“Nah, I saw George in town over lunch. She filled me in on…the morning’s events.”
“I see.” That must have been when Hunter mentioned my drawings. “Well, I’m currently on probation. For two weeks.”
This cracks him up and I laugh too, breaking the tension of the day. How the tables have turned.
“Wow, two weeks?” Hunter says. “That could be a long time.”
I take a sip of beer as I lift my pizza box’s lid. “Long enough to mess things up, but not long enough to finish the project. I’m going to have to perform.”
The bulk of the admin must be done within the next two weeks too or I’ll be doubly screwed. Georgiana will have to get going with that in the morning.
Hunter chuckles. “She gave you a hard time?”
“She’s no pushover, that’s for sure.” Which is sexy as hell, but Hunter doesn’t need to know that.
“And? Can you work with her?”
“From what I’ve seen, she knows her stuff. She’s excellent at following my rudimentary instructions, not shy about doing heavy work and pushes hard to get something done. She was brilliant, to say the least, with the TV crew. Charmed them with some Miami magic and practically had them hanging on her lips by the end of the shoot.” With Hunter, I can be honest. “We both know that was a disaster waiting to happen.”
He grunts because there’s nothing to say. I get nervous with strangers because of my stutter so I don’t talk, so invariably I appear to be a grumpy asshole to anyone who doesn’t know me. Grumpy assholes don’t make for good company, never mind good TV.
We eat in silence, digesting the fact that gorgeous Georgiana Wess is maybe a godsend for this project. For all I know, the other two candidates could’ve been equally as idiotic on camera as me. I never thought to make that a requirement in the application process.
“In a few days, if we carry on like we did today, she’ll be reading my mind.” Women have that petrifying quality, maybe because on average there’s not a lot going on in men’s minds. That’s what I’ve been told, in any event. “So yeah, unless I mess this up, there’s no reason why this can’t work out.”
Hunter finishes the slice in his hand and washes it down with some beer. “Have you been totally open with her?” He glances at me and for a second there, his gaze strips my brain bare.
“She knows I s-stutter.” I could only put that revelation off for so long. My breathing stalls for a split second because I hate it when I stutter around those who’ve known me all my life. My family has always been my safe zone and after all, I didn’t always stutter.
“And the rest?”
Damn. “I’m app-approaching this on a need-to-know basis, for now.”
“That’s one way to mess things up.” Hunter doesn’t look at me, but his comment is like a bucket of ice water in the face. After the day I’ve had, I’d prefer not to be lectured by my perfect brother and yet I might as well get the lecture over and done with so I can move on with my life. “Want to tell me any more ways I can mess this up?” It’s not as if I’m unaware of every failing and challenge I have. “In your opinion?”
“George is beautiful. Sweet. Sassy. And in your face twenty-four hours a day.”
She isn’t in my face right now, is she? And right now, I’m not sure I want Hunter’s face in mine either. “What are you implying?”
“You haven’t worked with women before, well, not the whole day, all day, all week like this.”
“Carry on.” I know where he’s going with this and I’m going to let him go all the way. Let Hunter get this off his chest, be that good boy, Scout’s honor and all that.
“You’re working with her, living with her, having her under the same roof all the time. It could get tense.”
“In what way?” I’m pushing him now, but he deserves it for even going there. As if I don’t know this is a potential problem already.
“Look, Ray, I bet working with women on a construction site is the exception and not the rule. My factory’s full of women, and I never give it a second thought. Being with George all day, every day, in that barn or boathouse, could make things tense. I’ve been recalling…when we were going through those résumés, my head got stuck on calling her George and I never mentioned George was a woman, but it’s too late for that now. Do yourself a favor and don’t make things more awkward. Keep your dick in your pants.”
He stares at me, and I meet his gaze head on. “For the record, you’re the one who brought this up.”
“Just telling you how it is, brother. With a woman like that—”
“Jeez, that’s somewhat disrespectful, don’t you think? Is a pair of tits the only thing you’re seeing?” Hunter doesn’t need to know how distracting Georgiana’s tight tank top has been already. “You know what, you’ve been in Ashleigh Lake too long. You’re too lonely, and too fucking single.” My jaw twitches as I grind down on my teeth. “In Boston, there are more than enough women to go around. She’s all yours. Take her off my hands for a few of those many hours. Take her on a date. Take her to bed. Let her move in here. I don’t care.”
“Raiden.”
That tone again. “What? You started it. No need to pussyfoot around it now.” Hunter carries on as if I’m a womanizer. I might have been a player in my early twenties, but lately, I’ve only been rebound material and it sucks to realize that when women start digging deep, wanting to get to know me, I close up tight. They want all my secrets, and I haven’t been ready to share them with anyone.