Rebel Heir (Rush Series Duet #1)(15)

Fuck.

Was it that obvious?

“Are you out of your mind? You know I don’t date employees.” I looked around to make sure no one was listening to our conversation. “What makes you say that anyway?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Ever since she started working here, you never leave The Heights? You also watch her like a hawk when you think no one’s looking. But I’m always watching you, so that’s how I know.”

“Well, you can stop watching me. Your job is to watch The Heights, not me.”

“My job is to observe everything. Part of my job is to protect you.”

“Well, I don’t need protecting.”

“She seems like a nice girl, very sweet to everyone. The customers love her. I think—”

“Save it, Oak. Nothing is going to be happening there.”

“It’s already happening from what I can see…”

Looking up at him, I said, “You’re crossing the line. Are you forgetting I could fire your ass?”

His deep laughter filled the ear. “Nah. You won’t. I know too much shit.”

“That and you’re gigantic. I would be fucked. Anyway, you’re lucky I like you.”

His laughter died down. “Come on, Rush. You can’t fool me. You got a thing for Gia. There’s nothing wrong with that, man.”

“There’s plenty wrong with it. First off, she’s my employee. Nothing will be happening for that reason alone, but more than that…she’s dangerous.”

Oak squinted. “Dangerous? That little thing? How do you figure that?”

How was I going to explain this?

“You ever just look at someone and know that if you let them, they could turn your life upside down…completely ruin you?”

Nodding in understanding, he said, “Oh, yes. That’s happened to me before.”

“What did you do?”

“I gave in and married her.”

Hearing him say that freaked me the fuck out.

“Well, that’s not happening with Gia—or anyone.”

“So, what…you’re just gonna continue to guard over her and never tell her how you feel?”

“That’s right. My feelings are irrelevant. I can’t date an employee and if that weren’t an issue, it’s not like I can be with anyone who expects anything from me anyway.”

“At some point, you’re gonna regret being so closed-off. The bad-boy thing ain’t gonna be so hot when you’re my age and all alone.”

I let out a deep sigh. My eyes were on Gia when I said, “She writes romance novels, Oak. Fucking fairytales. That means, deep down, she wants the fairytale for herself. And I’m not the fairytale. I’m the horror story. I’m the fucked-up bastard child of an asshole, and it’s very likely that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I’ve never been interested in a relationship, and that’s not gonna change just because I’m temporarily fixated on her ass, and every other body part.”

He just continued to stare at me as if he didn’t believe me.

I continued, “I don’t know what I’m doing, alright? It’s like I want to…protect her or something. It’s weird.”

He patted me on the back. “As long as you recognize that, boss.”





My car was idling as I waited outside for her to exit The Heights. It was sort of an unspoken thing that I’d drive Gia home after her shift. I still hadn’t figured out how to tell her I’d fixed her car. Tonight she just started walking right past me even though I knew she damn well saw me.

As I drove alongside her, she joked, “We really have to stop meeting like this.”

“Get in.”

Gia kept on strolling. “I’m thinking I’d like to walk tonight.”

“Not safe.”

She started to skip, her wild, black hair blowing in the night wind. “I think I’ll risk it.”

I could tell by the look on her face that she was messing with me.

“Get your ass in the car, Gia.”

She laughed, then opened the car door and situated herself in the passenger seat.

Lighting up a cigarette, I blew the smoke out of the window. “Stubborn little shit,” I grumbled, putting the car in drive and speeding away too fast. This was a prime example of taking my sexual tension out on my Mustang. It had been taking a beating lately.

Sucking in another puff, I looked over at her. “Did you get any writing done last night?”

“Yeah, more than usual, but not as much as I’d hoped. I wanted to finish the fourth chapter, and I didn’t quite get there.”

“What happens if you can’t produce this book in time?”

“Then, I’m screwed. I’d have to give the ten-thousand-dollar advance back, which I’ve already spent, and I could end up being in breach of contract.”

“How did you get yourself into this mess?”

“Well, for a lot of people, landing a deal with a big five publishing house is a dream—hardly a mess. In my case, I won a contest based on submitting the first three chapters of the book, which remain the only completed chapters. Once I won, it was like my creativity shut off. It sucks.”

“What did you do before you were an author?”