“You saw me cutting right here. It was your fault.”
“Trent, what’s going on?” Bishop asked the moment he walked up, his gaze bouncing around them, then lingering on Edison for a few seconds longer.
Edison didn’t pick up any warm vibes from Bishop, but then again it wasn’t the time to try to exchange pleasantries when both of them had coworkers who were getting close to fighting words. Oh man. Even behind that comical, wide-brimmed hat and the red bandana tied around his neck like he was from an old west movie, Bishop still looked absolutely delicious. Like the bacon and egg sandwich he’d made for breakfast this morning, damn delicious. Edison licked his lips nervously and Bishop’s dark eyes flew to his mouth.
Edison saw the moment Skylar recognized Bishop. “You… you’re his boss?”
“I am,” Bishop said stiffly.
“Then you need to tell your workers to be mindful of the pedestrian traffic. You can’t assault people with your equipment,” Skylar argued, while pointing out the other men using shovels to dig the flower bed.
“Assault?” Trent scoffed.
“Whoa,” Edison interjected. He’d heard enough. And there was no way that he was going to let Skylar throw around loaded words like that. He’d seen everything and there had surely been no assault, which meant this was all a huge waste of Bishop’s time. “That’s enough, Skylar. You need to watch where you’re going. You got the memo just like everyone else about the lawn maintenance being done over the next two months.”
“I’ll be submitting an invoice to replace the suit you ruined, which I’m sure will be taken out of your compensation,” Skylar threatened Bishop.
“And I’ll reject that invoice,” Edison said. “I won’t even bother sending it to accounting. Skylar, either stay clear of the lawn servicing or… or start wearing shorts.”
The groundsman, Trent, didn’t bother trying to cover his laugh. Edison noticed a slight twitch of Bishop’s lips but he didn’t otherwise smile or comment.
Skylar pulled one side of mouth into a mean snarl, one Edison had never seen before. He wasn’t frightened by it, more like surprised he’d caused this kind of reaction. “Well, you’re the boss, Edison. Since I can’t get this replaced, I’m sure you’ll excuse me from this morning’s staff meeting while I go home and change, and get this to my cleaners.”
Edison shrugged as if he couldn’t care less. He didn’t. “Do whatever you feel you need to do.”
Skylar stormed in the direction of his Lexus coupe, walking as stiff as if somebody had shoved a garden hose up his behind. Edison just knew this would be the highlight of his day. When he was sure Skylar was out of earshot, he turned to Bishop and his coworker, suddenly feeling the need to apologize. Gosh, what they must think of men like them. Men who worked in executive positions and used their title as an excuse to treat others badly. Edison wasn’t like that at all, and he feared he’d wouldn’t get the chance to show Bishop.
“Bishop, I’m really sorry about that. Don’t worry about Skylar’s useless threat. Nothing will be deducted from your contract, I assure you. All invoices from my staff have to come across my desk for approval, so if I see one from him, it’s going in the trash.”
“You two know each other,” Bishop’s coworker asked as he raised his shades and waited for one of them to answer.
When Edison saw that Bishop was doing that intense staring thing, he spoke up to keep the silence from getting weird. “Sort of. We’ve kind of run into each other a couple times.” Edison said, holding that gaze… barely.
“Really?” Trent said, sounding extra surprised.
“Yes, really,” Bishop growled.
Edison swallowed when Trent promptly shut up. He didn’t know what to say when all eyes were on him. He felt kind of silly standing there in his suit while several of the other men were still watching. “I’m gonna get inside and get to work. I’ve held you all up enough.”
“Thanks for your help,” Bishop said, ignoring the curious expression his friend was giving them both.
“No problem.” Edison reached inside his jacket and pulled out a thin, leather card holder. “If anyone gives you any more problems just let me know. We really do appreciate how nice it’s looking out here.” Okay, now he was sounding like he was speaking to the help. He needed to go.
Bishop slowly took his card from his hand and tucked it into his back pocket without even peeking at it. “Will do.”
“Okay then.” Edison turned to leave when he heard Bishop clear his throat.
“You look really handsome today, Edison.”
Those few simple words eased over Edison’s mind like a comforting caress, then slid down his spine. He wanted to record Bishop saying that statement in that sexy voice and replay it for his psyche all day—anytime someone tried to make him feel less than. Because an amazingly, fine specimen of a man like Bishop thought he was handsome.