Nothing But Trouble Read Free

an
intelligent answer? Because she couldn't think about anything other
how easily she'd almost succumbed to him. Again.
    "The sun was bright," she said lamely but
with as much conviction as her wired brain could manage.
    "The sun inside the office?" he countered as
he settled in his desk chair.
    "Shut up." The only reason she sank into the
other chair, was because her legs were about to give beneath her
anyway.
    One corner of his mouth quirked in a
half-smile. "There she is. I thought maybe you were having an off
day."
    She pulled in a deep breath and tried to
realign her focus on why she came. What was it again? It certainly
wasn't to be near R.J. The man was bad for her mental health.
    Oh, yeah. Her father's car.
    "So, about how long do you think this will
take?"
    He paused before answering. "I could go all
day."
    Just take a deep breath so you don't reach
across his desk and strangle him. Or kiss him. Because the last
time that happened, things ended so well.
    "The car, R.J. Can we focus on that
please?"
    He swiveled back and forth in his chair, and
the whole time his eyes remained fixed on hers as though he were
trying to figure her out. She didn't want him figuring her out,
thank you very much.
    "When do you need it by?" he finally
asked.
    "My dad's not retiring until June."
    "I think I can manage that." He faced forward
in his chair and grabbed some papers, which he jotted notes on.
"And other than the transmission, is there anything specific you
want done with it?" he asked without looking up.
    "Other than the paint color, no," she
answered while roaming her eyes over his blonde locks. They were
soft, she knew that. And only because she remembered how they felt
on her fingers. R.J. wasn't the type of man to get his hair
professionally styled at a high-priced salon. The man he saw did
nothing more than snip off a few inches with a pair of scissors.
Such a low maintenance thing, and it suited him perfectly. She
couldn't say for sure, but he was probably one of those guys who
didn't waste time combing his hair. He most likely shook the excess
water out with a towel and went on his way. Rough and carefree.
That was R.J. all the way.
    He finished making notes and leaned back in
his chair. The pen rolled back and forth between his big, callused
palms. "What kind of color did you have in mind?"
    "Orange. My dad loves orange." She adjusted
her positing in the chair and tugged the hem of her skirt down. Had
the thing been that short when she'd put it on? "And those double
white stripes. You know the ones that go over the center of the
car?"
    One of his blonde brows lifted. "Z
stripes?"
    "If that's what they're called, then
yes."
    He nodded and folded his hands behind his
head. "What else?"
    She shrugged. "That's it."
    "So I can have free reign over this
thing?"
    "Pretty much."
    "And you trust me to do that?"
    Were they still talking about her father's
car? "You're the best at what you do." When he lifted both his
eyebrows, she clarified. "With cars."
    Oh my Lord, stop talking!
    A sneaky grin crept along his mouth,
broadsiding her with a wave of sexual awareness. "I know what you
meant, Ms. Underwood."
    They stared each other down like two people
planning their battle strategies, only R.J. had never played fair.
He was a sneaky bastard who always struck when she seemed to be the
most defenseless. She rarely had time to prepare herself for him
and always walked away exhausted, yet… strangely pleased.
    Just as she was about the gather her purse
and get the hell out of Dodge, his office door opened. A nauseating
and over-powering perfume swirled around Rebecca as the woman from
the reception area let herself into R.J's office. In her arms she
carried a stack of papers and a sack from a fast food restaurant.
When she set the papers down on the desk, her balloon-like breasts
damn near fell out of her Argyle-printed v-neck sweater. Incredibly
long legs were encased in a pair of jeans so tight, they look like
they'd been sprayed on.