Chapter Three
Rory sat in the office in the house, working on the payroll when a knock sounded at the back door. She pushed the chair back, left the office, and walked down the hallway and into the kitchen with a deep sigh.
She opened the door to see Wilder standing there. Did he have to be so damn good-looking?
“Is there something wrong?” she asked.
“No, ma’am. I just wanted to update you, but it can wait if you’re too busy.”
“I was just doing payroll. I could use a break. Come in,” she said as she opened the door wider for him to enter.
He strode past her, and she inhaled his scent. It had been way too long since she’d been intimate with a man, and this one had her hormones going crazy.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“No, thank you. To be honest, I haven’t figured out a damn thing. Your employees seem like good men, and I can’t see them in on this. I’m getting frustrated about it.”
Rory watched him remove his hat, run his fingers through his thick hair, then resettle the hat.
“I can see that.” She smiled.
He glanced at her, then away, but she saw him grin. When he looked back at her, their eyes met and held. He stepped forward but stopped when someone knocked on the door.
She stared at him, then jerked when they knocked again.
“I, uh, let me see who this is,” she stuttered.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Rory, please.”
“All right… Rory.”
She took a deep breath and peered through the blinds to see Buster standing there, so she opened the door to let him in. He came to a stop when he saw Wilder.
“I was looking for you,” Buster said to Wilder.
“I didn’t disappear on you, Buster. I’m checking in with Mrs.… Rory.”
Rory kept looking at one man, then the other and wondered why there was some animosity.
“Is something wrong between you two that I don’t know?”
Buster kept his eyes on Wilder as he answered her.
“No. I just didn’t know where he went.”
“I didn’t know I had to check in with you,” Wilder growled.
“I’m your boss. You don’t do anything without telling or asking me.” Buster frowned at him.
“Buster, it was an honest mistake. What did you need?” Rory frowned.
“Nothing. I was just coming in to tell you I couldn’t find your new hire.”
Rory bit her lip to hold back a grin when she saw Wilder roll his eyes.
“I’ve been gone five minutes, Buster. Five damn minutes. Do you check on the other men that fast? Or is it because I’m new?”