NaughtyBoys Galley Read Online Free Page B

items in my wardrobe on an online auction site and put the money aside as emergency savings. Selling expensive clothes to buy cheap ones seemed silly to me, so I kept what was left.
    “So you’re that Simone. I heard a lot about you from Jamie,” said Lisa. “Are you currently living with him?”
    I thought I detected an air of jealously from the girl. Lisa was quite an attractive young woman in her mid-twenties. She was a redhead with healthy freckles on her face. She wore minimal makeup and her beauty shone naturally. I liked girls who didn’t paint their faces like a mask. I wondered if she and Jamie had a history.
    I smiled graciously. “It’s a live-in position. I have to take care the three of them and keep the house running—just like old times.”
    “Ah, that’s nice. I also heard you’re quite a cook.”
    “A cook?” Jamie butted in. “Simone is the Julia Child of domestic goddesses. I haven’t had excellent home-cooked meals in a long time. I might have to get a gym membership sometime soon to burn off the calories. Her peach cobbler is to die for.”
    “It’s been his favorite dessert since he was little,” I hurriedly added to neutralize Jamie’s gushing compliment. Men could be insensitive at times. There was nothing worse for a woman than being indirectly compared to her rival about her cooking.
    Lisa smiled along with us. She couldn’t fool me, though. It was a fake smile, and her eyes told a different story.
    That girl didn’t like me one bit.
    “Shall we get going then?” I reminded Jamie. I was afraid that a prolonged stay would only make the situation more awkward. “I still have to do the grocery shopping and prepare for dinner.”
    “Oh, sorry. I’m just gonna grab my keys.” Jamie went to his desk and rummaged for something in a drawer. “Got ‘em.” He closed it with his knee and jangled the keys. “I’m going to show Simone the finished units. Tell Greg I’m taking the spare keys,” he said to Lisa.
    “Sure,” she said.
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lisa,” I said with a hundred-megawatt smile.
    “Same here,” Lisa replied with a smile just as fake as mine. “Drop by often. It gets lonely sometimes being the only girl in the office.”
    “Of course. Thank you for having me.”
    I was curious about Jamie’s relationship with Lisa as we walked onto the model units, but I didn’t ask the question. It wasn’t my business, and I had no right to ask it. Still, the curiosity lingered. Nate had dubbed Jamie the Bellwood heartbreaker. Just how many hearts had Jamie broken?
    Jamie chirped happily about his project. I could tell this apartment complex was his baby. He wasn’t just after the profit, he wanted to provide people on low incomes with quality products that lasted. In the age of greed, it was refreshing to see someone who wasn’t corrupted by money. I was proud he’d turned out to be a good man with integrity. To see such a quality in a twenty-seven-year-old man was heartwarming.
    He gave me the tour of the site as if I were a prospective buyer. We did a walk through of the finished units and visited the back area where they were going to build a playground for the children in the complex. The foundation had been dug and filled with sand and gravel. Next, they’d bring in swings, sliders, climbers, and even a mini zip-line. I could already imagine the laughter of the children going to brighten up this new community.
    Before we wrapped it up, Jamie made a stop at the back where they were digging the drainage pond. Jamie introduced me to his partner and the foreman, and we exchanged pleasantries. While Jamie and his partner discussed something about work, I moseyed around to kill time.
    Last night’s rain had hampered progress, and the big excavator had stopped working a while ago. The huge crater was filled with dark water that kept rising. I could see the drainage pipes that came from the direction of the complex, but I didn’t see any water coming