Sassy's Studs (6 page)

“Mom,” I said, taking her hand in mine and squeezing it gently. “I think Joakim would be glad you finally found love.”

She smiled as I repeated her own words to her. Nodding, she squeezed me back then got to her feet.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she said as she grabbed a notepad off of the counter. “You got a phone call this morning. Nancy from Hammond Construction wants you to call her. Apparently, they are in need of an architect.”

“Hammond Construction,” I repeated with a smirk. “I’m going to go return this call in my room. See you later.”

I walked upstairs and pulled the phone number from my pocket, dialing Ryan’s house.

“Miss me already?” Ryan asked by way of greeting.

“Let me talk to Colbie,” I said, my voice more clipped than I’d meant it to be.

“I hear you miss us,” he said as he got on the line. “That’s really sweet. We miss you, too. Do you want us to come get you?”

“What I would like is to know why your sister called me about a job this morning,” I huffed. “I don’t need you to take care of me Colbie. I have a job.”

“You have a shitty job,” he replied. “And I didn’t tell her to call you. She did that on her own. As soon as she heard you were back in town, she got on my case about getting you to come work for us. I knew you’d never accept it from me. I warned her, but apparently, she doesn’t care. It’s not a hand out. We need an architect, but if you’re not interested I understand.”

“My job is not shitty,” I said lamely. “Waitressing is a respectable career.”

“So is mucking horse stalls, but I don’t see kids busting their asses through four years of college to end up there.” He blew out a sigh. “Look, call her back or don’t. I swear to you it is not an offer from me. It’s all her.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll call you later.”

“Do you want to get dinner?” he asked before I could hang up.

“That depends,” I said. “Are you going to actually feed me? Because every time you try, I somehow end up naked.”

“We’ll order in,” Ryan called from the background.

“Get me drunken noodles, extra hot,” I said. “I’ll be there by six.”

I hung up and stared at the phone for a minute. I really wanted to believe this wasn’t just Colbie being Colbie and trying to help me out. He was right; my job sucked. It wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. If Nancy really wanted to meet with me…what harm was there? It was just a meeting.

I dialed the number before I lost my nerve.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Nancy. It’s Sassafras Jones. I understand you wanted to talk to me?”

“Oh, Sassy,” she said, her voice full of relief. “I’m so glad you called. Listen, I was just about to head out. Can you meet me for dinner? I’d love to talk to you about a job opening we desperately need to fill.”

“Sure, I’m free. Do you like Thai?”

“Love it,” she said.

“Great, I’ll meet you at Thai Bistro at six?”

“Perfect. See you then.”

I hung up and smiled to myself. As I went to get ready for my meeting, I couldn’t help wondering what my punishment would be for standing up the studs tonight. If I delayed them long enough, I was willing to bet they could come up with some pretty creative stuff. And I couldn’t wait to find out what was in store for me.

About the Author

Dakota Rebel lives in Detroit, Michigan with her husband Mr. Rebel and two incorrigible children, Jr. Rebel and Rebel Jr. 2.0.

Her friends are made up of the most amazing people on the planet. They not only accept her faults but often encourage them.

She smokes more than she should, drinks less than she’d like to, and is the life of any party that ends by 9 p.m. She adores her fans like nobody’s business and encourages them all to email her at
[email protected]
.

Dakota loves to talk to her readers and can be found at www.dakotarebel.net

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