Page 11 of Do It Yourself
My stomach flips at the thought of Paul and reminds me of the hate he holds for the man standing in the other room. It’s been a year and a half and Paul still refuses to explain to me what Jude did to him to cause such a strong dislike. It’s a painful idea that he won’t share with me because we aren’t as close as thought we were.
Lola may have been Paul’s twin and while they do have a special bond, I’ve always felt a special connection with my little brother.
“I’m thinking about Saturday around lunch? Paul has to go out of town for some handyman conference which means it will just be the three of us. I’d thought of inviting Anika but decided against it, Mama already strong-armed her into coming to the cabin. I don’t want to overwhelm her when she’s just starting to come back around.”
I nod my head in agreement. Before Henry was born and her relationship with Paul was in a better place, Anika had been like another sister to all of us and we’ve all missed her in the last few years.
“I’m fine with that Saturday as long as it works for Lola.” Elle confirms she’d already discussed and confirmed that the day works for all of our schedules. There’s not much left to discuss work or personal life-wise but I find myself hesitating to leave.
I have no way of knowing if Jude has left the Education Center and I really don’t want to see him.
I’m overwhelmed by everything happening right now and knowing that I’m going to be around him more than necessary soon feels like it’s going to be the last push to make me finally go completely crazy.
Chapter Eight
JUDE
Dammit.
I really need to talk to Mabel. I need to get her schedule for crafting and markets so I can finalize a plan for this shadowing business that Lola’s so insistent on. I really don’t want to wait here for her to come out of her meeting with Elle. Especially with Patrick looking at me with that smug look on his face.
One time, one damn time, I made a comment to him about my feelings.
As a warning, not an invitation to meddle in a situation that was just about as different from his as the day is to the night.
Patrick leans against the wall, fully content to stay and watch this train wreck for what it is. I try my best to scare him with my ‘boss stare-down’ but that only makes him chuckle. Finally, I wave my hands and shoo him away.
“Alright, alright. I’m going.” He leaves with another chuckle and I do my best to ignore the fact that I’m kicking him out of what is essentially his domain.
I could get away with finding her schedule out for next week’s markets from someone else but that doesn’t feel right. Not afterher reaction to this whole situation. I’m determined to make this as painless for her as possible.
I also want to make sure that she’s okay after last night. I’m worried that she’s genuinely upset about the idea of working together.
It’s definitely not my area of expertise but I’ve never heard a whisper that the markets, and associated ventures were anything but profitable. For the last ten years, nothing negative. That’s insane and I would assume that success like that would give Mabel a free pass from this shadowing project.
Lola had explained in our meeting that she doesn’t want non-family member employees thinking she thought her family could do no wrong. I understood her need to take a second look at all departments after the success of our tours, wanting to see about optimizing every department.
You know what they say about assuming.
“Alright, goodbye, Bubs. I love you.” Her voice sends a spark of awareness through my veins. Elle calls out her goodbye and I do my best to act casual as I watch her walk out of Elle’s office.
God, she’s so beautiful.
I can feel the change in the air as soon as she realizes I’m still here, a small sound of surprise escapes her before I see the mask of indifference slam into place, wiping her features of any feelings.
“Hey. Can we talk?” I manage to choke out when she’s close enough.
When did my throat get so dry? I swallow against the lump that’s formed.
“I know that you don’t want to have me following you around but the sooner we do this, the sooner it’s over.” The words grumble out of me and I cross my arms across my chest, trying to protect myself from whatever verbal knife she’s going to throw at me.
Despite knowing she’s more than likely to snark at me, I can feel my dick twitch with Mabel’s eyes on me.
She sucks in a sharp breath and her cheeks pinken ever so slightly in anger. I scratch my jaw, feeling the rasp of the scruff on my face, doing everything I can to keep myself from pulling her into my arms again.
“God. Fine.” Am I imagining things or is her voice breathier than usual? No. Nope, nope, nope. I can’t let myself go there. I’d be cursed with spending the rest of the day with another hard-on or I’d have to take an early morning break and go jerk off.
I really don’t want to deal with either of those things today.
