Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
She sighed. “You’re going to be difficult.”
He shook his head. “Not at all, ma’am. I’m trying real hard to ensure we’re not trouble. Garrett was frustrated.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Garrett was an asshole.”
“I’m right here,” Garrett said.
“And yet you are somehow still an asshole.” She turned back to Keane. “You’re as bad as him.”
That made him sit up straighter. “How so?”
“He made assumptions about me and so did you. He decided I’m some kind of woman who didn’t earn her place, who likes to walk in and screw everything up just for fun.”
“I didn’t say you did it for fun,” Garrett attempted.
Olivia…he liked her name…ignored him. “Keane decided I was some kind of rich girl who would look down on a cowboy. My dads are cowboys at heart. I know they’re wealthy now, but they worked for every penny. I grew up around hands. I practically lived in the bunkhouse when I was a kid. There is nothing I find sexier than a good man who happens to work with his hands. And quite frankly, his brain. You don’t get to be my brother-in-law’s foreman without a brain.”
Something warm lit in his chest even though he knew she was likely saying it to put Garrett in his place. Damn, that boy had dug a hole.
Her eyes went hard and that warmth curdled quickly because that look was not for Garrett. It was directed squarely at Keane. “But I don’t know why you would be worried that I might not date you since you could find another one like me at any club.”
Fuck. How long had she been listening? “I’m sorry I said that.”
“I’m not. Now we all know and we can move forward. Garrett isn’t interested in a ball-busting bitch, and I’m a bit common for you. I’ll admit I had a great time last night and I seriously considered looking you up. You’ve saved me the trouble.”
“He didn’t mean it like that,” Garrett said quietly.
She turned his way, her eyes lit with irritation. It didn’t make her less beautiful. In fact, it kind of did something for him. “How did he mean it then, Counselor?”
Keane wasn’t sure how to reply.
Garrett did. Or at least he thought he did. “He shuts down when he’s afraid of rejection, and honestly, he’s got a lot of reason for that. He took you at your word. In some ways he was content to only have one night with you because he firmly believes if you know who he is, you’ll walk away.”
“And you?” Olivia asked.
“I’m an asshole who was pissed off the hottest woman I’ve ever seen snuck out of bed this morning, so I was taking it out on the woman who runs the company. I chose misogynistic words, and I’m ashamed of them. I have biases I need to work on, and one of them is rich people.”
“My parents are rich,” she countered.
“And you don’t have a trust fund to fall back on?” Garrett replied.
She went silent.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I shouldn’t, but I grew up dirt poor. When my mother died, my father took me to a bus station. He didn’t actually buy me a ticket. He told me someone would take care of me and then he was gone. I was eight.”
“Are you honestly trying to trauma dump on me right now?” Olivia huffed.
“I am trying anything that will salvage this situation. I love my job. Keane loves his job. It keeps us together in a way no other work will,” Garrett admitted.
Her eyes rolled. “Yes, because cast-iron bitch will almost surely get you fired because her ego can’t handle a few insults. Let me tell you how I grew up. Yes, we had money and I didn’t go hungry or worry about where we would stay, but the minute I stepped off that ranch I got looks. They called my dad the devil and my mom that woman. Some of them still do to this day. My papa was the dirty little secret they forgot to keep. Do you know how many times I heard my mother called a whore?”
“I’m sorry. That had to be hard.” Keane hadn’t expected that from her. He was every bit as guilty as Garrett since he thought Olivia Barnes-Fleetwood likely didn’t have a care in the world. Growing up rich didn’t keep the world from taking a bite out of her soul. “I heard my mom called that, too. Except it was her job. It was how she paid for the cheap motel room and all the drugs.”
Her mouth dropped open and then she did something he didn’t expect. She laughed. Long and hard, until tears fell from her eyes. When she got her breath back she looked at Keane and then Garrett. “Please tell me you met in foster care.”
He wasn’t sure how that was funny. “We did.”