CHAPTER 14

Ispentthenight wondering what the hell Blake meant when he said he didn’t mind that I was seeing his brother. He’d still want to take me out to dinner? My brain hurt from running circles. If he really thought I was sleeping with Isaac, why would he want to pursue me? It made no sense. Maybe he was just an asshole who wanted to chase the women his brother chased, but he hadn’t seemed like that horrible of a guy. What did I know, though?

I also tossed and turned plenty, wondering what I was doing. I knew I needed to stay away from Julian, but I was involving myself in his life in ways that put me too close to him. I was getting wrapped up with both of his brothers. He’d probably come around at some point and then I was going to be there, waiting with his child. Maybe he wouldn’t even remember me. He definitely wouldn’t automatically put the numbers together and realize Hank was his kid. The risks were there, though.

I was a nervous wreck by the time I got to Steele Lumber that morning. Hank was with Kara at work for the day, so I didn’t have to worry about him being in good hands, but I missed him. I hated being away from him for such a long period of time during the day. I was already planning on sneaking over during my lunch break to see him. I was also overwhelmed by knowing I was walking into an office with Blake.

I’d been too distracted and freaked out the day before to truly appreciate just how handsome he was, but I knew it was there, waiting on me. How three brothers could all be so beautiful was beyond unfair to the rest of the world. They’d stolen the beauty from at least ten other men, I was sure.

Steele Lumber was already loud and active when I got to the parking lot and stiffened my back enough to walk into the office. Hannah was asleep in her pile on the floor, almost as if she’d never left. I walked towards her and cleared my throat. “Hannah?”

She bolted upright and looked around, panic on her face until she saw me. “Oh, thank god. I thought you were going to be Blake.”

I saw she was wearing the same clothes as the day before, and it seemed like she really had slept in her pile of paperwork all night. “Um. Do you need some help?”

She climbed to her feet, and I saw that she was taller than me, which was rare. I was five foot nine, without heels, and she had a good six inches on me. Her lanky body unfolded to reveal the waif-like figure of a model. “I can’t believe I fell asleep here again. Blake is going to murder me. I have to run home and change. Do you think you can cover for me until I get back?”

I shrugged. “Sure. I’ll say you went to get coffee?”

“Not coffee. I hate coffee.” She shrugged. “Just tell him I got my period.”

I pointed at the pile. “Can I do something with this while you’re gone?”

“Um, sure. Whatever. I’ll be back!”

I stood there, looking around the office, wondering what I was supposed to do. Blake wasn’t there, Hannah had fled, and there didn’t seem to be anyone else around. On cue, the phone rang.

“Steele Lumber.” I shrugged to myself, just guessing at how Blake liked the phone to be answered.

“Hey, Mallory. I had to run an errand this morning. I’ll be in after lunch. I would say that Hannah could show you around, but that seems like a bad plan.”

I smiled and stared down at the pile of paperwork again. “What’s with the pile?”

He snorted. “Pretty sure it’s her safety blanket. I asked her to scan and shred all that three weeks ago.”

“Got it. I can do that. Where do I scan it to?” I knelt in front of the pile and started sorting the papers closest to me. I listened while he gave me information to log onto the computer in his office and directed me on where to save which files. “Anything else I can do?”

“There’s paperwork for you to fill out on my desk for the hire. Just fill it out and leave it there. I’ll handle it when I get in.” He paused for a second. “I’ll see you soon, Mallory.”

I hung up and ignored the shiver that ran down my spine. Getting to work right away was easy. The work was tedious but simple. I scanned papers for hours after filling out my paperwork while sitting at Blake’s desk. I sat in his big desk chair while I organized the scans on his computer and let the leather mold to my body when I did take short breaks. I lost track of time and was humming to myself, bent over the dwindling pile of papers, when a throat cleared from behind me.

Screaming, I jumped and spun around, my hands coming up in a defensive stance. My heart racing, I found Blake grinning. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

He leaned against Vicki’s desk and kept right on grinning. “I didn’t try to sneak in. You just didn’t hear me over your singing.”

“I wasn’t singing.”

“Sounded like singing to me.” He bit his lip and his eyes crinkled as he fought a laugh. “Well. Something like singing.”

I scoffed. “That’s not very nice.”

“I’ll just say it’s a really good thing you’re so beautiful.” He straightened and looked at the pile that I’d nearly taken out completely. “Holy shit. You did all of that already?”

Blushing from his compliment, I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

His eyes darkened for a moment as they met mine, but the heat I thought I saw was gone before I could fully examine it. “Just Blake here.”

I raised my eyebrows but just nodded. “I filled out the paperwork on your desk, too. And I’m supposed to tell you that Hannah got her period and is coming in soon.”

“She was asleep in here again, wasn’t she?”

“No?”

He shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m not mad at her for sleeping in the office. I’m mad that she won’t leave her asshole boyfriend who kicks her out of their apartment all the time.”

“She’s old enough to live with her boyfriend? I thought she was a kid.”

“She’s eighteen.” He rubbed his hand down his face. “Still a kid if you ask me, but her mom doesn’t think so.”

I frowned and scooped up the last of the papers on the floor. “He just kicks her out?”

Blake sighed heavily and shrugged. “I guess so. She won’t really talk to me about it much. She’s afraid I’ll kill her boyfriend. It’s a valid fear.”

I followed him as he walked into his office, lost in the conversation. “Speaking as someone who went through a long line of asshole boyfriends, she won’t leave him until she’s good and done with him. Even if that means she gets her feelings annihilated in the process.”

He’d paused in the middle of his office and I bumped straight into his back. “You cleaned.”

I straightened myself and cringed. I was an idiot. “No, I just dusted a bit.”

He turned to face me and tilted his head. “You don’t have to clean. Or cover for Hannah. Or date me if you don’t want to. I don’t want you doing anything that makes you uncomfortable or seems out of the job description.”

“I know.” I bit my upper lip, an unattractive tick I had when feeling nervous. “I just had the time and was waiting around on your computer to boot up, so I dusted. It’s nothing.”

He looked my face over like he was trying to make sense of something. “Vicki’s going to come in this afternoon for a few minutes and walk you through the job. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with anything.”

I nodded and backed away. “Great! I’m just going to finish these scans, I guess.”

“You can keep using my desk. I’m going out to the shop to check on things. I’ll be back in a while.” Walking towards me, he gently put his hand on my arm and then scooted around me. “No more cleaning, Mallory.”

I let out a big breath as soon as he left and sank into one of his office chairs. Being around him wasn’t easy. He looked so much like Isaac and Julian, but there was something so uniquely him that it threw me off. My body didn’t know what to feel and my brain didn’t know what to think. There was a tension between us that I didn’t understand. How could I have that same tension with two different men at the same time?

I rolled my eyes at myself. Of course, it was possible. People slept with more than one person at the same time. Or, not at the same time, I thought with a blush. Stupid. I was no virgin, but there I was, feeling giggly and red-faced over a set of brothers that I had no business being near.

Shaking off the distraction, I focused on working. I’d just finished organizing the last file on Blake’s desk when he strolled back in and joined me.