Wrecked (Crystal Book Billionaires) (10 page)

“Why don’t you take a break?” I told him. “Then we can get started sorting.”

He nodded. “Great.”

I reached into my jeans and pulled out my pocket knife to rip open the tape on the closest box. Ricardo was already halfway across the storage room, heading for the front.

“You coming?” he asked.

“In a minute.”

“Isn’t the new volunteer coming today?”

I paused my busy work, the pocket knife hovering over the next box. “Shit. That’s right. Okay. Looks like we’ll be doing some training.”

It was just as well. Training a newbie meant getting everything done would take twice as long. And that was good because I was certainly in no rush to leave the pantry and get back to my quiet house and depressing thought-stream.

The door closed behind Ricardo, and I cut open another box before moving it off the stack and out of the way. Muffled voices floated in under the door, and I paused to listen. None of the words were clear, but I could make out Ricardo’s voice, plus our one full time worker Brie’s, plus another woman’s.

Closing the pocket knife, I dropped it back in my pants. I might as well save all work for training the new volunteer.

I headed across the floor and to the swinging door to the front area. The one room there doubled as both lobby and office. With a few seats, toys, and kid’s books by the window, the rest of the room was taken up by a tall counter with a computer, office chair, and filing cabinets behind it. The area was cozy, but it was just what we needed.

“I love fishing,” a female voice that sounded oddly familiar trilled as I pushed the door open.

The two people I’d expected to see stood next to the counter, and with them a third person I had
not
expected to see: Grace Wells.

Her long silky hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and she had on the same large amount of makeup as she had the two times I’d seen her before. A flowy top ended at a pair of black pants so tight they looked like they’d been painted on her skin. The ensemble was completed with a pair of bright green high heels. Her feathered earrings swung as she turned her head and set her gaze on me.

Her eyebrows shot up, and her dark eyes went wide. “Luke,” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but only a dry guttural sound escaped. The room got quiet, and I was aware of all three people looking at me, but for some reason, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Grace.

“He owns Community First,” Brie explained.

Grace looked at the older woman. “
Really?”

I blinked heavily and forced myself to look at anything but Grace. Instead, I trained my eyes on Brie. With her sparkling blue eyes and warm smile, she was the heart of Community First. She’d been with the pantry since its opening a year before. Retired, she had long ago committed herself to the pantry full time, even though I had sworn to her she didn’t need to.

Brie had a knack for making everyone feel at home. Many people said that she reminded them of the grandmother they never had, and I had to admit I felt the same way.

She looked back at me, her white eyebrows furrowed together. “Luke? Is everything all right?”

“Yes,” I said a little too quickly and cleared my throat. “Grace,” I said without looking at her. “How did you, uh… I mean…”

Brie jumped in. “Grace is our new volunteer.”

“Yes,” I said. “I see that.”

“Luke and I have met,” Grace said in a syrupy sweet voice. I finally turned to look back at her. She was still smiling wide, and behind her shoulder, Ricardo gazed adoringly at her.

Brie chuckled. “It is a small town, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely,” Grace replied. She clapped her hands together. “Now. I can’t wait to get started. What should I do first?”

“Hold on,” I said, causing everyone to freeze. “Uh, Grace, can I have a minute alone with you?”

She flashed me a bright smile. “Of course.”

“Right this way, please.”

I turned and headed back to the storage room. She followed, her heels tantalizingly clicking against the hard floor.
Who wore high heels for a day of community service?!

Girls like Grace Wells, that’s who. Girls who had never done a day of hard work in their life… and who would never think to unless there was some kind of major pay off there.

Once the door was closed behind us, I spun around and faced her. She stood only a couple of feet away, gazing up at me. Automatically, my torso swayed towards hers. I jerked back. Apparently my sex drive still hadn’t gotten the memo that Grace was a girl who needed to be avoided at all costs.

I lowered my voice and tried to keep it as controlled as possible. “What are you doing here?”

She looked at me like she was confused. “Volunteering. You heard Brie.”

I studied her face, looking for a hint of some other truth there.

“You don’t believe me,” she said, her eyes becoming sad. “Because of the other day.”

I clamped my teeth together. Grace took in a deep breath and let it out, her shoulders shaking. My arms itched to go around her, but I stayed still, playing a trick on my body by pretending I was a statue.

“No,” I answered. “Sorry, but I don’t.”

She smirked slightly. “You don’t sound very sorry.”

A growl started deep in my chest, and I suppressed it before it surfaced. God, I wanted to wipe that silly expression right off her lips. Alone there in the storage room, there were a hundred different ways to do it; countless ways to kiss her; a dozen surfaces I could lean her over and get to work showing her what happened when she didn’t keep her attitude in check…

I snapped back to reality.

This is not the time for fantasies, Luke,
I chastised myself.

Grace crossed her arms, her breasts noticeably pushing together even despite the loose top. “I didn’t know you owned this place. Honestly.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

Even though I wanted to. God, I wanted to be wrong about her. But if Tuesday had taught me anything, it was that a scorpion doesn’t change its true nature. Grace came from the same world I’d fought years to escape. And even then, at twenty-nine years old, I would still find, at random moments, it was still with me. Whenever I looked at someone on the street or in a public building and passed judgment on them, thinking they were somehow lesser than me since they waited for a bus every morning or mopped floors for a living, then I knew that the programming I had been raised with was still alive somewhere deep down in me.

I came from a world where we were taught that everything in life was fair; that you got what you put out; that real hard work had an exponential effect. I was taught that those who lived in poverty were in such circumstances because they just hadn’t tried hard enough or because they just didn’t care.

It wasn’t until I started traveling the world that I saw otherwise. Poverty was the result of a failure of humanity as a whole. The systems that were in place didn’t allow for just anyone who wanted more to rise above. A seventh of the people in the world still went to bed hungry every night. Many people didn’t know where their next meal would come from or if they would even be able to keep their children alive.

It had been hard to return to New York after my brush with reality. None of my friends, too preoccupied with skiing trips and the stock market, seemed to care about the things that I suddenly cared about.

And so I’d done the only thing that seemed right and left that life behind. I’d moved to the most random and small town I could find, and I’d committed myself to doing what little good I could in the world. Community First was only the first of what I hoped would be many more food pantries. I’d committed my life to it, leaving behind the people who just refused to see what was truly important in life.

People like Grace.

She stared up at me, batting her eyes. A little jolt of electricity went through my body. She knew what she was doing. How could a beautiful girl like her not? Certainly she’d done the exact same thing multiple times before with other men and was now an expert at the art of seduction.

She was trying to hook me and reel me in.

“You know,” I told her. “Your name is pretty ironic.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That’s not very nice.”

“Why are you here?”

“I told you.”

“And I don’t believe it.”

I was done with the conversation. I took a step forward, meaning to go around her and back through the door to the front, but I stopped after just one move. The pull between us was palpable; the heat searing. I could hear her breath moving in and out of her lungs and her chest rose sharply as I froze.

Her dad can’t even take care of her.
That’s what Mark had said.

So was that what this was all about? Was she just looking for another man to be her sugar daddy?

I scoffed, and she lifted her eyes to look at me. Something rumbled in my core, a deep, primal yearning.

I had to get the hell out of there.

Pushing off from my heels, I catapulted myself through the door and into the front area.

“Be back soon,” I told Brie and Ricardo, not even looking at them.

I blew through the front door and was in my SUV within a matter of seconds. Safe on the side of the building with no windows, I let my forehead drop onto the steering wheel.

Damn that woman.

Grace

I
shut my eyes and counted my breaths, waiting to see if Luke would come back. The sound of the front door slamming said that probably wouldn’t happen.

“Ugh,” I said to myself. So close and yet so far. The man wanted me. It was clear as day.

And I wanted him desperately too because the short exchange — heated as it had been — had left my nether regions tingling.

It really wasn’t fair. Not only would the man not even give me a chance to prove myself, but he was a living and breathing sex God. Being around him was like being on a diet and having a Big Mac hovering from a string right in front of your face.

I bit my lip, trying to quell the waves of desire. I’d have him sooner or later. I’d have his body,
and
I’d have his money. There was nothing to worry about.

Taking another shuddering breath, I went back into the lobby area. Brie stood behind the desk, shuffling through some papers. Ricardo still leaned against the counter, drinking a soda. He straightened up when he saw me. He was a slightly chubby kid, probably not more than nineteen and he was clearly already enamored with me.

I smiled at him. Maybe there was a way I could get his infantile infatuation with me to work to my advantage.

Brie glanced over her shoulder at me. “Oh, Gracie. Come over here and I’ll show you the filing system we use.”

Gracie?

“All right.” I took my spot next to her. “Where did Luke go?”

“He didn’t say,” Brie answered. “But I’m sure he’ll be back soon. You know, I think he’s just not been sleeping very well.”

I couldn’t help but feel a bit of pleasure from the news. Hopefully, Luke had been up late at night lost in fantasies about me.

Brie went over the filing system several times, afraid I wouldn’t remember. Considering the names were all alphabetical, I was pretty sure I had it down.

“Ricardo,” she said once I’d sworn to her for the fourth time that I understood the system, “Why don’t you go get started on sorting? It’ll be a pleasant surprise for Luke when he comes back.”

“Okay,” he said, slurping down the last of his soda. I smiled at him, and he blushed as he scurried into the storage room.

The bell on the front door tinkled, and I whipped my head that way, expecting Luke. It was a small, red haired woman, though, not more than a few years older than me. She wore khaki pants and a black polo with a name tag on it. She looked nervous as she slowly walked up to the counter. Her hands clutched the strap of her purse, and she wore a timid smile.

“Hello,” Brie said.

“Hi,” the woman said in a tiny voice. “I’m Tracey Montgomery. I’m picking up today for the first time.”

“Oh, yes,” Brie responded, throwing her hands up in the air. “I remember you from the other day. Now let’s see…” She bent down to one of the filing cabinets before straightening up. “Grace, why don’t you get Ms. Montgomery’s file? It will be good practice.”

“Okay.” I opened up the drawer with the ‘M’s and extracted the right folder. “Here we go.”

“Good, good,” Brie said like I was a small child. “So open it up and just confirm that all the information is filled out. I’ll go in the back and find her box.”

Brie shuffled away, and I flipped the file open. Tracey Montgomery. Single. Employed part-time at one of those fast food chains I wouldn’t eat at if you payed me a thousand dollars. Three kids: a six-year-old, a four-year-old, and a nine month old.

“Wow,” I said, setting the folder on the counter. “You like kids.”

She looked at me oddly. “What do you mean?”

I gestured at the folder. “Just, you know… you have three.”

The corner of her mouth twitched. Either she was about to laugh or bite my head off. I looked away, praying Brie would come back soon and relieve the wildly uncomfortable moment.

A phone rang from inside Tracey’s purse. I watched surreptitiously as she dug into her bag to retrieve it before reading the number.

“Hello?” she answered. A muffled voice came from over the line. “Oh,” Tracey said. “What was his temperature?”

She paused, her hand coming up to her mouth. The voice on the other end was talking again, and Tracey started gnawing at her thumb nail. I noticed for the first time just how pretty she was. With a light smattering of freckles, bright skin, and high cheekbones, she could have passed for a print model.

Minus the awful fashion choices.

“Can’t you give him some fever reducing medicine?” she asked into the phone.

Another few seconds passed, and I heard Brie banging around in the back.

Tracey sucked in a sharp breath. “A hundred and one… Okay… No, I understand. I know. I’m on my way.”