Betrayal of the Dove (Men of Action) by Capri Montgomery Page A

because…well, none of us really like to have to call Gavin. Overkill,” she nodded. “I think my mom was probably afraid he would shoot one of the doctors for not taking better care of her,” she shook her head. “He just might have.” She chuckled lightly. “Anyway, she called me and I closed the store to go be with her.”
     
    “Is she okay now?”
     
    “Yeah, it was just acid reflux, but she thought she was having a heart attack the pain was so bad. Her husband was out of town on business so I went and stayed with her a few days until he got back. But in this business, closing for even a day hits my sales hard. If I’m closed I can’t move products. If I don’t move products, I don’t get paid. I have a small savings right now, but I don’t want to deplete it. I’m still trying to build it.” She sighed. “Oh well, such is life. I’ll figure it out. But if I’m closed you can just take the day off or something, and if it goes on longer I’ll figure out a way to…I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about your pay because you will be paid. Speaking of pay,” she pulled a check out of the closed drawer behind the counter. “I paid you from the day you started, so this check is a little bigger because it includes extra days. And I’ll be paying you weekly. I think I mentioned that to you already, but just in case you forgot.” She was definitely new to having employees herself, but not new to the game of retail business. Her previous jobs must have prepared her for how things worked and she picked the things she liked, changed the things she didn’t like, but she was still finding her own way. There was something refreshing and inspiring about her quest. A lot of people would have given up by now, but not her. She was a fighter, determined to make her passion her career and she wasn’t going to give up.
     
    He smiled, taking the check from her hand and looking at it. “Nice,” he said and then he ripped it up.
     
    “What are you doing?”
     
    “I took this assignment as a favor to a friend,” he said and he saw the look of…almost like pain, in her eyes. Just because he took it for a friend didn’t mean he wasn’t there now because of her. “And you seem like good people, Alyssa. I don’t mind helping out for a little while. Just consider the last two weeks, three days and five hours on the house—my house, not yours.”
     
    She laughed. “I would protest, but I really could use this money. I have to pay my lawyer now. I’ve used him before and I pay him when I need him. I think I need him for this. I don’t think it would be a good idea to show up without legal counsel. Do you?”
     
    “No. I don’t.” He resisted the urge to caress her shoulder. Instead, he leaned forward on the counter, bringing him to perfect eye level with her. “It’s going to be all right.” She gave him a smile that made him want to kiss those sexy lips of hers, but he wouldn’t do it, not yet.
     

 

     
    Chapter Five
     
    “E ve, I tell you I am so nervous. It’s not just that I have to go in that judge’s chamber and defend my hiring choice, but I have to close the shop again, and I’m not sure how this is going to affect business. And what if I lose? Am I going to have to pay this guy money I don’t even have? I know I didn’t hire him because there was somebody more qualified, but what if he convinces the judge it was something else.” She sighed. “And why am I asking you all of this. I am so freaking out here and I think I’m stressing you out with me.”   She laughed. “Okay, since I’m talking to your voice mail and not you I should probably stop now. When you get back to the states, call me again; please?” Eve was still in London the last time she talked with her. She couldn’t imagine that was a cheap phone call to make. She just really needed to speak with her. She would help her pay the bill if need be, just so long as she