I heard her laugh and wished I could see her face. I knew exactly what her full lips would look like as she smiled. Her eyes would crinkle just a bit at the corner if she was really smiling. If it was a fake smile, there would be no crinkling.
Cora was the kind of woman that only the trust-fund guys had a shot with. I was an old family friend. I was the boy that hung out with her big brother. She’d been the awkward kid with braces that annoyed the hell out of her brother and me.
She wasn’t awkward anymore. My eyes drifted down her body, taking in the top that was a little looser than what other women wore. She always dressed in slightly baggy clothing. She was convinced she was chunky.
Myself, her father, and her brother had told her a hundred times she was anything but. She was full and round and plump in all the right places. Full breasts, round hips, and a perfectly squeezable ass. She was the kind of woman that would be in the old black and white pinups.
She walked away, snapping me out of the dangerous line of thinking. I couldn’t think about the boss’s daughter like that. I wasn’t about to lose my job over something like that.
Cora was not for me and I could accept that. I wasn’t in her league. She would marry a man with as much money as her family had. Maybe more. I wasn’t scraping the bottom of the barrel, but I didn’t have a pedigree.
I was anxious to tell Mr. Mallet, the CEO, that I had scored another client. Yes, I was looking for the proverbial pat on the head. I liked proving to him that I was a good choice. The man had taken a chance on an uneducated guy like me years ago. When no one else would give me the time of day, Ben had given me a chance. The man was like a father to me. When I did a good job, I got the benefit of pleasing my mentor, my boss, and my father figure. A man I respected more than any other person on the planet.
I walked down the hall, nodding at his secretary and smiling. She was on the phone but waved me in. I felt privileged to have unfettered access to the king. Well, the king of our little world.
I knocked once and walked into the large office adorned in lots of rich mahogany furniture and maroon furnishings. It was a bit dated in décor, but it was what the old man liked.
“Have a seat,” he said as he studied his computer screen.
I sat down in one of the leather chairs and crossed my legs, waiting for him to finish what he was doing. The man worked hard. He had a shitload of money and could have retired years ago, but he kept on going.
He was very much like one of the locomotives he owned. He led the company into success and was determined to keep it at the top. One day, I hoped I would be stepping into his shoes or have my own company. He had taught me I could do just about anything if I put my mind to it.
He flinched once, pausing his typing before taking a sharp breath.
“Are you okay?” I asked him with concern.
He shook his head. “Fine.” He turned and faced me, giving me his full attention. “Just that breakfast burrito I had this morning coming back to haunt me.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “I told you to quit eating from that food cart. That woman has never met a pepper she doesn’t like.”
He winced again. “I love the spice, but I think I’m getting too old for it.”
He looked, oddly enough, gray. I studied his features, wondering if he was sick, but I knew better than to ask him again. He was a tough man who hated coddling. I couldn’t resist. “Are you sure you’re okay? I can have Rose mix up one of those Alka-Seltzer drinks. She’s got a magic touch. Her drinks cure anything.”
“I’m fine. It’ll pass.”
“It’s going to fight the whole way down,” I warned him with a laugh.
He groaned, still looking like he was suffering. “Don’t I know it. Anyway, I was just finishing up with some maintenance issues forwarded by the manager at the yard. The maintenance team wants new cars. I’m weighing the cost and trying to see if