Rock the Beat
Page 14
Wow. Now she’s throwing my own lines back in my face, making me sound like a complete fucking moron. “Good one.”
Holly straightens her stance and pats her hand on the stack of black binders. Each one has enough papers to fill a phone book. “Come on, genius. We’ve got a lot of books to go over.”
I eye the stack and frown. “It’s all on paper?”
She nods. “Dad didn’t know how to work a computer when he started this place and never got around to converting all the books. Besides, computers cost a lot of money.”
I run my hand over my face. “This is going to take forever.”
She shrugs. “I know, so we might as well get going. The faster we get through all this, the quicker you can convince your boss this is a great place to invest in.”
It takes at least an hour for Holly to explain the set-up of all the paper documents and then another hour before I can even begin making sense of their system. No wonder this business is going to shit. There’s not even an accurate way to track the expenses. Apparently there are also shoeboxes full of receipts that Bill has never gotten around to adding into the budget. This is so not good. Updating the computers alone in this place is going to cost a pretty penny. I can only imagine what the track looks like. I’ll have to look into that tomorrow.
Holly interlocks her fingers and stretches her arms above her head, allowing the gray uniform top she’s wearing to ride up and bit and give me a peek at her toned stomach. “I need a break. What about you?”
I fold the page over in the book I’m reading through and rub my eyes. “I’m starving. Where’s a good place to eat around here?”
“If you drive into town, there are a few places.”
I tilt my head. “You don’t want to come with me?”
She shakes her head. “There’s stuff to make peanut butter sandwiches in the house.”
I knit my brow in confusion. “Peanut butter sandwiches for dinner?”
“Why not? It’s cheap and filling,” she argues.
I stand and find that my ass is all sweaty from sitting on the black, plastic stool for such a long period of time. “You aren’t eating that. Get your ass up. You’re coming to dinner with me.”
She frowns. “Really, I can’t go. I can’t afford it.”
Now I feel like a total jackass. “My treat. I’ve been a jerk to you since I got here. The least I can do is buy you dinner to make up for it. We can go anywhere you want.”
She drops her eyes to the counter while she thinks it over. “Okay. But this doesn’t change what I said earlier. I still won’t sleep with you.”
“I haven’t asked you to, have I?”
“Well…not in those exact words, but your actions—”
I grab her arm and haul her up off the stool. “Like I told you, if I intended on fucking you, you’d know it. Now quit talking nonsense and come on. I’m so hungry I’m about to gnaw my arm off.”
I don’t give her much choice in the matter. The caveman in me comes out and I pull her behind me out the door.
The sun setting over the mountainside helps cool down the intense September heat, but it doesn’t change it that drastically. Now instead of one hundred and five degrees, it’s a balmy eighty-eight. Whoever told me the high temperatures in Arizona were a different kind of heat to Kentucky was fucking loony. Eighty-eight is still fucking eighty-eight. It’s the kind of heat where it feels like a furnace is blowing directly on you and your balls stick to your leg. It’s fucking uncomfortable.
I continue to pull Holly along until we reach a black Mustang parked around back.
“WOW! How much do you make working for this investor? That car is beautiful.” Holly twists out of my hold and begins walking around the car slowly. “Is this a two thousand fourteen—a V-8?”
She runs her hand along the hood, caressing the sleek paint job. “I think so. It’s not mine. It’s a rental. I’m not much of a car fanatic. As long as it’s fast, I like it.”
Her head snaps up in my direction and her eyes widen. “Most guys won’t let anyone touch their baby, but since it’s not technically yours, will you let me drive it? I’ve always wanted to test one of these babies out.”
The gleam in her eye is the same one I get when I get a new set of drums, or find a hot piece of ass. When something you really want is within your grasp it’s easy to get that look of awe on your face. Fuck me. I never imagined a car would turn her on. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a woman get hot and bothered by a car.
“Sure.” I toss the keys over the hood and she catches them with quick, nimble fingers. “Anything to relieve that lady-boner of yours.”
“I should say you’re a perv for that remark, but since you’re letting me drive this beautiful machine, I’ll let that one slide.” A genuine smile toys with her lips and it’s nice to feel like we can actually be friends. “I can’t believe you’re letting me drive it. Do you know how much these things cost?”
I open my mouth to tell her money really isn’t a big deal for me but quickly close it, remembering this is the same girl that didn’t want to go out to grab a dinner with me because she didn’t have the money for a proper meal.
I shrug and play it cool. “No clue, but I’ve got insurance. Besides, if you scratch it, I can find more creative ways for you to pay me back.”
Holly straightens her stance and pats her hand on the stack of black binders. Each one has enough papers to fill a phone book. “Come on, genius. We’ve got a lot of books to go over.”
I eye the stack and frown. “It’s all on paper?”
She nods. “Dad didn’t know how to work a computer when he started this place and never got around to converting all the books. Besides, computers cost a lot of money.”
I run my hand over my face. “This is going to take forever.”
She shrugs. “I know, so we might as well get going. The faster we get through all this, the quicker you can convince your boss this is a great place to invest in.”
It takes at least an hour for Holly to explain the set-up of all the paper documents and then another hour before I can even begin making sense of their system. No wonder this business is going to shit. There’s not even an accurate way to track the expenses. Apparently there are also shoeboxes full of receipts that Bill has never gotten around to adding into the budget. This is so not good. Updating the computers alone in this place is going to cost a pretty penny. I can only imagine what the track looks like. I’ll have to look into that tomorrow.
Holly interlocks her fingers and stretches her arms above her head, allowing the gray uniform top she’s wearing to ride up and bit and give me a peek at her toned stomach. “I need a break. What about you?”
I fold the page over in the book I’m reading through and rub my eyes. “I’m starving. Where’s a good place to eat around here?”
“If you drive into town, there are a few places.”
I tilt my head. “You don’t want to come with me?”
She shakes her head. “There’s stuff to make peanut butter sandwiches in the house.”
I knit my brow in confusion. “Peanut butter sandwiches for dinner?”
“Why not? It’s cheap and filling,” she argues.
I stand and find that my ass is all sweaty from sitting on the black, plastic stool for such a long period of time. “You aren’t eating that. Get your ass up. You’re coming to dinner with me.”
She frowns. “Really, I can’t go. I can’t afford it.”
Now I feel like a total jackass. “My treat. I’ve been a jerk to you since I got here. The least I can do is buy you dinner to make up for it. We can go anywhere you want.”
She drops her eyes to the counter while she thinks it over. “Okay. But this doesn’t change what I said earlier. I still won’t sleep with you.”
“I haven’t asked you to, have I?”
“Well…not in those exact words, but your actions—”
I grab her arm and haul her up off the stool. “Like I told you, if I intended on fucking you, you’d know it. Now quit talking nonsense and come on. I’m so hungry I’m about to gnaw my arm off.”
I don’t give her much choice in the matter. The caveman in me comes out and I pull her behind me out the door.
The sun setting over the mountainside helps cool down the intense September heat, but it doesn’t change it that drastically. Now instead of one hundred and five degrees, it’s a balmy eighty-eight. Whoever told me the high temperatures in Arizona were a different kind of heat to Kentucky was fucking loony. Eighty-eight is still fucking eighty-eight. It’s the kind of heat where it feels like a furnace is blowing directly on you and your balls stick to your leg. It’s fucking uncomfortable.
I continue to pull Holly along until we reach a black Mustang parked around back.
“WOW! How much do you make working for this investor? That car is beautiful.” Holly twists out of my hold and begins walking around the car slowly. “Is this a two thousand fourteen—a V-8?”
She runs her hand along the hood, caressing the sleek paint job. “I think so. It’s not mine. It’s a rental. I’m not much of a car fanatic. As long as it’s fast, I like it.”
Her head snaps up in my direction and her eyes widen. “Most guys won’t let anyone touch their baby, but since it’s not technically yours, will you let me drive it? I’ve always wanted to test one of these babies out.”
The gleam in her eye is the same one I get when I get a new set of drums, or find a hot piece of ass. When something you really want is within your grasp it’s easy to get that look of awe on your face. Fuck me. I never imagined a car would turn her on. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a woman get hot and bothered by a car.
“Sure.” I toss the keys over the hood and she catches them with quick, nimble fingers. “Anything to relieve that lady-boner of yours.”
“I should say you’re a perv for that remark, but since you’re letting me drive this beautiful machine, I’ll let that one slide.” A genuine smile toys with her lips and it’s nice to feel like we can actually be friends. “I can’t believe you’re letting me drive it. Do you know how much these things cost?”
I open my mouth to tell her money really isn’t a big deal for me but quickly close it, remembering this is the same girl that didn’t want to go out to grab a dinner with me because she didn’t have the money for a proper meal.
I shrug and play it cool. “No clue, but I’ve got insurance. Besides, if you scratch it, I can find more creative ways for you to pay me back.”
