He walked away and I stood, observing Simon. His shoulders dropped, and he shook his head. He saw me and lifted his shoulder in resignation and walked away. Nolan never glanced back or noticed me standing there.
I walked to the coffee shop, seething. What a jerk. Simon worked hard, and in the couple of weeks I had observed him, rarely took a break, asked for nothing, and gave Nolan his all. A couple of hours to pick up his child shouldn’t be an issue. I knew I couldn’t say anything which frustrated me. Jordan had made it very clear when I informed him of my dislike for the way Nolan treated his staff.
“His staff, Van. Remember that. He is there to make sure the job is done. Your job is to make sure he follows through the way you want the project done. Not how he treats his workers.” He warned me. “Don’t make this personal.”
He was right. Simon wasn’t my employee, but as I waited for my coffee, an idea came to me that might work.
I spent some time measuring for the new woodwork, then headed to find Nolan. As usual, he was in the trailer—a place I avoided as much as I could. This afternoon, he wasn’t even bothering to pretend to be working. His feet were kicked up on his desk, a folder open on his lap. He looked startled when I walked in, and I had the feeling if I had done so quietly, I would have caught him asleep. As it was, I gritted my teeth, trying to be polite as I paused at his office door.
“Nolan.”
“Van. What can I do for you?”
“Everything going okay?”
“For sure. We’re on track, even a little ahead.”
Bastard, my inner voice sneered. Liar.
“Could you spare someone? I need something picked up, but Liv and Jordan will be here shortly, and I want to be part of the meeting. It’ll only take an hour. Two, tops. I’ll provide the transportation.”
“Sure,” he agreed magnanimously. “Grab one of the guys.”
“Thanks.”
I turned and left before he could state which guy and hurried to find Simon. I slid my truck keys into his hand along with a slip of paper.
“Go do what you have to do. Pick this up on your way back. It’s ready, and they’ll drop it in the truck bed. It’s right around the corner, but if anyone asks, you went up to Scarborough to pick it up. And there was traffic. I got you about two hours.”
His eyes widened. “You don’t have to do this, Van.”
I disagreed. “It’s your family, Simon. Go. Fast. Before he sees and sends someone else. I happened to cross paths with you, and I asked. Got it?”
His expression was filled with relief. “Thanks, man. I owe you.”
He hurried away as Liv and Jordan arrived. I watched her approach, my vision focused entirely on her. She was in jeans with a large plaid shirt on top, the sleeves rolled up. Steel-toed boots on her feet and a hard hat topping her golden hair completed the package.
She was sexy as hell.
I narrowed my eyes as she got closer, not bothering to hide my amusement.
Jordan went past me with a wink, heading to the trailer. Liv stopped, smiling up at me.
“Hi.”
“Nice shirt,” I murmured, fingering the material. “Looks rather familiar.”
“It should. It’s yours.”
“Wearing it like armor against the enemy, Liv?”
“I was thinking more like your arms around me, but whatever works.” She lifted the collar, inhaling. “It smells like you. I smell like you. I like it.”
I was torn between being touched by her words and being turned on.
“Jesus, Liv. You say shit like that, and you expect me to act professionally? All I want right now is to drag you over to the closest building with some privacy and fuck you,” I hissed out.
She winked, her mood light and happy. “Maybe later.”
She moved past me, purposely brushing against my arm. Her fingers flicked against my hand, quickly squeezing it, then she moved away. I turned my head and watched her until she disappeared around the corner. I would give her a few minutes before I followed her to the trailer.
I need those few moments for my dick to soften.
Damn tease.
The meeting went well, even though I knew how Nolan made the deadlines he promised. He drove his crew hard, with the main incentive being they got to keep their job. With construction work down overall, many of them had no choice. I had noticed several new faces already, and I assumed when it came to how he ran his operation, that was the norm.
Jordan went to check on a few things, and Simon came into the trailer. He handed me my keys.
“Everything good?” I asked.
His eyes spoke volumes, but his words were short. “Yes, sir. I handled it all.”
“Thanks.”
“You sent Simon?” Nolan asked.
I feigned indifference. “He was the one I saw first. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“No, it’s fine.”
We went into the building, checking out the work. The progress was fast, and soon we would be moving into the next step of rebuilding and outfitting. I ran my hand along the walls.
“Nice work. Your crew does nice work.”
“Yep. It meets my standards or they’re gone.” Nolan eyed Liv. “My standards are high. In every aspect of my life. I only accept the best.”
She didn’t react. She turned and walked away. I wanted to laugh and tell him she was the best and he was a narcissistic asshole, but I refrained.
We walked toward the fence. The sound of my name being called made my stomach drop when I saw who was shouting it.
Elly and Mouse were by the fence, waving frantically.
Beside me, Liv gasped quietly. I stepped forward, hoping to cut them off, but Mouse broke free, rushing toward me. I met her halfway, scooping her up and carrying her back toward Elly, hoping neither Nolan nor Elly noticed the other person and I could get them out of there.
But Mouse only laughed and stretched out her arms. “Mommy! Come with me and Mr. Van! Grammie is gonna make us all supper!”
Nolan stiffened and turned to Liv. She moved past him, hurrying toward us. Elly’s expression was shocked, and she froze, staring at Nolan. At the fence, I stood Mouse beside her.
“Why did you take me away, Mr. Van?”
I swallowed down the truth. “You can’t be in here without a hard hat, Mouse.”
Liv arrived, her face pale.
“Mom.”
Panicked, Elly looked at her, then Nolan, who was heading our way. “We wanted to surprise you. Take both of you to dinner. I wanted to see these buildings you’ve been talking about.” She blinked. “I didn’t know…”
“It’s okay, Elly,” I urged. “We’ll explain. Why don’t you take Mouse, and we’ll meet you?”
Elly’s gaze swung to mine, and she must have seen my panic. She reached for Mouse’s hand. “Good idea.”
But it was too late. Nolan arrived, his voice cold. “Hello, Eleanor.”
Mouse, the ever-friendly, sweet little girl she was, looked up, already smiling and ready to meet a new friend.
“Hi!”
He glanced down, his face contorting. I knew what he saw. A miniature version of her mother, the only difference the eyes she inherited from her father—him—gazing upward.
“Hello.”