny.

“You know you’ll be the only female on the crew,” he says, stamping one of my forms with a green check and then shoving the papers back in my direction along with a sterile cup. “The only female staying in the bunkhouses too. You must really need the job.”

I frown, having a hard time keeping up. “What do you mean ‘bunkhouses’?”

He holds up his hand, looks over my shoulder at the line of people behind me, and shouts, “Next!” so loudly that I get the gist. If I have questions, I should direct them elsewhere.





Chapter 6





Ethan





“There’s a ton of guys out there,” Hudson says, standing at the window and peering out at the parking lot. He’s tapping the windowpane with his finger like he’s actually performing a head count. It’s annoying as shit. “Yup, over a hundred, though I think I missed a few.”

Good God, if he tries to start over with his count, I’m going to break his finger off.

Ignorant of the daggers I’m aiming his way, Hudson goes right on rambling about the turnout, and I go right on ignoring him. I’ve been doing a pretty good job of it so far this morning. I’m sitting at a desk in the trailer, working, and Hudson should be doing the same seeing as he’s my assistant project manager for this build. Off the top of my head, I can think of five things he should be doing right now, none of which include standing idle at the window.

“Have you called to confirm the builder’s risk insurance is active?”

“I did that yesterday,” he replies, easy breezy.

“What about dumpsters? We’ll be starting demo first thing on Tuesday.”

“They’re being delivered Monday. I’ll be there to make sure they’re in the right spots.”

“Excavators?”

“Already on site.”

I narrow my eyes.

He turns and smiles.

Hudson’s only a few years out of college and nearly as annoying as he is helpful. We didn’t even have a job listing posted when he walked into the Lockwood Construction office and asked to speak with one of the partners. Of course, that didn’t happen—we’re busy guys—so he came back the next day…and the next. In the end, I had no choice but to give him an internship, which he quickly finagled into a full-time position.

“Wait, wait, wait.” He starts laughing, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes to get a better look at whatever’s caught his attention.

I pound away loudly on my laptop, hoping to get the message through his thick brain: Stop bothering me.

“Holy shit. Either that’s the hottest dude I’ve ever seen or it’s not a dude at all.”

I frown, stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I stand up and go over to look at the person he’s referring to, he’ll have been successful in distracting me. If I don’t look, my curiosity will eat away at me.

With a reluctant sigh, I push up to stand and make my way over to the window.

“There. You see him?”

I see a sea of recruits, none all that noteworthy.

“There, in the blue baseball hat.” Hudson points. “Hold on, wait until he turns.”

I spot the guy, but he’s facing the opposite direction, glancing back down the line behind him. Even still, I can tell he’s a pipsqueak, basically half the size of his peers. It doesn’t help that his clothes are four sizes too big.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find out it’s a kid trying to pass himself off as legal. We’ve had that happen a few times in the past, but at the least those guys looked eighteen. This kid hasn’t even gone through puberty yet from the looks of it.

The guy finally turns when the line shifts forward and his buddy nudges him. He lifts his head, the brim of his hat no longer hiding his face, and right then, a fist collides with my stomach.

I know those eyes.

I know those lips.

I know that face.

I. Know. That. Face.

The shock leaves me completely immobile. Then, just as quickly, adrenaline seizes hold of me. My blood pressure skyrockets. My heart starts racing. I can barely believe it. I never thought I’d see the girl again and now here she is, in line to get a job working for my company…pretending to be a guy. Oh, it’s too good.

“See what I mean?” Hudson asks. “There’s no way that’s a dude.”