“And what do you think?” I ask, teasing.
She opens her computer. “I mean… the view would be better for me, you know, more relaxing… if you lost the shirt.” She winks and raises an eyebrow.
I tear off my shirt, toss it at her, and wink back before going back to work.
She stays with me in the shed all afternoon, only leaving to grab some bottled water, then coming straight back.
We work in silence.
Together.
Occasionally she throws me a few questions, but other than that, we do our own thing.
I like having her around.
Actually, I like it a lot.
Even if it can never work between us.
I see her move as she closes her computer. She stands, walks over to where I’m working, and runs her hand over the desk.
“What you create… it’s beautiful. The design, the shape… it’s so unique.” I hear what she’s saying, but my eyes are firmly on her. “It’s not shaped like a normal desk. It has grooves and isn’t a rectangle. What made you…” she trails off when she looks up at me, sucking in a breath. “What?”
My gaze slides over hers. “You are astonishingly beautiful, do you know that?”
She flicks her hair over her shoulder, a shy smile playing on her lips. “You aren’t too bad yourself, August.” She winks.
Chapter 23
Rylee
I stayed the night, and he was respectful the whole time. When I woke the next morning, he wasn’t there, but at the end of the bed was a bag full of clothes and my phone, fully charged.
I get dressed because today, I really need to get to the office. Despite what others think, I like my job. I’m good at it, and to be perfectly clear, I can’t let fear dictate my life.
Stepping down his stairs, I find August in the kitchen with Noah.
Noah offers me a kind smile before he turns back to August, whose eyes are eating me up.
His words from last night slam into me.
“Noah said Anderson spent the night in jail. His parents managed to get him out today, but if you press charges, due to the overwhelming evidence, it could go further,” August says.
“Press charges? He’s having a baby.”
“Do you think he’s harmless?” Noah asks.
I bite my lip and look down. “No.”
“Do you think he would do this again… hurt another woman?”
“Yes,” I say with a heavy breath.
“And you can live with that? What if the next woman he did it to, he killed?” Noah’s in full lawyer mode when he says, “I’ve seen it in the courts time and time again, Rylee. As a friend, and someone who cares about you, I want you to press charges, but I won’t pressure you if you don’t want to.”
“His family will hate me.”
“They already do. They asked this morning what charges they can lay on you.”
“Me?” My voice squeaks in surprise.
Noah nods. “They have nothing, so don’t worry. But they would do it to you if they could, if they could find anything.”
I watch August as he stares down at his coffee while he listens.
“Do you think I should?” I ask August.
“Yes,” he says without missing one single beat. “But it’s your choice. Do or don’t. I won’t judge you either way.”
“I have to get to work,” I say, not answering either of them right now because I need to think.
“Your car is here,” Noah says, handing me my keys.
“Thank you.” August nods. He knows I mean thank you for a lot more than what he did for me, but for also looking after me and even for inviting Shandy over. He cooked for us last night, and it felt comfortable. Not once did I feel as if he had eyes for Shandy, not like it did with Anderson. It was nice, and I’ve never had a lot of nice with a man before him.
When I leave, I drive straight to work.
Before I’m even settled in my office, my father rushes in, shutting the door behind him.
“Why are you here?” he barks. “Are you okay?” He’s in front of me in three strides, looking me over. “I’m going to throw everything I have at that family, and that kid will never see the light of day again.” He shakes his head and walks out without even waiting for a reply. I raise an eyebrow and push back in my chair.
“Hey.” Shandy pops her head in a little later. “You look better, refreshed,” she says, as she takes a seat on the opposite side of my desk. “You’ve had a few calls this morning. Warning… one was your mother.”
I shiver at those words. Shandy knows not to accept calls from my mother unless it’s at the end of the business day. Mom talks too much and doesn’t understand that my life isn’t spent wondering which color my bedspread should be.
“Did she say what she wanted?”
“She wanted to know if you’d be in the office today.”
“Okay.”
That’s odd.
But okay.
My mother has always wanted me to work until I’m married and have kids, then she wants me to be like her and stay at home. Yeah, that was never going to happen. I like to work. I like making my own money.
“Hey, I know it’s not my place, but are you all right?”
“I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”
And I am.
Each day is better than the last. And having August near makes it a little bit sweeter. I’m not sure how he can do that, make my life better, but he does.
And I like it.
I like him.
“You aren’t pressing charges?” I glance up to see my mother standing in the doorway of my office with Shandy behind her, mouthing she’s sorry.
“Come in. Take a seat, why don’t you?” I wave at the seat in front of me and she steps farther in.
“You aren’t pressing charges, Rylee,” she says again, and it’s not a question, which I thought it was the first time she said it. Now, I know it’s a direction. My mother places her bag on my desk, her hands on her hips.
Shandy shuts the door quietly behind her, and I take a deep breath, preparing for the onslaught of what my mother is going to send my way.
“And why would that be?”
“Because his family is powerful. Any disagreement with them could be detrimental to us.” She stares at me, and somehow I see a mixture of determination and hope flash in her eyes. Is she fucking serious?
“Do you know what he did?” I ask her incredulously.
She smooths her hand over her skirt before she sits in front of me. “I’ve heard. I also heard you flaunted another man in front of him, one who has been in prison, no less.” She scoffs, and it’s so loud a piece of her hair flies up.
“I didn’t flaunt him. August is a great man, whether or not he’s been in prison.”
“So it’s true. You are seeing that boy.” She shakes her head. “I expected this from Rhianna, but you, Rylee? Why you? Did I not give you enough love, that you have to go in search of it in all the wrong places? Because that boy is never going anywhere, and as a consequence, you will never go anywhere, as you will have his name attached to you.”