anything more. I called her therapist and told her what happened. She said to let Jules lead the way on when she wants to talk about her mother.”
Sadie pressed a hand over her heart. “Good. I was so afraid I said something wrong and made it worse.”
“No. The therapist said you did perfect. Didn’t make a big deal out of it. So thank you again.”
“You’re welcome, but it wasn’t anything I did. She chose the moment. I haven’t forgotten about the curls. I’ll grab something from Walmart and show you how to use it sometime this week.”
“That’d be great. Anything else I can do for you?”
The faint blush on her cheeks was interesting, but he only caught a glimpse before she turned back to the calendar.
“No. See you tomorrow.”
FOUR DAYS INTO the job and Wyatt was starting to feel really horrible about this investigation. Between the morning interactions and midday resupply runs that allowed him interaction with other teams, Wyatt was getting a better idea of how the Cleaning Crew operated. There wasn’t anything going on. Better work ethic, better gimmick, better management and leadership. That was it. Marcus was going to have to accept the facts.
He consulted his kitchen cheat sheet. Clean microwave, inside and out. He glanced around to find it. They were in a large, gorgeous home on Albemarle Point overlooking the marsh and the Ashley River. The kitchen was huge. It had two stoves and the biggest refrigerator he’d ever seen in his life. So, this was how the other half lived.
The front door opened and his pulse kicked up a beat or two when Sadie called out. She could really get him going. For all the good it did. Sure, I know I was lying to you and spying on you, but do you want to catch a movie or something? He shook his head. She was the first woman to catch his eye since Victoria had walked out on him. And with the way she’d responded to Jules, a little chunk of his heart was trying to get in on the action.
“Hey, boss. What’s up?” DeShawn called from what he’d told Wyatt was the atrium. Looked like a sunroom to him, but fancy houses needed fancy rooms, he supposed.
“Checking in on you. How’s it going?” Sadie’s voice.
“It’s going. No problems.”
“Great. Where’s the FNG?”
Wyatt snorted out a laugh, one echoed by DeShawn. “Where’d you learn that?” DeShawn asked.
“Josh. He said it meant former National Guard.”
DeShawn came into the kitchen with Sadie trailing behind him. DeShawn was laughing too hard to say anything. Sadie stopped and put her hands on her hips, her cheeks going from pink to red. Black eyebrows drew together over those denim blue eyes. Good God, she’s gorgeous. And sexy. And completely out of the question.
“Damn it. I’m going to kill him. What does it really mean?”
“Fucking new guy,” Wyatt said, not bothering to contain his own laughter. DeShawn collapsed against the counter, laughing so hard tears were leaking from his eyes.
“Oh, you guys think you are so funny with your jokes. Maybe I’ll add dumping kitty litter and washing litter boxes to the weekly chore list. Who’s funny now, huh?”
DeShawn sucked in a loud lungful of air. His hands clamped down on his stomach. “Stop. Stop, you’re killing me.”
She crossed her arms and tapped a foot. The look on her face would have scared Wyatt straight if he’d been a kid DeShawn’s age. Then the corners of her mouth began losing the battle with her own laughter.
“Former National Guard. Who even calls anyone that? I cannot believe you fell for it,” DeShawn said between gasps for air.
“Oh, Josh is dead meat. Dead. Meat. Go scrub a toilet or something. Let me talk to the fucking new guy.”
After DeShawn left the room, still laughing, Sadie turned to Wyatt. Her coloring had returned to the pink, and he was struck again by how pretty she was. And funny. And tough. And smart. And how much she was going to hate him when this was over. All the joy of the little prank left him and his guts turned to lead.
“I’m checking in with you. How’s it going with DeShawn?”
He picked up the rag and returned to cleaning the microwave. “It’s going well. He’s a good teacher. Organized and patient. I can see how good he is, and having a...FNG must slow him down, but he doesn’t show it.”
Her cheeks pinked again and it made him smile.
“Good. Exactly what I like to hear. How about you? Is the job about what you expected?”
“Mostly. I didn’t realize the extent of the planning and record keeping. I can see why you’re blowing away the competition.”
“We.”
“Huh?”
“We are blowing away the completion. The Crew isn’t me. It’s you. You guys do the work. I’m only the ringmaster of this circus.”
“Whatever you do, your clowns love you. That’s a big part of the success.”
Her lips parted and she drew in a breath. Her expression showed a bit of puzzlement, as if she didn’t know if she should believe him or not. “Thanks.”
“I can see why that guy Marcus is floundering, trying to get an idea of how to compete with you. What you are doing is completely different and not just the guy-cleaning-your-house gimmick. You keep your employees happy. And happy employees do a better job.”
“I try.”
“I think you’re doing better than trying.”
Sadie laughed. “I think I’ll have you follow me around all day, giving me pep talks.”
“Do you need pep talks?”
A brief flicker of uncertainty surfaced in the blue depths of her eyes. His hand twitched, wanting to touch her porcelain skin. Would it be like silk beneath his fingertips? Would he feel the heat of her easy blushes? She held his gaze as if she couldn’t quite look away. A wave of desire washed over him. No. This was bad. He returned his attention to the spotless microwave and began wiping the inside of it.
“We can all use a pep talk from time to time. Anyway, I was checking in. If you have any questions or need anything, my number is in the information packet.” She started to leave but stopped at the door. “How’s Julietta?”
He sprayed more cleaner on the rag and glanced over at her. “She’s doing well. Told me her mother used to make pancakes on Sunday mornings. We tried it for dinner last night.”
“You made her pancakes? How’d that go?”
He paused, looked down, laughed. “She appreciated the effort, I think.”
“Are you
