C.J. wanted to eat lunch alone underneath the tallest tree in a cluster of them near where there'd be rose gardens. She had worked hard all morning, her shirt sticking to her skin layered by sweat and dirt coating her skin including her lips.
She'd almost finished with the rose bushes and she had the marks to prove it where the thorns had poked her skin drawing blood in a few places. She'd splashed water over them and after stinging for a while, they'd quieted down. The roses didn't look like much now, just rows of ragged bushes looking like skeletons which would soon turn bright and colorful in so many hues.
That's how Gunthor wanted his garden to look according to Carlos. He might have changed his mind on the schematics but he never did with the roses. She wondered more about their mysterious boss, the new owner of this estate. It'd been abandoned for quite a few years and was now slowly being brought back to life.
Matt had spent most of the day tiling he areas around the renovated swimming pool. She'd seen him wiping his face crusted with dirt with his shirt after using water. His chest looked impressive and she remembered how his skin felt rough underneath her finger tips, how soft the whorls of dark hair felt beneath her hands when she palmed his chest as she kissed him hard on the mouth. She swallowed suddenly, her throat feeling parched so she reached for her water. Damn herself for feeling this way about a man who'd cut himself emotionally away from her because of what he'd thought she'd done the night of the party.
But then she couldn't blame him totally…she'd cut herself off first and through talking to Miranda in their sessions she knew that keenly now. What else could she do after what Rodrigo had done to her? She'd felt as if a part of her soul had been ripped away forever…that it remained with Rodrigo and the very worst part of him remained with her. She couldn't think about anything that had mattered so much before without remembering what Rodrigo had done.
Miranda told her that was a normal part of having PTSD and that it could be treated…over time and that she could be desensitized to anything that might trigger, often innocently the trauma she kept inside of her.
"Hey C.J.…"
She felt startled not knowing that Matt had left his own spot to approach her. She willed her body to relax not wanting to give him any hints that his actions unnerved her. No good could come from him knowing…it'd just increase the gap between them.
So she grabbed her water bottle and took a long sip out of it before staring up at him.
"What's up Houston?"
He leaned against a tree, still shirtless which meant of course her eyes had been drawn to his fantastically rugged build. She was a woman after all, even if most of the feelings that defined her as one had been shut down.
"Just getting ready to head on back," he said, "Adela called me and told me there's another shipment coming in."
She got up and brushed her hands on her jeans.
"You need help?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. No doubt he felt as beat up as she did after another long day working to whip this estate into shape.
"Probably wouldn't hurt…I know you've got some more work to do here with the roses."
She shrugged.
"It can wait…"
She didn't want to tell him she didn't want to be left here alone. Even with Carlos…and some of the other hired hands…she felt vulnerable without Matt around…even though most of the time she didn't want him there. Nothing made sense to her these days so she didn't get herself caught up in this paradox.
"You sure…?"
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You don't want me to help you? Because if you don't, you can just say it…"
He frowned, pulling his shirt out of his back pocket and slipping it on over his body where it clung to his muscular frame.
"That's not what I'm saying and it's not what I'm thinking either," he said, "I just thought you'd be worried if you left your job undone."
"I'll be back in the morning," she said, "You know the owner might be here by then. We might get to finally meet him and get some of our questions answered."
He didn't seem surprised by her comments but she knew he had questions too about a man who was paying them quite generously to fix up an estate he hadn't even seen yet. Not much details had been revealed about him either…just that he was a very wealthy, very powerful businessman. He kept his family on an island estate in the Mediterrean not far away from Greece. This likely would be where he'd stay while conducting business on the West Coast or perhaps to entertain prospective clients or partner.
"I hope we learn more about him when we meet him."
She knew it didn't matter if that happened but it'd be nice. She'd heard talk that he planned to throw some type of soiree…a housewarming party. They'd find out soon enough if that were true and who'd be invited.
"Maybe he's not as mysterious as we think," she said, "Maybe he's just very guarded about his privacy like most men in his circumstances."
Matt didn't answer right away which meant he had his own theories. She didn't expect him to share them with her as he might have before…but then she didn't want to think about the past, to dwell on it.
She just wanted to take each day one at a time and that went for nightmares as well.
Gunthor looked at the steak dinner that now sat in front of him elegantly set courtesy of room service. He'd checked into the most exclusive suite at his favorite hotel in San Francisco not long after the jet landed at the airport.
He'd thought about heading to the estate early to surprise those he'd hired to oversee the renovations but felt tired from his flight so he opted to spend the night in the city and then head out the next day on the scenic drive. After dropping off his overnight bag, he headed to the gym to do a vigorous workout on the machines and then soaked in the hot tub on the deck outside the French doors in his suite.
While eating, he received a phone call from one of his partners, Lucian who reported to him on some business dealings in Thailand. The auction had led to some very nice purchases for a new establishment opening up in the business district of Bangkok. They'd already met with the police commissioner and paid him enough for him to look the other way and to rough up the competition while still taking protection money from them.
"Good, I'm happy to hear that we didn't waste any money…."
Lucian sounded pleased too. He should be, his association with Gunthor had made him a very wealthy man in his own right.
"There hasn't been any news about her…Marie…no one's seen her at all."
Gunthor clenched his jaw, not what he wanted to hear but she'd proven elusive to his attempts to track her down. Meaning that she must have help but who? He wondered where she'd gone and whether it was true that she had a baby due soon.
God, determining paternity of such a child wouldn't be easy…he remembered everything that had happened. It wouldn't do him any good to mix himself in that situation any further but he couldn't help himself sometimes. Even though he prided himself on his consummate control, when it came to the possibility of his flesh and blood being out there…
"Hey Gunthor, any word on your new purchase…?"
He sighed, the conversation on better footing. He leaned back in his chair picking up his glass of scotch with his other hand.
"Yes…she's at the estate nearly every day helping to renovate it," he said, "She'll find out the true nature of our business relationship soon enough…and by then it'll be too late."
"I'm sure it will be most satisfactory but if you ever tire of her…we've got plenty to do with someone of her ilk in Bangkok."
Gunthor grunted.
"You've got enough local women to keep an army happy."
"True…but if we hadn't been partners…I'd have bid on that sweet piece myself so just remember…"
Gunthor knew he'd never part with her not to a two-bit wannabe climber like Lucian. Yeah he needed him right now but he'd cut him loose soon enough after cementing his control of the sex trade in South Eastern Asia.
Until then he had plenty to do closer to home and plenty waiting for him at his new estate only hours away at last.