“Yep,” she says with a nod and a smile.
“So, you’ll probably take over one day?”
“I hope so,” she replies.
“And then you’ll be Jax’s boss?” Cody grins.
She gives me a sideways glance. “I guess so.”
“You kind of already are,” one of the other guys—Caleb—interrupts. “I mean if Jax works for your dad and it’s your family business, right?”
She chuckles softly as she takes a drink of her beer.
“Yeah,” Cody agrees. “You’re Jax’s boss.”
“I guess I am.” She turns and arches one eyebrow at me.
I narrow my eyes in warning but she turns back to her captive audience.
“Wow! Jackson Decker taking orders off a girl fresh out of college.” Caleb starts to laugh. “No offense, Lucia,” he adds quickly.
“None taken.” She smiles sweetly and I remain silent, sipping my beer and letting them talk shit.
“Can you tell him to go get us some more beers?” Caleb laughs louder now. “We’re running low.” He’s drunk so I let it go.
She bites on her bottom lip and turns to me. “Hmm?” she purrs. “What do you think, big guy? Is that in your job description?”
I remain silent. I don’t give a rat’s ass what these jackasses think of me. They don’t know that this is my ranch and I could toss every single one of them out on their asses if I wanted to. I’m secure enough not to care who they think I take my orders from. The truth is, if Alejandro were to hand over his empire to her tomorrow, then she would be my boss, and that would be fine by me.
So, I let her be Lucia—the spoiled daughter of Alejandro Montoya—because that is her armor. It’s who she pretends to be when she’s around people she doesn’t really know or trust. When she is the spoiled little princess of one of the richest and most violent men in California, then she is invincible and nobody can hurt her. But when she is just Lucia, the little girl from Chicago whose family made her feel like an outcast, who never felt good enough for anything or anyone, well then the whole world can get to her.
“I don’t think he wants to,” she says, turning back to the guys.
“But you could make him though? He has to follow your orders, right?” Caleb says.
She turns to me and grins, her full lips dusting over the top of her beer bottle as she prepares to take another drink. She looks me right in the eyes. “He sure does,” she purrs.
I arch one eyebrow at her as I down the last of my own beer. I know the game she’s playing. I know exactly what she’s looking for. If she’s lucky, I’m feeling just about annoyed and horny enough to give it to her.