Page 86 of Shade
I sign the contract. Just like that. When I hand it to her, I sigh. “He really doesn’t remember me, does he?”
“No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t remember what he did yesterday.”
Willa tucks the papers away and hands me a cell phone. I take it and then scroll through a couple of appointments on the calendar. “We both know I don’t know what I’m doing so how do I pretend I know what I’m doing?”
“If you tell anyone about this, I’ll smack you. Being a personal assistant, it’s not that hard. It’s a lot like having a child and making sure they’re staying out of trouble and getting to school on time.”
“I’ve never had a child. I had a fish. He died the next day.”
She completely ignores my fish story. “Don’t lose this and everything will be fine. It’s your bible. Shade’s schedule is in there. Everyone you need to know is in the phone. Sponsor’s numbers. . . promoters, endorsement contacts. . . even his barber is in there. I made notes about who’s important, but follow the schedule. Your main job is getting him to the races he needs to be at and his endorsement deals. Do. Not. Lose. The. Phone.”
“So I’ll have to move to California?”
“Yes. You’ll stay in their guest house. I’ll provide you with a car, insurance, a phone, everything you’ll need for the next three months.”
“So. . . they all live together and I’ll be living in the guest house?” I really want to ask if I have a view of Shade’s room, but I don’t.
Do you see the look on Willa’s face? Itscreamswarning, doesn’t it? This will eventually come back to haunt me. I know it.
She surprises me and nods. “Yep. The guest house is really nice. You’ll find it comfortable and has everything you need. Just bring clothes.”
And here I was thinking about walking around naked. Damn. “So this no sex thing. . . is oral out of the question?”
Willa stops and eyes me carefully. “Seriously?”
I wave my hand around, tucking the bible phone in my bra. I don’t have pockets with this dress. “Okay, but when you have the baby and you come back, then I can?”
“After I came back, you can do whatever you want with him.”
I fight the urge to fist pump the air. “All right. But I need to prepare myself. How advanced will they be?”
Willa reaches for her bag and places her own cell phone inside of it, zips it up and then motions for me to walk with her. I imagine she has a plane to catch. “You mean with trying to get you to have sex with them?”
I nod, following her through the restaurant. “Yeah.”
We’re in the hotel lobby when she finally says, “Let’s see. . . Shade. . . ” And then she pauses as if she’s not sure how to approach it. “I’ll get to him. Roan’s the oldest but not by much. He’s a crazy fuck and kind of an idiot at times. Walks around naked most of the time. Be prepared.” She pauses, again, looks me up and down and then grins. “He’ll try for sure, but he’ll give up easily too. He doesn’t like denial and if you say no, he’ll move on.”
“And Tiller?” I press, curious about the dark-eyed playboy who tried to get me to be a stripper for him in the elevator.
“Stay away from him,” Willa warns, completely straight-faced. “His bark is as bad as his bite. Don’t engage and avoid eye contact.”
“I can’t tell if you’re serious.”
“Iam. I’ve been around these boys for a long time, and I’ll be honest with you, I can’t explain Tiller. He has problems.”
Well shit. I could have told you that, and I’ve only had one interaction with him. “Is he going to try?”
“He’s always going totrybut if you say no, he’ll back off.”
“Okay. . . and Shade.”
Willa regards me carefully. “Scarlet, do you know why he’s so good at what he does?”
“No.”
“He likes a challenge. Out of the three Sawyer brothers, Shade’s the most tenacious. He’s competitive by nature and always takes it to the next step. And he does it well. Tiller, Roan, they’re attractive. They could have had modeling careers, but they didn’t bother with it. Shade, he’s different. He wanted to be the best and that meant going to the top. He’s the only freestyle rider to win a medal in every freestyle category. He’s leading the battle of the X Fighters and has six different endorsement deals.”
“Is he going to attack me?” I tease, laughing.
“No. He wouldn’t do that.” Leaning in, Willa hugs me. “Just stick to your guns.”
“Why are you talking to me like I’m going to war?” I ask when we pull away, nervously giggling.
“Because you are.”
Do you see the way she smiles slyly? Something tells me I’m in for more than I signed up for.
