The Trouble With Scarecrows (The Trouble With Men Book 2) (4 page)

Chapter 6

“What happened to you?”

Neal guessed he should have gone to his apartment and put on dry clothes before going to Zadora’s, but he didn’t want the food to get any colder than it already had. “I brought you food.”

Zadora left Neal at the door and ran to the back. She came back a few seconds later with a towel, exchanging it for the plate. “Thanks!” She took the food to the dining room and sat down in front of the huge window. As she removed the foil covering, she said, “Yum. Tacos.”

She took a bite and smiled as she chewed, which made Neal smile despite his sour mood. Nevertheless, before taking a second bite Zadora asked what had happened, which put the frown right back on Neal’s face.

“I blew it.”

“Oh,” she said but not in a disappointed way, more like she’d expected it not to go well, which, to Neal, made it worse.

“I’m sorry.” Neal stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “You did your part, and then I totally screwed up. It has been the screwiest morning ever. A naked woman surprised me in the shower—”

This snapped Zadora’s attention away from her food. She stared up at him as she chewed, not questioning the comment.

And if she wasn’t going to ask, he was in no mood to tell, so he continued, “Everything was going fine, and Brenda seemed to like my food and there even seemed to be this second when she chilled out. But then I had to go and screw it all up. I guess I should’ve waited and not blurted it out like that.”

“What did she say?”

“She accused us of playing her and then stormed home without finishing her food.”

“Oh,” she said again, but this time the disappointment was clear. “But that still doesn’t explain why you’re all wet.”

Neal walked toward the table, drying himself with the towel. “I was taking her the leftovers, hoping I could try and apologize or something stupid like that, and I heard her scream. I ran in and found her in the bathroom, water pouring out from behind the bathtub.”

Zadora stared, wide-eyed, as she brought the taco up to her mouth.

“An old pipe busted.” Neal sat down at the table. He thought about telling her about the offer he’d made Brenda but decided not to. If he said anything, it would only get Zadora’s hopes up again. “So that’s why I’m all wet. I got the water turned off and . . . you know.”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll think of something."

“Right.” He tapped the table. “Enjoy your food. I’m going to go change. See you around.” He stood up and draped the towel over the chair before walking to the door.

“Thanks. Best tacos ever.”

Lot of good they did me
, he thought as he gave a slight wave and then left Zadora’s apartment.

Out in the hallway, suddenly a bit chilled, he pulled his wet shirt over his head.

Brenda, now dressed in a tank top and a pair of tights, walked out of her apartment. Her hair was damp and drying in waves. If he hadn’t been so weary, he might have enjoyed the scenery a little more.

“Hey, can we talk?” she asked.

Neal shrugged his shoulders, waiting for her to ask why he hadn’t packed already.

“I’m sorry. Okay? I’m sorry I’ve been so disagreeable and, one might even say, a little bitchy.”

“Say what?”

“I’ve been thinking.”

“Uh-oh.”

“I’ve been thinking that maybe . . .” She stared at his chest and then whipped her head to the side. Making a quick recovery, she looked back up at his face.

Neal was confused for a second, and then he remembered he didn’t have on a shirt. He ran his hand over his mouth, hiding the smirk. Being around Brenda had made him forget that he often had that effect on women.

“You know,” Brenda said, “maybe I should talk to you and Zadora at the same time, so there is no misunderstanding. I’ll go get her while you can go put on some clothes . . . so you don’t catch a cold, and we’ll have a little meeting in your apartment.”

“Okay.” He frowned, feeling the beginnings of a headache right in the center of his forehead.

“Okay.” Brenda walked to Zadora’s door and knocked.

He watched, still frowning, until she’d disappeared inside, and then went to his apartment.

While in his bathroom, Neal noticed a small black wad of material with pink flowers on the floor. He would have recognized what that was, no matter what color. Women’s underwear. He picked them up, surprised he hadn’t noticed them before.

A grin grew ear-to-ear as he imagined how Brenda must had slipped them off right there while he showered. He gave a low whistle.

He hated to admit it, but she excited him. Brenda was a woman who was not afraid to initiate an afternoon of fun. She knew who she was and knew what she wanted and went after it. And she was sexy as hell.

He let his imagination go wild for a second and fantasized that Brenda had been there for him. She had left to go to work but come back because she forgot something. Her hair was up in a bun, and she wore those librarian glasses she’d worn that first day he’d met her at Larry’s book signing. She heard the shower and immediately kicked off her high heels. She slinked into the bathroom, removed her glasses, pulled the pins out of her hair, and took off all of her clothes, slowly. In his mind, she didn’t swing the curtain open, instead, she quietly slipped in the back of the shower. He felt her soapy hands on his body before he was aware of her. The sensation ignited an urgency to have her. He turned around and kissed her furiously as he ran his hands down her back to that nice ass he had watched run away earlier.

The sound of voices in the front room jolted him out of his daydream. He shook his head and splashed cold water on his face. What the hell was that? Nonsense. Thinking like that would only drive him mad, and he had no intention of doing that ever again. Not over a woman. It had almost destroyed him before.

“Why do I do this!” he said through his teeth. Brenda was unobtainable: successful and rich. He was neither of those things. He didn’t like feeling insecure in a relationship. Not that Brenda would ever want one with him, but the way she’d flirted and then eyed him earlier let him know that there was at least some attraction.

But so what?

He thought about handing the underwear to her with a wink and a “You forgot something this morning.” However, if the meeting was going to be about them making a deal, well, he didn’t want to piss her off. He would figure out what to do with them later. He knew for sure that he couldn’t keep them in his sight where they would trigger more sex thoughts. Nope, they had to go. He tossed them in his laundry basket.

By the time he made it back into the front room, the women were sitting on the couch, silent and, most likely, miserable.

When Zadora noticed him, she jumped up and said, “Neal, there you are.”

Neal gave her a slight nod, letting her know that everything would be okay. He would do all the talking. She arched an eyebrow, glanced at Brenda, then sat back down.

Neal sat in the recliner and eased back in the seat, trying to give off a nonchalant attitude. He didn’t want to look at Brenda after he’d been imagining her naked in the shower with him, but he had to. When their eyes met, he felt his resolve melt and he darted his eyes over to Zadora, who gave a slight frown. Maybe this was good, all of them sitting down and talking - all their cards on the table. “What’s up?’ he asked, giving his attention to Brenda.

Brenda’s hair had dried now, wispy and carefree. She didn’t look uptight at the moment. Instead, she seemed almost comfortable. Almost.

“I want to apologize to both of you,” she said. “It was very inconsiderate of me to come in here and think of this as a business transaction. Clearly, y’all have made a home here, and I should respect that.”

Neal sat straight up. “So what are you saying, exactly?”

“I have an offer.”

“I’m listening,” Neal said.

Brenda uncrossed and recrossed her legs. “I think you’re absolutely right with your observations about the house. This place needs a lot of work before I can sell it for a decent price. I want to take you up on your renovation offer.”

Neal glanced at Zadora who, understandably, appeared lost. She frowned as she glanced from Neal to Brenda.

“In exchange,” Brenda said, “the consideration is that you get to live here, free of charge, until you finish school. I may be a bitch, but I’m also a food snob. I know talent when I taste it, and I would hate for you to waste it because of me.”

“Thanks?”

“Zadora still pays rent.”

“Wait a minute . . .”

“No, that’s fine,” Zadora said.

“You sure?”

She nodded with a firm, wide-eyed stare that said,
Take the offer, you idiot
.

“Okay, you have a deal,” Neal said.

“That’s not all.” Brenda’s direction changed to Zadora. “You said you’re an accountant. You’re in charge of keeping up with receipts and keeping him in line.”

“This isn’t her problem.”

“I don’t mind,” Zadora said.

“Of course she doesn’t mind,” Brenda said. “Do I need to remind you that she doesn’t have a lease and Maximilian’s ends soon? I’m not throwing her out on her ass. She can stay without a lease for as long as you’re here, or she can leave whenever she wants to. But for some reason, I don’t think she will. Is there a reason why you don’t want to have your name on the lease? Do we care to discuss that reason now?”

“No,” Zadora said and glanced up at Neal.

The truth was, Neal was curious too. She had the money to pay for rent elsewhere. Something was up for Zadora to sit there and take this condescending tone from Brenda.

Brenda was saying, “You’ll have a fifty-thousand-dollar budget. I’ll have a list of things I want done. Don’t let him sway from the list without asking my permission first. If you do, I’ll consider it a breach of contract.”

“Oh come on. Fifty grand? Have you seen the size of this house?

She snapped her attention back on Neal. “Is this a problem? I can hire a real contractor and find another tenant who will actually pay rent. Better yet, I can go back to my original plan and just sell, cut my losses, and run. I’m doing this for you. This was your idea. Remember?”

He exhaled. “I’ll figure something out.”

“And,” Brenda said, “that scarecrow thing you offered, well, I want that too. However, I want you to find someone other than you to be the scarecrow. So I’m willing to pay twenty bucks an hour plus drinks.”

“Fine,” Neal said, knowing his cousin Rocky owed him a couple of favors and could always use the cash.

“One more thing.”

“What the hell? What else do you want? My fucking blood?”

“Nope . . . your food. Like I said, I appreciate a fine meal. And while I’m here, I would like one meal a day.”

“Shit!” Neal stood up. Not that he didn’t like cooking for people, he was just trying to figure out how the hell he was going to fit everything in. He did have to eat, and he cooked for himself and Zadora a couple of times a week, but seven times? But she did say she would be leaving in a couple of weeks so maybe it was doable.

He walked over to the desk by the window and stared outside at the street, not wanting to make a rash decision before he thought it through. He had a couple of buddies from his roofing time that took side jobs. They could work on their own. He could delegate a lot of it. If there was enough dough. What choice did he have, really? This lady had him by the balls. Before he made the final deal, he wanted to make sure everything sounded okay to Zadora.

When he turned to ask, Brenda said, “Ouch,” and held onto her head. “Did you just pull my hair?”

“Sorry,” Zadora said. “I didn’t know it was attached.”

Clearly appalled, Brenda looked at Neal, like they were the popular allies against the weird girl in class.

Neal shrugged it off and said, “Zadora, are you cool with all this?”

She pressed her lips together, nodded, then said, “As long as you are.”

“Fine, Ms. Fisher, or should I say, Ms. Satan? You have yourself a deal.”

Chapter 7

Brenda crossed the hall feeling quite proud of herself. She had Neal and Zadora over a barrel, and she didn’t feel bad about taking advantage of the situation. Why should she? It was what Neal wanted. It was his idea, even. He wanted to be able to stay rent-free. Done. He didn’t want her to sell. Done. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Zadora’s face after she read the list of “must be completed” and realized that her apartment was going to be redecorated around her. Zadora deserved it, playing all innocent and then trying to put one over on her. Did she really think she’d get by unscathed?

Dressed and ready to head out to her Tai Chi Chuan class, Brenda took a moment to sit on the couch with her laptop to email her new assistant, Nathan, with the agreement details.

She knew a written contract was overkill. She didn’t think she had to have anything in writing with these two people. But it was what she did. And she also wanted to protect herself. So she’d add a little extra as a bonus protection plan.

The scarecrow thing had been a last-minute inclusion, but it seemed fitting since it had been the original deal Neal had tried to use. She would try it out. It couldn’t hurt. She hadn’t been out in a while, but it seemed like every time she had, an overconfident, arrogant man had approached her first. He would linger, not taking her subtle hints, so she’d be forced to be rude. In the end, the man would leave in huff, cursing about how much of a stone-cold bitch she was, so the type of man she wanted to talk to stayed far away.

She knew she had to get out there because she did want someone in her life. Here she stood, thirty years old, dumped by Larry, who she realized very soon after he split was also her only confidant. Now she had no one. Her only family, her dad, had died years before, her childhood friends had scattered, married, and had kids, and now her work ‘friends’ shunned her.

She tried not to think about it or admit it to herself, but she had agreed to the whole flip-the-house thing for more reasons than just because it was a financially smart deal.

Zadora wasn’t the type of woman Brenda usually hung out with, but at least she didn’t seem like a man-stealer, and Neal, well . . . she couldn’t get him out of her mind. He had woken something up in her. She actually had the desire to be with him, even though she would not let that happen. Not with a man like him. But being around him was like smelling chocolate cake cooking: she knew she shouldn’t have it, but she couldn’t resist imagining taking a bite, licking the frosting off her lips . . .

So she didn’t want to throw them out, not really. Today was the most alive she had felt in a long time. It felt nice, not feeling so alone. Even though she’d been tough on Neal and Zadora, she was sure in the long run they’d appreciate her for it. Respect her even. They’d one-upped her, and she’d one-upped them back. She had put everything back on an even playing field.

Yes, being around Neal had made her feel like maybe she was ready for companionship. Who knew, maybe by going out tomorrow, she would meet someone compatible. She was doing the right thing here.

After she’d clicked ‘send’ on the email to her assistant, she leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. She immediately drifted off to an earlier time in her life when she and her dad had stayed with some people she didn’t know. She’d walked home from elementary school, lost and scared. All the houses had looked the same. The street names had blurred and the cars whizzed by. Her dad had been too busy to make sure she knew the way home. He was always so busy. “I’m doing this for us, BB.” That’s what he’d called her, Brenda Beauty. Hadn’t she asked him to stop calling her that because it sounded too much like baby?

“So we can have a better life.” Her dad’s voice was soft yet serious. She wasn’t lost anymore. Her dad held her hands. His eyes were understanding and a little tired but he was healthy. Not dead. It had been a mistake. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I had to leave you. I’m sorry it was tough. Don’t be tough on yourself now. Trust yourself. Believe in yourself and trust others. I worked hard so you don’t have to.”

Brenda’s eyes popped open, and she wiped away a tear that had already reached her chin. She hadn’t had a dream about her father in such a long time. It was bittersweet.

When she noticed the time, she growled. She had wanted to work off some frustration but had missed her class. It had been one hell of a day, and all she wanted now was that bath.

A few minutes later, she knocked on Zadora’s door. After Brenda explained she was in need of a bath, Zadora showed her where everything was located.

Brenda locked the bedroom door and the bathroom door, checking them three times before removing any clothes. She took a breath as she turned on the water, taking a step back to make sure a repeat of earlier didn’t happen. After sliding into the hot water, she sank back with a hum. Giving into the silky, cozy water, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to think about her dream. She missed her dad terribly and tried not to think about him. He had been so many things to her: father, mother, role model, and friend. Sure, he’d been hard on her, but it was as if he’d seen the future and knew she’d need to be tough, independent.

She could tell her dad anything, and sometimes he would respond jokingly with, “I’ve created a monster.” But then he would talk to her calmly and help her see reason, which most of the time, he succeeded in. She had needed her dad the most after Larry had shut her out of his life completely. It had been a double disaster because she’d had no one to talk to about it, and no one to talk her out of her plan to pull Larry and Haley apart, which had backfired . . . to say the least. She hadn’t talked to anyone about any of it until she’d unloaded on Zadora. Brenda could see now that it had been stupid of her to do that. Psychic or not, she had just started babbling without giving Zadora a chance to speak. Still, it was no excuse for them to try and manipulate her . . . but the soak and thinking about what her dad might have advised her, helped her feel more mellow.

Brenda stepped out of the tub and put on her robe and wrapped a beige towel around her head. She was on her way out of the bedroom when something sparkled from the closet.

No, she must be seeing things. Sparkly and Zadora didn’t go together. Brenda strolled over to the closet. “Shut up,” she said, thumbing through the clothes and stopping at a chic black gown with a high side slit. It had a dramatic peek-a-boo keyhole from the neck all the way down to the waist. This dress was not off the rack, definitely designer, and was immaculately made. A dozen more pieces stood out against the other clothes that were obviously Zadora’s, like she shared the closet with an heiress.

A few minutes later, Brenda found Zadora reading on the couch. “I know your secret.”

Zadora’s head popped up, her eyes fluttered, and her mouth gaped opened.

“Or do I?” Brenda said, walking toward the couch. “What do you think I know?”

“I don’t know.” Zadora averted her eyes away from Brenda.

A little too late. Brenda had already noticed her flushed cheeks.

Brenda said, “I was going to say that I happened to see those gorgeous gowns in your closet. So what’s your deal? Do you turn into a fashionista at midnight and go out on the town?”

“No, I’ve never even tried them on.”

“Never tried them on!” Brenda shook her head. “Why the hell not? Wait. Why do you even have them? I’m totally confused.”

“My friend Maximilian made them for me.”

“Who?”

“This used to be his apartment. He’s the designer who won that reality show,
Catwalk Wars
.”

“Oh, right, right, right. He mentioned that several times in his email when he told me about you taking over his rent. I had no idea he had such talent. How can I reach him?”

“He moved to Dallas after the show,” Zadora said.

“Excellent. You’ll have to give me his number. So why haven’t you tried them on?”

“I don’t have anywhere to wear them.”

Brenda stared at Zadora for a second. True, she didn’t seem like the “night on the town” or cocktail party type. She supposed the explanation made sense even though something still didn’t add up. “Such a shame all those clothes are wasting away in your closet. Maybe one day we can change that.”