Slave To Love by Bridget Midway Read Free Book Online Page A

head. “I needed those tiles yesterday, not next week.”
    “Sorry, Christian.” The voice of the man on the other line trembled as he spoke. “We ordered the tile from the manufacturer a month ago. They assured us it would be here last week. The freak snow storm held them back.”
    Jace stopped in his spot, which allowed the outside smells to hit his senses. Through the window air conditioning unit, he caught the aroma of freshly cut lumber and roofing tar. Thank goodness industrial-grade tile covered the floor. He would have worn a hole in carpet by now.
    “Snowstorm? It’s July. Where the fuck are these tiles coming from? Iceland? I don’t need excuses. I have buyers wanting to move in to their new home in two weeks. That’s not possible if they don’t have a floor to walk on or a damn backsplash to look at.”
    The other line remained quiet for a moment. “Maybe you can put carpet down.”
    Jace gritted his teeth. “Carpet. You want me to put carpet down in the mud room, kitchen, and bathroom. Is that what you’re saying? That’s your plan B?”
    “I, uh—”
    “Do me a favor. Don’t think. If you can’t fill my order, I’ll go somewhere else.” Before he disconnected the call, he had to make one other point very clear. “And I go by Jace now, not Christian. Got it?”
    “Uh, yeah. Okay.”
    Jace disconnected the call and threw the phone on the desk. He ran both hands over his hair, hoping to erase all the shit he’d endured today.
    Hell, he hadn’t been putting up with crap just for that day. The last ten years had been torturous. No, not ten years. Longer. He had to count the lost years when he’d made some stupid choices in his youth.
    He opened the top drawer of the desk and peered down.
    “Don’t even think about it.”
    Jace brought his attention up in time to see Aaron strolling toward him. He hadn’t even heard the door opening to the trailer when the big man entered. Jace hadn’t seen him since the awards dinner.
    “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, especially on my job site.” Jace glared at the man approaching him. “Besides, I only looked. I wasn’t going to smoke.” Jace slammed the drawer after giving one last glance at the pack of Marlboro cigarettes resting on top of loose change and pens.
    “Bullshit. We all could hear you outside the trailer, tearing the supplier a new asshole. I knew your next move would be to snag one of my cigs. So no tile?” The lithe African-American man sat on a tattered, yellow-and-red plaid couch.
    Aaron’s skin tone always reminded Jace of sawdust, golden with imperfections. Aaron’s steel-toed boots had caked-on mud across the top and underneath. The splattered mud at the bottom of his jeans dried and started to break off in chunks. Jace missed living his life like that, the spoils of work evident on his person.
    “No tile from that guy. I’ll find someone else who’ll give me what I need.” Jace came around from behind the desk and sat on it as he spoke to Aaron.
    “Why don’t you let me worry about that? I am your foreman. I’m supposed to be an extension of you.” Aaron sniffed and turned his gaze away from Jace.
    Jace should have been able to trust Aaron. He had control issues. Even after all these years, Jace couldn’t blur the lines between friendship and business.
    Aaron pointed to him. “You aren’t even supposed to be here. You shouldn’t dirty up your cool suit.”
    Jace didn’t have on the jacket, but at the mention of his clothing, he loosened his tie. His preference would have been to wear jeans, boots, and a cotton T-shirt like Aaron. He had meetings and had to look like a professional, like a man who owned and ran a successful company. Perception meant everything.
    “I came out to do an inspection and I hear from the crew about issues on the job. I can’t sit back and wait to talk to you. I’m going to take care of things myself.” Jace unbuttoned the top button on his crisp, white shirt, starched