Decker (Torey Hope: The Later Years #1) (4 page)

Meet her again? What the hell did that mean?

Decker’s sleek, black Chevy Camaro pulled into his parking spot at The Center+ early the next morning. He’d wanted to get to work early to get his workout done so he had time to prepare for Ms. Turner’s arrival. Decker felt a nervous buzz of energy throughout his body; he didn’t do nervous.

He was surprised thirty minutes into his workout to see Sawyer walk into the room. He and his twin had always had a strong connection, and he immediately felt and saw tension in Sawyer.

“Mornin’. What’s up, man?” Decker stopped the treadmill and waited for this brother to speak. The way Sawyer ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes told Decker that his brother definitely had something on his mind.

“Let’s do some weights, man.” Sawyer spoke nothing else and headed to the weights.

Knowing he’d have to let Sawyer talk about whatever was bothering him on his own time, Decker followed. He felt a strong pull to his brother. Placing a hand on the other man’s shoulder, he spoke, “Hey, you know you can talk to me or any of the guys, even Dad or our uncles or grandpas. We’ve always had the luxury of having a multitude of people to talk to. I want you to talk to me, but if you can’t then talk to someone.”

Decker was taken by surprise when Sawyer turned to him and embraced him. A shudder traveled through Sawyer’s body and he held tight to his brother. Decker’s heart plummeted at the thought of what could be bothering him. Sawyer had always been the more emotional and sensitive of the two; Decker kept his emotions closed up and controlled, Sawyer was more emotionally demonstrative and reacted more overtly to bothersome situations.

“Man, I just miss when things were simple. I miss the days when our biggest problems were if we were going to kiss our girlfriends or try to get to second base with them. Sometimes this grown-up thing just sucks; I’m not sure I’m ready for it.” Sawyer stopped speaking and drew in a deep breath, “I just wish….” He stopped again. “Never mind. Spot me.”

Decker allowed Sawyer to let the subject drop for the time being, knowing he’d talk about it when he was ready. His mind drifted. Sawyer speaking about kissing was sort of peculiar, he hadn’t had many girlfriends. He had one serious girlfriend during high school and he’d dated a couple girls off and on through college. The breakup in high school had hit him hard, but he’d recovered fairly quickly. Sawyer never seemed interested in the girls he dated in college, more like he was just friends with them; Decker always felt like his twin was dating just to keep up appearances. Appearances of what? He wasn’t sure.

Workout finished, mind slightly preoccupied with his brother, Decker finished his shower and dressed in a dark suit with a red tie. He had a penchant for unique ties; nothing gaudy, just different colors and patterns.

Walking past some of the construction for the new wing at The Center+, Decker acknowledged the early morning crew and continued to check his email. Head down, focused on his phone, he literally slammed into a body in front of him.

As his phone clattered to the ground, he immediately grabbed for the body in front of him, and he swallowed hard at the initial contact as his hands filled with smooth, soft, warm skin.

“Miss, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? I was in my own little world and didn’t even pay attention to what I was doing.” He spoke as he steadied her. His body reacted to her scent, her softness, her nearness. Breathing deeply to calm his heartbeat and clear his head of the thoughts he was having about the complete stranger he’d just run down in the hallway, he waited for the woman in front of him to gather herself and turn around. When she did, he lost his breath. Thick, gorgeous, dark brunette hair hung in shiny waves around a strikingly beautiful face; grayish green eyes behind long dark lashes stared at him and a pair of soft pink lips spoke as recognition slammed down around him. “Yes, Decker, I’m fine. No worries.” The girl laughed and Decker grabbed her up in a hug. His body still reacted in ways it hadn’t in, well, in ever, but now he stamped those feelings down permanently. This girl was off limits.

“Katie Smith? God, girl, I haven’t seen you in years. Are you here to see Sawyer?” The beauty in front of him was the girl Sawyer dated for a while in high school; they didn’t last, as most high school relationships don’t, but Sawyer had been distraught when they broke up. He’d later admitted that they were better off as just friends. Decker knew the conflicted Sawyer would be happy to see his old friend.

Without letting Katie speak, he led her around the corner to Sawyer’s studio. Finding that his brother wasn’t there, Decker turned to her, “I’m sure he’ll be right back. He’ll be thrilled to see you.” Looking at his watch, he realized his meeting was quickly approaching. “Listen, I have to get to a meeting. Set something up with Sawyer so we can all get together.” Leaning in to kiss her cheek he ignored the increase in his already quickened pulse. She smelled like warm sunshine and his gut tightened.

Katie smiled and looked at her watch. “Actually, Decker, I have a meeting soon too. We’ll all definitely have to get caught up soon. It was great seeing you. Please tell Sawyer I said hello.”

Decker watched her walk away, berating himself for admiring the curves of the woman his brother had dated all those years ago. Just like his hard and fast rule of no relationships with workplace colleagues, he had a similar rule of no dating any girl his brother or cousins had dated first. He shook his head to clear it; sometimes rules were a pain in the ass, Katie Smith was a sight for sore eyes. If Sawyer and Katie rekindled something, Decker would need to get the thoughts of her backside out of his mind and quickly.

**********

Decker checked through the paperwork he needed to go over with Katherine Turner and glanced at his watch. Ten minutes; he really hoped Ms. Turner wouldn’t be late. Tardiness on her first day wouldn’t set a good first impression, no matter how impressed he’d been with her over the phone.

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. When The Center+ was running at full capacity, Decker would hire a secretary, but for now clients had to find his office and announce their arrival on their own.

He walked to the door and pulled it open. His mind filled with a strange and unfamiliar mixture of confusion, frustration, and lust. Katie Smith stood in front of him. Sticking her hand out, she spoke as she shook his hand; he attempted to decipher her words through the roar in his ears as he fought the heated feeling her hand in his brought to his body.

“Good morning, Mr. Morgan. Katherine Turner. Nice to meet you.” She spoke professionally, but the glint of humor flickered across her face.

“Ms. Turner, it’s a pleasure, but I’m sure you can understand my confusion.” Decker attempted to keep it light, but he was feeling extremely aggravated at feeling duped. He didn’t like feelings of confusion or being out of the loop.

“Mr. Morgan, may I speak freely?” At the nod of his head, she continued, “I knew that the position I was applying for was to be your assistant manager. I didn’t reveal to you who I was because I wanted to be hired based on my skills and qualifications, not because I used to date your brother. Also, I feared you would possibly not hire me if you knew who I was; I know how you are with rules, and I figured you’d see this as some form of rule breaking.” She spoke matter-of-factly. “My name is Turner now, I took my mom’s maiden name after she divorced my father. I still go by Katie, but Katherine is more professional sounding for interviews and job applications. Remember when I asked you to keep in mind how perfect I am for the job? I hope you’ll do that, Mr. Morgan.”

Having this beautiful, well-spoken, intriguing girl call him Mr. Morgan was doing weird things in his mind; things that he’d never thought about before were now playing out in an overly active imagination he never knew he had.

“Please, Ms. Turner, call me Decker.” They were going to be colleagues and, he hoped, business partners in this undertaking with The Center+ so he needed her to be comfortable with him.

“Fine, Decker, I’ll call you by your first name if you promise to call me by mine. Katherine is acceptable, but I prefer Kate or Katie. Shall we try this again?” She smiled and stuck out her hand, and he felt his heart all but stop. What had he gotten himself into?

“Good morning, Decker.” The jolt of awareness that traveled up his arm as her skin touched his was unnerving.

He pushed the unwanted feelings away and smirked at her, “Good morning, Kate. I’m glad to have you here. Come on in, we’ve got a lot to get done and then we’ll get the day started. Do you want coffee?” His words came out just as he realized she held a coffee cup in her hand.

Katie smiled, “I’m tough in business, but my weakness is frou-frou coffee drinks. The stronger and sweeter the better.” She tipped her cup at him before taking a drink.

He laughed and poured himself a cup of coffee, and they settled in to get the necessary paperwork done.

After a week of working with Kate, Decker knew a couple things. One, he had absolutely made the right decision in hiring her. She was a force to be reckoned with when it came to business; together they already made the perfect team, growing and perfecting The Center+.

Two, he had resigned himself to cold showers and gritted teeth. Never in his life had he felt such a strong physical attraction to a woman. He was drawn to her brilliant mind, her sparkling sense of humor, and bright personality; but his body ached with wanting her on a purely physical level as well.

The problem with admitting this little bit of knowledge was two-fold. First, he had a hard and fast rule that didn’t allow for dating in the workplace. He knew dating could get messy and he didn’t have room for messy in his business life. Nothing would be worse than losing a girl he cared about who was also his kick-ass assistant manager. But he was really struggling with that rule after his time with Kate.

Second, Katie and Sawyer had dated in high school and he had another rule about not dating girls who had been involved with his cousins or brother. He was pretty sure that Sawyer and Katie hadn’t gone very far physically, he and his brother had shared a lot of details on this subject and nothing had been mentioned about more than making out with Katie. It wasn’t so much about not wanting “sloppy seconds,” although, if he were honest, that
would
sort of turn him off if he thought the two had gone that far; it was more loyalty and respect for his brother and cousins.

As much as he hungered for this woman, he couldn’t make a move on her. Could he? No….no. Well, at least not until he knew where Sawyer stood on things with Katie. But, even if Sawyer didn’t have feelings left for her, that wouldn’t change the fact that they worked together. Maybe that was a hurdle he could jump if it ever got to that point. He shook his head at the fact he was already questioning his rules; Kate made him think about things in a totally different way.

But he couldn’t just ask Sawyer, “Hey man, remember when you were heartbroken over Katie Smith in high school? Well, I was wondering if you’d care if I made a move and asked her out.” Yeah, that wasn’t really a conversation he wanted to have.

Maybe he could get the two of them together and gauge his brother’s feelings toward Katie. Picking up his phone, he texted Sawyer.

Decker shook his head; when had he become such a pussy? He and Sawyer had always had an open relationship, no secrets between them.

“Fuck this. I’m not going to hide this from him.” Decker jerked his office door open and started towards the new art wing, knowing he’d find his brother there. Before he reached his destination, his phone binged with a new text.

“Fuck.” Decker quickly changed his direction and headed back toward his office. He’d wait to see how drinks played out before he approached Sawyer. Even if Sawyer didn’t have an interest in Katie, Decker didn’t know if he could break his rule about no dating in the workplace.

“Hey, Kate, I was just talking to Sawyer. Want to meet up with us after work for some drinks? He’s been wanting to get together and tonight seemed like the perfect time.” Decker poked his head through their adjoining office door. He knew when he helped draw up the plans for the new addition that the adjoining offices for manager and assistant manager was a good idea; they worked together so much that it was perfect to have access to her office without having to walk down the hall.

“That sounds great. I wanted to get a quick workout in before leaving, but I can shower and change here and meet you wherever you’re going.” She smiled brightly at him as he tried to block out the image of her body sweaty from a workout climbing naked into a steam-filled shower. She gave a little foot tapping squeal as she spun around in her desk chair, “Decker! This will be so much fun! I haven’t really been out much since returning to Torey Hope. You guys can be my first. Now, I better get this report finished if I’m going to work out and meet you guys on time. Just text me the time and location.”

She turned back to her work as his brain continued to short circuit over her words. “Be my first” kept floating through his head; he knew the chances of her being a virgin were few and far between, but the thought of it filled him with a carnal lust that he’d never experienced before. He shook his head and retreated into his office, closing the door, before she saw just how much her words had affected his body.

Whether the girl was a virgin or not, he wanted her. Badly. But, with the excitement Sawyer had shown about their get together, he needed to prepare for the fact that his brother wasn’t over her. Decker knew he’d have to step back and let the two of them rekindle their romance if push came to shove. Maybe he should also consider that Katie didn’t feel the same about him as he’d been feeling about her.

“Damn it! This right here is the exact reason why dating and business don’t mix.” He shook his head, disgusted with himself that he’d let his lust for a beautiful woman break into his perfectly regimented business life.