Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 13664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 68(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 68(@200wpm)___ 55(@250wpm)___ 46(@300wpm)
She took my hand in hers and firmly shook it, a smile tilting her own lips. My heart skipped a beat in my chest, and it was right then I realized I was in a fuck ton of trouble with her. “Cecily,” she corrected me. “Miss Truitt is my mother. You’re Adler, right? Adler Farley?”
“You’ve got it, ma’am,” I told her. I dropped her hand when I realized I was still holding it and quickly shoved my hands in the pockets of my cut that labeled me as the president of the Storm Hogs MC. “This place is pretty impressive.”
She snorted. “Maybe once upon a time,” she said, turning to face the house, her arms crossed under her chest, pushing her tits up even more. Christ. She was killing me here.
“Let’s take a look inside,” I told her. “You can tell me your ideas, and I can tell you if I can make it work or not. But I can tell you just from looking at the outside, it’s not going to be cheap.”
She shook her head. “Cost isn’t a concern. I have a construction loan. I just need this place to be a little more livable. I’m tired of grilled food.”
I barked out a laugh. She began walking up to the house, her hips swaying in those damned shorts. “I’ll see what I can do, Cecily.”
I blew out a soft breath when we stepped inside, internally cringing. Whoever owned this place before Cecily got her hands on it had not taken care of it. Once upon a time, it was probably a grand, beautiful home. But I could clearly see it had been left to fall apart.
I whistled lowly. “Let’s start from the top,” I said. “Are the stairs safe?”
She chuckled. “I haven’t been brave enough to go up them.”
Oh, boy.
This would be a long project; no doubt about it. It would take us months to get this done, and that was only if I put all of our other jobs on the back burner and focused on this. She had all the money to pay upfront, which would help make that decision easier. But this was going to be back-breaking work.
As much as I didn’t want to yet, I was going to have to hire at least one more crew and put two of the brothers as the foremen. I didn’t have a choice. Because I couldn’t alienate my other customers, no matter how sinfully hot Cecily Truitt was.
“Do we have a deal?” she asked me.
I nodded. “We’ve got a deal,” I assured her. I looked down at her, ripping my eyes away from the house. A smirk curved my lips. I’d been eyeing her all damn morning, and I’d caught her sneaking looks at me, too. And damn it all to hell, I couldn’t resist her any longer.
Mixing business with pleasure was a huge no-no in our books, but rules were meant to be broken.
“Why don’t we discuss it more over dinner on Friday evening?” I asked her.
She smirked, her eyes flashing with amusement. “Are you really wanting to discuss my run-down house further, Adler, or are you wanting to get in my pants?”
I winked at her. “If I said both, would you slap me?”
She barked out a laugh. “No. I’d just appreciate the honesty.”
I shrugged, liking her even more. She wasn’t easily offended. Honestly, she was probably the most laid-back woman I’d ever met. “I’d like to get in your pants, Cecily,” she laughed, “but I’d also like to just get to know you. Is that okay?”
Her smile softened a little. “You’ve got my number, Mr. Farley. Just text me the details.”
With that, she turned and walked back up the old porch, which was going to be the first damn thing I replaced. I could just picture one of those old, rotting boards breaking on her and her falling through, seriously injuring herself.
“It’s Adler!” I called after her.
She just turned her head and winked at me.
Two
Cecily
I looked up as Chelsea, my best friend and assistant manager, stepped into my office, eating a mozzarella cheese stick straight out of the wrapper. I snorted a laugh through my nose.
“Hungry?” I teased.
“Starving,” she mumbled around a bite of her food. I grimaced, shooting her a disgusted look for talking with her mouth full. “I overslept and didn’t get to eat before I had to haul ass to get here.” She leaned against the doorjamb to my office, arching a brow at me. “So, is he as hot as everyone says he is?”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “What? Who?” I asked, lost on who she was talking about. She was always so random in her conversations, not to mention, she knew I struggled to follow anything when I was abruptly pulled out of my paperwork.
She rolled her eyes at me. “Uhm, fucking Alder Farley—the president of the Storm Hogs MC, Cecily. Jeez, girl—where the hell is your head at today?”