Decker (Torey Hope: The Later Years #1) (6 page)

“Man, we’ve got a problem. Possibly a big problem.” Zach spoke from the doorway of Decker’s office.

Not one to get ruffled unnecessarily, Decker waved his cousin in. “Okay, let’s hear it, and we’ll get it worked out.”

“Well, one of our biggest backers just called me and said he’d received some confidential information detailing some ‘unsavory labor practices’ at one of our suppliers. He’s put a freeze on his contributions until we can prove that the supplier isn’t involved in anything illegal or corrupt or unsavory. Without his money coming in, the supplies for the new wing can’t be bought which means the construction has to stop for now. I’m sure I don’t have to explain that we’re still under contract to pay the construction crew even while we are losing days to this.” Zach delivered the news and Decker’s stomach plummeted.

“Damn, this is bad. Which supplier is supposedly bad? And where the hell did this confidential information come from?” Decker was pissed.

Zach rattled off the name of the supplier, but had no leads on where the confidential info had come from.

“Fuck!” Decker held his head in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself. “Okay, I will call the backer and let him know that I have the utmost faith in this supplier. I’ll pay a surprise visit to the supplier and take pictures and video of the day-to-day procedures so that I can reassure myself and the backer. There’s no way the supplier is involved in anything wrong.” Pacing his office, he knew he could solve this problem easily within a few phone calls and a day or two out of the office. “Sit down with the crews and come up with lists of things they can continue working on the next couple days while we get this taken care of.”

His biggest concern was who was messing with the expansion. Someone had to have it out for him or The Center+ to go to this amount of trouble to pause construction. “Who the hell would take the time to mess with The Center+? It’s a place for learning and growing and having fun; who could oppose that?”

“I don’t know man; maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with The Center+. Maybe someone has a beef with the supplier? Or someone is hoping for our backer to pull his monetary support from us and put it somewhere else? Just get on the phone with the backer and make your plans to pay a visit to the supplier.” Zach stopped before leaving Decker’s office. “Maybe take someone with you? Kendrick and I can’t go, we’ve got meetings scheduled. I’m pretty sure Sawyer is booked with introducing new programs to the community. Maybe Katie could go? Having another witness to prove there’s nothing corrupt would probably be helpful.” As Zach retreated, Decker acknowledged the wisdom behind his cousin’s suggestion; but he questioned his own wisdom in considering Kate as his partner for the trip. This was going to be an overnight trip; could he ignore what was between them? Did he want to continue ignoring it?

On a strangled whisper he spoke to the empty room. “Shit, what am I talking about? There’s no question about it. She’s my assistant manager so of course she’s the one I should take. There’s nothing to ignore. She’s my colleague and my brother loves her, no matter what she says.” Decker nodded his head at his own little pep talk. Walking to the adjoining door, he knocked and popped his head in.

“Hey, Kate, got a minute? We’ve got a problem I’m going to need your help with.” The smile she turned on him did funny things in his gut. This was going to be a long trip.

**********

An hour later, Decker had explained the problem to Katie and called the backer with assurances and an explanation of his plan. Katie had pulled a history, all clean of course, of the supplier in question including a BBB report, tax filings, and statements of satisfaction from former and current employees.

“Okay, we need to leave in about an hour. I’ll head home to pack. Can you pick me up at my place? We’ll get there tonight, grab a bite to eat, find a hotel, and then go check the supplier out tomorrow.” Katie was excited about the trip; she wanted to prove to the backer that The Center+ wasn’t involved with anything unsavory. Her excitement had nothing to do with an overnight trip with Decker. Nothing at all.

“Yeah, I’ll run home and pack too. I need to let Sawyer know I’ll be gone. I’ll have to let my dad and Uncle Jeremiah know what’s going on as well since they’ll act as decision makers while I’m away. I’ll pick you up in an hour. Hopefully this will be a quick fix.” Decker nodded at her as they went their separate ways. The anticipation in his chest had nothing to do with spending time with Kate. Nope, it was all about solving this problem quickly and efficiently. That’s all.

**********

Katie repressed the excited squeal she longed to let loose when she saw Decker’s black Chevy Camaro pull in the driveway. Since they weren’t doing any business that day, she had dressed more casually in a pair of denim slacks and a fitted shirt with large chunky jewelry. Rubbing her hands down her pants, she picked up her overnight bag and headed to the front door. She stopped short when she saw her mother, grandmother, and Decker sitting around the living room. She shot a questioning look at Decker who just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Now, young man, what exactly are your intentions with our Kate? I’m sure I don’t have to tell you just how inappropriate it looks for her to be traveling out of town for an overnight trip with a man. I should hope that you have no plans to soil her virtue.” Katie’s elderly grandmother was a trip, and she was holding nothing back with Decker.

“Grandma! Decker is my
boss
and we’re going on a
business trip
. Nothing inappropriate is planned.” Patting her grandmother on the shoulder, she threw quick glance at Decker and mouthed
I’m sorry
. He just winked and smiled.

“Is that what you young folks are calling it today?
Business
? Well, I remember just what kind of unplanned
business
your grandfather and I used to have. Young man, I hope you’re packing some protection in those pretty pockets of yours. My precious Kate better not come back from your supposed
business trip
with a baby or any other problem in her
business
.” Grandma nodded her head sagely, and Katie shot a desperate look at her mother.

“Mom, we need to head out. Maybe you could get Grandma settled in for her tea?” Katie’s eyes implored her mother to help with the mortifying situation. Her mother discreetly covered her smile and led her mother out of the room.

“I’m so sorry; Grandma is quite the character and has no filter at all as I’m sure you could tell.” Katie felt her cheeks flush as Decker stood to join her at the door.

“Not a problem, she’s a hoot. I almost expected her to pat me down in search of protection.” With a wink he assured her that he wasn’t offended and took her arm and steered her toward the door. Just as quickly as he’d grasped her arm, he let go and looked at her guiltily. “Sorry about that.”

As they settled into his car, Katie spoke. “Decker, we’ve got to stop tiptoeing around and apologizing. We find each other attractive. End of story. We’re not dating, we’re not getting married, we’re not falling into bed together. We’re grownups, I’m sure we can handle an inadvertent touch here and there without going crazy with lust.” She ended on a questioning note. She didn’t truly feel the words she was speaking; she wanted him to disagree with her.

Clearing his throat, he nodded and agreed. “You’re right. We can surely handle things like adults. No more apologizing.”

The long drive was pleasant from that point on. They spoke of high school memories, mutual friends, ideas for The Center+, and their families.

“I can’t believe you don’t remember that ice cream place in town!” Katie spoke incredulously. “It was
the
hangout for all the cool kids and had the best ice cream; I hated to see it close down. How do you not remember it? I know you were one of the
cool
kids because your brother and cousins were as well.”

Sheepishly, Decker shrugged his shoulders, “I was probably too busy studying or writing up mock business plans or proposals; I was in the
in
crowd, but mainly by association, I didn’t spend a lot of time with anyone but the guys. I dated occasionally, but never seriously; I always felt like dating wasted my time when I could have been working on school stuff and getting ready to take over The Center.”

“That’s sort of sad, Decker. I always remember thinking you were so very serious all of the time; Sawyer was the emotional one, Zach the funny one, Kendrick the broody one, you the serious one. You seemed so unapproachable back then. I wish we had known each other; I’m glad our mutual love of business has brought us together now.” Katie took the conversation to an easy place.

“Ah, yes, our
mutual love of business
, that sounds so exciting. Surely we’ve got something more in common than love of business?” Decker smiled at her.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out as we get to know each other a little better. I love Torey Hope and Sawyer; we’ve got that in common. I love my parents and grandma, and you adore your whole family; there’s another thing in common. Music? What do you like? I’m pretty diverse, if it’s got a good rhythm or great lyrics, I probably like it.” Katie was rattling off facts about herself and Decker let her voice just float over his ears; he liked hearing her talk and being close to her.

“I like a lot of different music as well. Old stuff, new stuff, hard rock, pop, some country, a little rap, new indie work, I like it all. We’ll have to compare music playlists someday.” He liked the idea of sitting around, sharing some of his favorite songs with her. Once again he was bombarded with frustration over this situation; dating a colleague wasn’t a good idea, but trying to tell his heart and brain that was proving difficult.

“Pizza? You like pizza right?” Katie looked at him expectantly.

“Of course, who doesn’t like pizza? But, the real question comes down to toppings. I want a little bit of everything on my pizza. What about you?” Decker narrowed his eyes as if her answer was of terrible importance.

Wrinkling her nose, Katie shook her head, “Nope, sorry, I want only cheese; sometimes I like pepperoni. If we ever get pizza, we can do half/half or I can pick off all your nasty toppings; I don’t like onions or olives or peppers crunching in my teeth when I’m trying to enjoy pizza.” She laughed at his faux horrified face.

“I obviously didn’t screen you well during the application process; how can you call all those delicious veggies and meats
nasty
?” Decker pretended to be disappointed. “I guess you’ll have to be with Aly and Zoey on pizza days at The Center+ when they get their plain cheese pizzas. It’s a real shame there’s something so wrong with you.” He laughed as she swatted at his arm.

“I’m almost afraid to ask, what’s your crust preference? Please tell me you’re not the type who wants that cracker thin crust.” Decker glanced at her and waited for her response.

“No way! I like traditional crust the best, although I can eat a deep dish every now and then.” She smiled as he pretended to be relieved.

“Whew, okay, at least you saved yourself with that answer. Now, what about drinks?” Decker hadn’t talked this much to a girl about random, useless information in his entire life.

“Like soda or tea? I prefer unsweet tea with lemon most of the time; especially freshly brewed tea. As far as soda, I’m a little weird I guess. I like Pepsi from a soda fountain or can, but I want Coke at McDs; there’s nothing like their coke or their unsweet tea.” Smiling like a little kid over something as simple as drink preferences, Katie lit up the entire car.

“Well, I’m in total agreement with you on your drink choices, but I like my tea sweet; my grandmas made sweet tea while I was growing up and I just can’t break myself from it.” He handed her his phone to check the map, and tried to ignore the electricity that flowed between their hands when they accidentally brushed against each other.

By the time they reached their destination, they knew each other a lot better and most of the awkwardness of their situation had passed. While Decker would never admit it because he knew he could never act upon it because of work and his brother, he finally understood what his mom was always telling him, “When you find
the one
you’ll just know, you’ll feel it in your heart and soul.” Wasn’t it just a damn fucking shame that his
one
was the only one he couldn’t have? Wonder what his momma would say about that?

Katie on the other hand, being privy to the fact that there was absolutely zero romantic relationship between Sawyer and her, decided something on the drive. Years of dating, wondering if each man was
the one
had brought her to this point; she’d never felt this way about any other guy. She knew they’d have to work through the working together part, but she felt it deep in her heart and without a doubt that Decker Morgan was her
one,
and she wasn’t going to give that up easily.

“What do you mean you only have one room?” Decker spoke professionally, but Katie knew he was gritting his teeth.

“Sorry, man, we are the only hotel in town, and there’s some antique show going on this week. You’re lucky I’ve got this one room; up until a cancellation an hour ago, we were booked solid. So, do you want the room or not?” The young man behind the counter didn’t seem to understand the dilemma that Decker faced.

Turning to Kate, Decker raised his eyebrows. “Kate? You okay with sharing a room with me?” His mind was a jumbled mess of feelings;
please share a room with me
battled with
please don’t agree to this
and his heart beat full force waiting on her answer.

“Decker, I know you’ll be nothing but a gentleman. Of course I’ll share a room with you.” As Decker slid his card over to pay for the room, he swallowed thickly, and his eyes shot to her when she leaned in and whispered, “Too bad I can’t promise that I’ll follow the rules.” She smirked at him and winked, but her mind scoffed at her,
What the hell was that? You want to flirt a little, not come across like some brazen hussy.

Decker forced a smile. She had been joking, right? He could understand if she wasn’t totally on board with him denying their relationship over the work issue, but if she couldn’t respect his decision to step back out of loyalty to his brother then maybe she wasn’t the woman he thought she was.

As they walked to the room to drop off their bags and freshen up for dinner, Decker spoke a little harsher than he meant to. “Kate, listen, I can see that you may not agree with my no dating a colleague rule, but it’s really disappointing that you would hurt Sawyer and disrespect my decision to step back when he obviously still has feelings for you.”

“Well, thank you for that proper chastising Mr. Morgan.” She rolled her eyes at him which earned her a look that mixed shock, anger, and a little lust; he clearly wasn’t used to attitude or eye rolling from his employees. “Decker, I know you won’t believe me until you’ve spoken to Sawyer, and I won’t interfere with that. But, please trust me when I say there is absolutely nothing between Sawyer and me; there hasn’t been anything since high school and even then it was just some experimental making out.” She reached for his hand as he unlocked the door, “As for the work thing, let’s just see where this thing goes and see if it’s worth dealing with repercussions at work, okay?” Leaning in, she kissed his cheek.

He took a ragged breath and fought the urge to toss her on the bed. She took the same ragged breath and tried to convince herself that she hadn’t just stepped in way over her head.

“So, yeah, let’s get ready for dinner. You can have the restroom first. I’ll look up some places we can eat; you have a preference?” Decker tried to sound calm, but the warmth of her lips on his cheek still stung. He wanted to call Sawyer right that minute and demand to know what his brother felt for Kate. But, no, he had more control than that. He wouldn’t go off half-cocked like some horny teenager. He could share dinner and a hotel room with a woman without letting things get out of hand. He was always in control; of course he could keep the situation under control.

“Nope, I’m up for anything. I’ll just wash my face and brush my teeth and we can head out.” Katie grabbed her bag and headed to the restroom.

Five minutes later she emerged and his gut tightened when he saw her. Her hair cascaded down her back, her eyes sparkled and her lips shimmered. She smelled like fresh sunshine and warm citrus mixed with brown sugar. She had changed into a skirt that hit her about mid-thigh and his eyes traveled up her legs for miles. A simple tank and blouse finished her outfit, but she might as well have walked out in a bikini; he could see every curve of her beautiful body and his own body was reacting in appreciation.

“Fuck.” He whispered to himself and took a deep breath.

“What was that, Decker?” Katie smiled at him good-naturedly. “Did you say something?”

“Damn it, Kate, are you
trying
to make this harder on me? I thought we had an agreement?” He was slightly annoyed with her, but he was more annoyed with himself for not being able to control his reaction to her.

“Decker, I’m wearing the same outfit I’d wear if I was with all four of you guys. I’m not purposely trying to make anything
harder
.” With a smirk and a wink, she continued, “We’re attracted to each other, no matter what we do, that’s not going to change. Once you realize that Sawyer isn’t an obstacle, maybe you’ll be more willing to see where this could be headed.”

A shrill ringing broke into their conversation. Seeing it was a blocked number, he ignored the call and headed to the restroom to get ready for dinner.

When he was out of sight, Katie sat down on the bed with a sigh. She had never been the flirty type; she hoped her plan to show Decker they could be good together didn’t backfire on her.

She noticed his concerned look when he walked out of the restroom. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing that I know of, but I just got a text from a blocked number, I’d assume it’s the same blocked number that called me a minute ago.” Decker was trying to decipher the text.

“What did it say?” Katie didn’t like to see Decker worried.

“It said, ‘
Too bad your plans aren’t working out the way you thought they would
.’” Decker assumed the text was in reference to the work issue they were dealing with.

“Save the message. Maybe it’s unrelated, but we may need it later. Come on, I’m starving, let’s go eat.” Katie convinced him to forget about the text for a while.

**********

They walked into the restaurant and Katie groaned. “This is the third place we’ve tried and they’ve all got lines out the ass. I’m hungry, Decker.” She tried very hard to hide the whine in her voice, but she was seriously hungry.

Decker spoke to the hostess. “We’re in luck, this place has open seating in the bar. Come on, I’ll get you fed, Katie-did.” She felt warm inside at his use of the nickname. She had to laugh that her new nickname with him was in reference to an insect, but she basked in the warmth of him speaking to her in a more intimate, informal manner.

“Katie-did? Really? A bug?” She spoke in a teasing tone and bumped his shoulder.

He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “Well, I heard Sawyer use ‘Katie-girl’ so I figured I’d need to be original. I guess a nickname derived from an insect isn’t all that sweet or romantic, huh? Not that I’m trying to be romantic or sweet. It just sort of came out. Sorry, I won’t do it again.” Decker finished speaking as she took her seat, but before she could respond, he slid into the booth beside her and pinned her into the corner with his arms.

“You know what, fuck that. I’m not sorry. I want to have a nickname for you. It’s the first thing that popped into my mind, and I find it endearing. So, I take back my apology. I’d like to call you Katie-did. And, so help me God, I have no clue what you’re doing to me woman.” He leaned close to her, almost burying his nose in her neck; with a deep growl in his chest, he backed away and took his seat across from her. Katie just raised her eyebrows and smiled at him.

“I have no complaints about the nickname, Decker. I like it. You’re welcome to sit next to me if you’d like.” She offered him a genuine smile. That was what was killing him; she was so real and so genuine. Kate wasn’t a fake, she wasn’t ditzy and flirty; he sensed the flirting she was doing with him tonight was foreign to her. What would it be like to just take her on a date, to get drinks, to invite her to his place? His mind drifted to his mouth on hers, her dark hair spread out on his pillow, waking up beside her in the morning. Damn it all to hell, this wasn’t him; he didn’t get ruffled by a woman like this. Taking a deep breath, he smiled at her and let his words come tumbling out.

“I think we’re both safer if I’m on my side, and you’re on your side. I started today thinking we could keep these feelings covered up and just go about business as usual, but after spending more time with you, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to admit that I was wrong. I don’t know how things are going to play out, and I’m not willing to let anything happen until I’ve spoken to Sawyer, but I’m pretty sure this thing between us isn’t going to be forgotten about. The more I try to cover up my feelings for you, the more they fight their way to the surface. Let me talk to Sawyer and then we’ll figure out what to do about things at work.” In the one minute it took for him to speak those words, he felt the weight of fighting his feelings lift and he relaxed for the first time in over a week. He’d had no plans on revealing all of that to her, but his words just came spilling out and it felt good to just let them loose.

Smiling at his words, she sipped her amaretto sour, turned to the waitress and placed her order for a big juicy burger and fries. Decker followed suit with a steak and baked potato. “Hey, Decker, when you talk to Sawyer, be patient with him. He’s got a lot to talk to you about, and I’m afraid you’re going to get frustrated with him for not talking to you before now. Just remember that he had his reasons for not talking to you sooner. He’s your brother, your other half, your closest friend, and he’s going to need you on his side.”

He frowned at her words, “Kate, I don’t like where this is going. You’re talking like there’s some huge secret between us; Sawyer and I don’t keep secrets from each other. Even if something were to happen between you and me tonight, I’d have to tell him about it because I can’t keep things from him. What could he have possibly kept from me?”

Katie shook her head, “It’s not for me to share, Decker, just remember that you love him no matter what.”

Decker huffed out a breath, “You know, I’m starting to get a little pissed that you seem to know this secret, and I don’t. Why do you know more than his twin brother?”

Katie smiled sadly, “I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, no more plying me with drinks and getting information from me. This is all I’m drinking tonight, and I’m done talking about Sawyer.” She was saved by their order arriving. Glancing at Decker over the food, she could tell he wasn’t completely satisfied, but he’d taken the distraction.

Halfway through her burger and fries Katie glanced at Decker and caught him staring at her. “What? Do I have something on my face? Why are you staring at me?” She blushed as he smiled at her.

Shaking his head, he just continued to smile. “Nothing’s wrong. You’re just...I don’t even know how to explain it…you’re just
you,
and I can’t stop looking at you. I love that you’re eating a real meal and not acting like a salad and water is filling. I love that you ordered what you wanted and didn’t wait to see what I’d get. I love that you’re drinking an amaretto sour. I love that you’re acting the same way with just me as you’d act if my brother and cousins were here.” He reached for her hand across the table, but after a gentle, warm squeeze he let it go, she knew he was still tempering things because of Sawyer. She had half a mind to call Sawyer and tell him to text Decker the all-clear so they could see where things went tonight, but that wasn’t the purpose of their trip, so she wouldn’t call.

“Well, Mr. Morgan you’re
really
going to love me when I order dessert and take you on the dance floor.” She smiled at him and perused the dessert menu. “Perfect! We can share apple crisp with ice cream. Yum.” After ordering the dessert, she turned to him, “Want to dance now or after dessert?”

He shook his head. “Nope, that’s where I draw the line. Dessert, yes; dancing, no. I don’t dance. As in, I don’t know how. Never have, never will.”

Feigning shock, Katie put a hand to her chest. “Why, Mr. Morgan, I’m shocked at you! Don’t you know that dancing is like foreplay with clothes on?” She was pretty sure she’d read that fact in a magazine somewhere; she definitely didn’t know it from first-hand experience.

Groaning, he leaned in toward her, “For the love of God, please don’t talk about foreplay.” He was saved by their dessert arriving. Although, watching her eat was almost as bad as talking about foreplay. Oh, how he longed to be her spoon.

“Come on, Decker, let’s dance.” She squinted her eyes at him as he shook his head, “Fine, you party-pooper. I’ll go dance by myself. See ya later, chump.” She poked at his chest and sauntered toward the dance floor. “Wings” by Little Mix came on as she reached the dance floor. She found the beat and fell into step with a couple other women and three guys. After shaking her ass and doing some fancy steps, she turned her gaze toward Decker. His hooded eyes took in every move she made, knowing she was dancing just for him. His teeth and fists were clenched by the end of the song as he had to watch the men taking turns dancing up behind her. Maybe he should rethink his stance on dancing.

Katie rejoined him at the table when the song ended and slurped down her water. “Whew! I haven’t danced like that forever, since high school probably. I’m spent; are you ready to head out?”

Decker paid the bill and they walked out into the night. “Want to walk a bit before driving back? You worked off the dessert with your ass-shaking, but I need to walk off that meal.” He smiled at her and offered his hand.

Glancing down at his hand, she smiled and let her own slide into his. She’d never really held hands with a guy. Sure, in grade school and high school, but not since being an adult; the dates she went on never usually went past one or two times and she never felt comfortable enough to hold hands with those men. Having her hand in Decker’s felt like fitting the last piece of a puzzle together. His hand was warm and strong and seemed made just for her. The electric jolt of awareness that traveled through their bodies when their hands met was strong enough to cause goose bumps. “
Ass-shaking
? That was dancing, not just ass-shaking. One day, I’ll get you to shake your ass with me.” She smiled at his vehement refusal as he shook his head.