Built for Power (10 page)

“As in F. Yeux?” Logan laughed.

“Exactly.”

Logan put the hammer and tacks down on the kitchen table and pulled Bree close to him. “I like the fiery side of you. It makes you interesting.” The chips fell to the floor as he held her tight against him. “I think it’s time we picked up where we were so rudely interrupted.”

Logan felt Bree’s breath catch as he captured her lips. When she melted into him, he knew that same fiery nature that prompted her naughty side also drove her passion. The sharp intake of breath when he cupped her breast drove him wild. Logan pushed her further as he rolled her nipple slowly between his fingers. Her hand started to travel boldly down his muscled chest. She pushed and he pushed back harder in a silent and sexy play for control. Logan scooped her up placed her on the couch. Gaining control would be a rush, but he knew losing it would be even more special. So special he wondered if he’d be able to walk away from it when the time came to go back to London.

* * *

Bree woke up the following morning with her body encased in Logan’s warm embrace. Her head lay on one of his arms. The other was draped over her body and cupping her bare breast.

She closed her eyes in embarrassment. They’d made out like teenagers on her couch for most of the night. Even though they had both wanted more, they had sensed that the full action would be too much too soon. Instead, they explored each other with their eyes, hands, and mouths. Now as he stirred next to her, she had no idea what to do. Their chemistry was so powerful it scared her. She was brave, she had courage, but did she have enough to give it all to someone who was leaving? And the better question was, if she did, would she survive when he left?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Bree stood at the door and watched the doctor write something on Marcus’s chart before heading toward her. He opened the door and she stepped out of his way.

“Is it okay for me to see him, doctor?”

“Yes, ma’am. But try to keep it short. He just finished some physical therapy and is in quite a bit of pain. I gave him some medicine to help him rest and it should kick in soon.”

Bree gave a nod of understanding and took a deep breath. She felt like someone was tying her stomach in knots when she thought about what Marcus was going through. Reminding herself it wasn’t about her, she turned the knob to his rehab room and tried to paste on a happy smile.

“Good morning,” she said as she came to Marcus’s bed. His color was still pale and he’d lost quite a bit of weight over the past two weeks. Bree had been coming to see him three times a week since the accident and sneaking him snacks. She also knew that her mom came by twice a week as well to talk with him.

“Hey, Bree. What did you bring me today?” Marcus asked with a hint of a smile.

“A chocolate hammer and screwdriver,” Bree said proudly as she pulled the miniature chocolates out of her purse.

“Yum. I need a chocolate fix. I just got back from therapy. It’s more like torture than a workout.” Marcus grunted in pain as he shifted to sit up more in bed.

“A little torture now and a lot of gain later. I heard that the prosthetic they measured you for should be ready soon. Hopefully, that will help a lot.”

Marcus looked away from her and took a deep breath. “I’m sure it will. Thank you so much for your kindness.”

“Marcus, please. You know you’re like family to me. You saved my life. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for a friend like you," Bree said sincerely.

Marcus swallowed hard. “You’re the best friend anyone could have, Bree. More than I deserve, that’s for sure.”

“Deserve? Please. You’re smart, hardworking, fair to the crew, and loyal. We’re the lucky ones here. Now tell me how therapy went.” Bree sat back and listened to Marcus’s funny story of his hot physical therapist he believed to be the daughter of the devil. By the time she left, Marcus seemed in better spirits as he drifted off to sleep. Bree felt hopeful that he was slowly recovering—physically and mentally.

* * *

Logan hung up the phone and stood numbly by his hotel window. It had been almost a week since the night he and Bree had spent together. When they awoke the next morning, everything had seemed perfect on his end. Except for the fact Bree had become skittish. It was as if she were purposefully putting distance between them. Instead of fighting it, Logan had planned romantic dates every night where they talked and laughed. Her skittishness had slowly turned into her breasts pressing against his chest as they said goodnight in a way that didn’t involve words. He’d felt her distance evaporating and her passion trying to break free. And over the week she had come to mean more to him than any woman ever had. She was determined, smart, funny . . . and just perfect.

Tonight he had plans to bring her back to his hotel and show her how much she had come to mean to him—all without words. Bree was so used to being in control, she tamped down all emotion and feeling. It made sense to him, even if Bree didn’t realize she did it. On the job, she had to be strong. She had to fight the stereotype that women were led by their emotions. So Logan feared if he shared his heart with her, she would have to face hers. He didn’t know if Bree was quite ready to be vulnerable enough to expose her emotions.

But it didn’t seem that it mattered anymore. He had just been ordered to come back to London with a stopover in New York City to check on a project there. He had to leave that afternoon.

* * *

Bree sat looking at the designs for a future project she was interested in bidding on as she found her mind wandering to Logan. Since spending the night together, they’d been dancing around each other. Well, she’d been doing some fancy footwork at least. Logan was just content to stand by and watch her fumble around. He’d taken her to dinner. Then they’d gone for a walk or sat on the porch and talked deep into the night. Logan had pulled back and hadn’t pressed when it came to their relationship. The one night together was life changing, but it was also scary. She knew without a doubt that Logan was what her mother had always described as “the one.” But knowing he was heading back to London soon was enough to prevent her from having the relationship talk. She didn’t think her heart could handle it—even if that meant she was a coward.

The sound of laughter reached her ears a moment before Allegra and Finn walked into her office. “Hey, you two. How were the fittings and interviews with the models?”

Allegra’s face lit up even more. “It was amazing. Finn signed five models.”

Finn looked proudly at Allegra. “But it was Allegra who casually mentioned that I was there when they started talking about the difficulty they were having standing out from the pack at their big agencies.”

Allegra was practically bouncing. “Finn told them how the agency is more like a family. It really hit home for many of these young girls. Nowadays, runway is like the minor leagues and lots of teenagers do them for free or very little money.”

“Listen to my little sister sounding all sporty,” Bree teased.

“It is! It’s just like sports. Finn was telling me all about how much minor league players work and how little they get paid. It’s only the few who get called up to the big leagues who start to pull in the money. It's so similar to the modeling world. Even after a model hits the magazine covers, it’s all about the endorsements. Just like in sports. And Finn knows all about branding, marketing, and he seems to really understand how modeling and sports go together perfectly. He’s already in talks for a commercial with Kane Royale and one of the models for a major fragrance company,” Allegra explained excitedly.

Bree was impressed. Finn had really innovated the agency concept and done it in Simpson’s style . . . with a family feel. “That’s fantastic, Finn.”

“Thanks, Bree. Elle was really excited about the direction of the company when we met this morning. I’m just happy I can make her proud after all she’s done for me.”

Allegra leaned in and lowered her voice. “But the real reason we’re here is to find out about you and your hunk.” Allegra wriggled her perfectly sculpted eyebrow and Bree blushed. “Oh! So that’s how it is.”

“About time, too,” the call came from down the hall. Everyone shook their heads as they waited for Shirley to stop eavesdropping with her super-charged hearing aids and make her way to the office.

“I only met him once, but he seemed liked he was looking out for you,” Finn started to say before all words died. Shirley walked in with a banner hanging across the front of her walker that said
Men are like chocolate; they’re never around when you have a craving.

Shirley stopped and sank into the chair in front of Bree's desk. “I should see if he wants to come out with us tonight for the bachelorette party. I bet he’d look real nice in a hard hat and nothing else.”

Allegra just laughed and Bree groaned. “Aw, look at how she blushes, Shirley. It’s so cute,” Allegra teased.

“I’m feeling out of place here,” Finn mumbled.

“Oh, pish-posh,” Shirley clucked. “You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of in that department either. I just can’t say anything or Elle will make me go to another one of those sexual harassment seminars. But Mr. Hard-Hat-Cute-Ass doesn’t work for Simpson Global anymore.”

Bree froze. “What do you mean, he doesn’t work for Simpson Global anymore?”

Shirley looked around at their stunned looks. “You don’t know? No, I can see you don’t. He turned in the final plans to Elle early this morning to give to you. His company is calling him back to London today.”

“Why didn’t he give them to me?” Bree asked, painfully aware of how pathetic that sounded to the group.

Shirley shrugged. “I think it was some misplaced sense of doing right since he was in a relationship with you. He didn’t want anyone saying you approved the design simply because you are doing the nasty.”

“But we only did it once!”

“Now that is a shame. If I were younger, he’d still be tied to my bed. But with this arthritis I just can’t get the knots as tight as they need to be anymore,” Shirley told them as she held up her hands.

Finn cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to hear Logan is leaving. But even with the extra men and the finalized plans, do you think you’ll make your milestone?” Finn asked, changing the subject as quickly as he could.

Bree absently nodded. “I think so. I better go see how they are doing. Todd seems to have things under control, though.”

“Wait,” Allegra said with a touch of concern in her voice. “What about the threats?”

“It’s been quiet, but only a couple of the extra men I hired have started. It was all I needed for the demo crew. That’s another reason I should go. The extra fifty men I hired away from Jeff started this morning.” Bree stood and grabbed her new pink hard hat and numbly headed out of the office.

* * *

Logan put the last of his clothes in his suitcase and zipped it closed. He sat staring at the hotel room he’d been staying in for the past two weeks. Instead of relief at the prospect of going home, he felt dread. He needed to tell Bree he’d been called back to London, but right now that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Instead of picking up the phone, he headed to the window to look out at the corporate center. It was like a hive of worker bees swarming. The extra crew members had arrived that morning and immediately went to work welding, framing, and hammering. In just the few hours they’d been there, the building had started to take on life again. Logan felt a sense of pride as he looked at it. Bree could do it. She’d get it done on time and save the project. She might have pissed off some very powerful people, but she hadn’t run to hide or played the victim card. No, she had stared adversity down and given it the finger.

The only thing that kept Logan staring out the window and not heading to the airport was that he couldn’t shake the feeling Bree was still in danger. It had been quiet recently, but had it been too quiet? He’d only caught glimpses of the person Mallory had put on Bree for protection. Most of the time, Mallory had been around after she’d made sure Elle was ensconced at work.

But Logan had a nagging feeling he shouldn’t leave, that it wasn’t over. Or was it the fact he didn’t want things to be over before they’d given their relationship a real chance? As if fate were answering, he saw a pink hard hat walking through the crowd of workers. Now was the time to find out if he should get on that plane or not. It all depended on the woman wearing that pink hat.

* * *

Bree shook her new site manager’s hand and smiled. He seemed like a good enough guy, even though he had been one of Jeff’s top men. The work that he’d gotten done in the last week was admirable. The cleanup was complete, and the new men who had been brought in on recommendation from some of her own workers seemed to be fitting into her crew without problem.

She was relieved to see work was progressing quickly and most of the men were laughing and talking as they worked. A happy workplace was a productive workplace.

“It appears to be a good transition. Have we had any problems?” Bree asked.

“None. We’re all happy to have better-paying jobs with the freedom to come to our boss and have our voices heard. Respect goes a long way on a work site, and your respect for us has us eager to meet your goals,” Todd explained as he walked her through the site, showing the improvements.

“Bree!”

Bree turned around and saw Logan picking his way through the crowd. Her heart sped up until she remembered this was the last time she’d see him. Then it crashed to a stop. “Logan? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on a plane?”

Logan’s step faltered and Bree figured he thought she wouldn’t know he was leaving. But he didn’t have Shirley and her hearing aids.

“You know,” he stated slowly.

Bree could only nod.

Logan looked around and saw Todd take a step back to join a group of her men, including Big Al. They all seemed to pick up on the tension and had stopped working to gather around their boss.

Logan stepped closer so he could lower his voice and not be overheard. “I’m sorry, Bree. My boss is demanding I go to New York this afternoon and then to London in two days. I don’t want to leave.”

“You have to go. I understand,” Bree said as she tried to smile.

“No, you don’t understand. I’ve enjoyed my time with you, and I know there’s so much more for us.”

Bree was embarrassed by the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Over the past couple of weeks, her animosity for the unknown Logan Ward had turned to affection—affection she had never felt for anyone before. And now it was set to walk away from her.

“Que sera sera,
right? My mother always taught me if it’s meant to be, then it will be. Obviously we were just not meant to be. But it’s been a pleasure to know you, Logan. Not only did you save my life, you showed me a little about life I didn’t know before. Thank you.”

“Bree. Don’t. It’s not over. Our time has not run its course.”