Slade Read online

  These two characters were polar opposites, he had once remarked incredulously to Lace, so how was it KC's readers thought it was believable they'd end up together?

  His little sister, being almost as anti-mushy as he was, had only nodded in genuine understanding, saying, That's how they operate. Apparently, die-hard romantics like Farica and KC saw OTP potential in just about every couple, and they only had to see a boy smile at a girl, and the moment the girl smiled back, that would be it. The shipping would start...such as what his business partner was doing this very moment.

  "Just admit it," Farica said. "She's gotten under your skin, hasn't she?"

  "No. She hasn't." So he had asked his security team to do a background check on his new waitress. It was only due diligence on his part, to want to know about Kady's...credentials. That was all there was to it.

  And besides, had Farica forgotten that in-depth pre-employment screenings were a regulatory requirement in Hartland? He was simply being a good citizen, Slade mentally reasoned, by paying for the report on behalf of the local government. It saved the good mayor's office from shelling out taxpayer money on Kady's background check while satisfying his curiosity at the same---

  "What the fuck?"

  But it was already too late, and his friend had already swiped the report from the table.

  "Dammit, Fari---"

  "Wow." Farica couldn't believe how thorough the report was.

  Kady Abrams, 24 years old, only child. Resided with her parents in a gated community in Denver until her move to Laramie. Graduated from a private high school and nicknamed Home Economics Goddess in her yearbook. Took up pre-med course in university, but had to request for a leave of absence in her last year. Spent two years taking care of ailing father.

  * * *

  Subject dated Eric Von Humboldt and friends described the relationship as 'an on and off thing'. Latter broke up with subject several months after she took leave from university. Von Humboldt has since been in a relationship for over a year with subject's best friend Margaux Newberry.

  * * *

  Three months ago, subject's father was deemed fully recovered and had successfully returned to work. A few weeks after, subject was said to 'surprise' many with her decision to transfer to a university in Laramie and take up Family & Consumer Science. Parents were said to be especially critical and disappointed of subject's decision to no longer pursue a career in medicine and follow in their footsteps.

  Complicated in a nutshell, Farica interpreted in the end, and wasn't that the one thing Slade had been known to find a major turn off? Fuck 'em and leave 'em was her friend's approach to dating, and Kady was the last person who could ever be okay with that.

  Handing the document back to Slade, she said suspiciously, "It's just not like you to have so much interest in a woman you can't possibly bed."

  "I know," the billionaire acknowledged. "But it doesn't mean I still can't have any fun with her, does it?"

  Dutch words of profanity almost slipped past her lips when she saw the wolfish - almost cruel but outright devastating - smile that had unfurled over his lips.

  Shit, Farica thought, and her heart immediately went out to Kady.

  "I like seeing her squirm," the billionaire murmured.

  Farica blinked. Did he seriously believe that? Couldn't he see, if he just took the time to think back on all the women he had fucked and left - it wasn't like him at all to care about whether he could make a girl squirm or not?

  Her mouth opened and closed, but in the end, it was Slade's self-assured tone that made Farica decide to mind her own business. It's your funeral, dude. Or more to the point, it was his heart's funeral, if things turned out the way she suspected, and the billionaire actually felt more for Kady than he realized.

  And if that was so, Farica thought, she just hoped her friend would realize the truth before it was too late, and he'd already done something stupid like hurt the girl he was starting to fall for.

  Chapter Four

  Haven't Met You Yet

  * * *

  "But, Wolfe, what a big dick you have."

  "All the better to tear you up with, my dear," the prince said as he sprang at her.

  ~ Big Bad Prince: Little Red Riding Hood Made Smutty by Marian Tee

  * * *

  Friday mornings were always reserved for town hall meetings in Hartland, for which the town's fifty or so founding members (or their authorized representatives in some cases) gathered at the library's function hall to convene.

  Among those discussed in this week's agenda was the approval of new member applications, a rigorous process that typically required three rounds of deliberation.

  "Please affix your signature on AYE for the application to push through. Documents that do not have your signatures will automatically count as a No."

  Fifteen minutes later, and Stephen Everly - a man who had amassed billions in the energy industry but took on the role of an independent private practitioner of law in Hartland - formally declared the newest additions to their community: Devon Montgomery, Sean Northwood, Nicholas Sutherland, Logan Hardwall.

  "Earliest permanent relocation date would be two years from now."

  "Fair enough," Raj acknowledged, "and I don't see any of them having problems with that." As the one who had personally vouched for the four new members, it had been up to him to explain to the group about The Hartland Initiative.

  Hartland's GDP per capita might be one of the lowest-ranking in the state, but that was exactly how the newly-established town's founding members wanted it to be. Everything that made Hartland less than ideal - from the remoteness of its location to its notoriously poor Internet signal - was as deliberate as the way the billionaires and heiresses that secretly made up the local community assiduously played their designated roles to perfection.

  In Raj's case for instance, 'sheikh' and 'prince' may be the titles that came with his so-called day job, but in Hartland, the nature of his employment was of a humbler stature, being Hartland Stable's senior riding instructor.

  One of the most important conditions for membership was for the applicant and his or her family to take the necessary steps to withdraw from the public spotlight. And since their newest members, dubbed by the media as San Antonio's Finest Eligibles, still rode a rather high wave of popularity following Logan's much-publicized romance with his nephew's nanny, a two-year delay was definitely reasonable. It should be time enough, Raj thought, for the SAFE guys to pay who needed to be paid for their names to be forgotten and they could eventually start leading ordinary lives.

  The meeting ended soon after, and as everyone filed out to leave, Slade found himself walking between the Blackwood brothers. The older set of twins, Thornton and Aidan, worked as a bookstore owner and police chief respectively, while their baby brother managed the flower shop just a few blocks away from Redwood Cafe.

  "Hullo there." Of the three, only Ethan allowed his native British accent to slip out in private and was generally considered the most laidback of the bunch. "We had dinner at the cafe yesterday and got to meet your new waitress."

  "Hard not to notice her," Aidan commented, "when she broke a plate the moment we came in. She's the jumpy sort, isn't she?"

  "I think it's cute, though," Ethan asserted, and glancing at Slade, he asked, "Kady's like a breath of fresh air, don't you think?"

  Slade tried not to bristle at how easily the younger man referred to Kady by her name. "Do me a favor," he said grimly, "and just forget she exists." Unfortunately, the warning only backfired.

  There was a moment of silence, and then Ethan and Aidan immediately started grinning while even the normally gruff Thornton cracked a smile.

  Fuck.

  The thought of other men finding Kady's shyness cute was oddly irritating as hell, and that it had to be the Blackwood men to do so just made things a lot fucking worse. The twins could practically pass off as Keanu Reeves' twins (although granted, Thornton had more of a John Wick feel to him while
the police chief better resembled the actor during his beardless, Constantine days) while their baby brother...

  Thank fuck Ethan wasn't single, Slade thought darkly. As Farica had once put it, the youngest Blackwood was dangerous enough with just his charm alone, but add the fact that he was as rakishly good-looking as Heathers-era Christian Slater, he was definitely the one to keep an eye on.

  On their way out, they spotted Anah manning the library counter, and all of them immediately slowed down to say hi.

  With certain circumstances causing the diminutive redhead to become Hartland's first resident who wasn't related by blood to any of its founding members, she had also eventually been entrusted with the truth about The Hartland Initiative.

  It was why everyone looked upon her as their honorary little sister, and also why, as Anah greeted them back cheerfully, everyone studiously played dumb to the way her smitten gaze lingered a second too long on Ethan.

  The hazel-eyed charmer grimaced at the way the older guys glared at him as soon as they were past the library's main doors. "I don't like her that way." His tone, albeit a mixture of exasperation and guilt, was also faintly underscored by guilt.

  Thornton only had one word for his baby brother. "Idiot."

  "It's your life," Aidan, always the more diplomatic between the two, simply said with a shrug before catching up with his twin. Since the two were going in the opposite direction, this left Ethan and Slade walking the rest of the way back to their block. The billionaire didn't waste time asking about Guilia, a childhood friend of the Blackwoods and the girl that Ethan had been dating for almost ten years.

  Never mind if, like the Blackwood twins, he also thought Ethan didn't deserve a bitch like Guilia. The important thing here was for the younger man's mind to stay as far away as possible from thoughts of Kady.

  She was his to torment after all, and it was very important that she only started breaking glasses and dropping plates because of him, and not anyone else.

  But then the billionaire heard Ethan say they had broken up a week ago, and Slade couldn't help wincing, thinking that he should've known better than to use the girl as a distraction. It was always bad news with Guilia, and only Ethan believed that could ever change.

  "I'm sorry, man."

  "You know how it is."

  Slade did, just as the others did, and that included Anah. Guilia would break up with Ethan every time the latter refused to play her slave, but as soon as she got bored, she would start running after him and begging Ethan to take her back.

  By this time, the youngest Blackwood should know better than to even give Guilia the time of the day, but it was as if Ethan couldn't seem to live without the girl. Just more fucking proof of how shitty love could get, the billionaire reflected, and the thought made him even more determined to steer clear of having any kind of relationship with any woman.

  Kady was humming along to Michael Bublé's Haven't Met You Yet when she heard a husky voice drawl from behind, "What a lovely voice you have."

  The words, which had Kady jumping three feet in the air, also had a nearby Farica shaking her head while wiping Table 7 clean. "Shouldn't that be Kady's line," she asked archly, "Mr. Big Bad Wolf?"

  "Mind your own fairytale," the billionaire answered even as his blue eyes stayed on Kady, who had once again started fidgeting in his presence.

  "G-Good afternoon, Mr. Wyndham." As always, her Superman-lookalike boss was still too gorgeous to look at, despite the beard that covered about seventy-percent of his face. And yet...

  Something's wrong, Kady, despite her nervousness, couldn't help noticing. There was no teasing smile playing on his lips, and his gaze was more brooding than wicked. Had something happened?

  Slade was still on edge, and even the adorable sight of Kady valiantly working hard to meet his gaze had little impact on his mood.

  "I heard you met the Blackwoods."

  "Um...yes?"

  "And?" he asked aggressively.

  "And?" she echoed uncertainly, not understanding at all what he wanted her to say.

  Do you like any one of them, the billionaire wanted to snarl. But he couldn't, with Farica still watching them with avid interest.

  "Never mind."

  Kady bit her lip at the callousness of her boss' tone. Had she done something wrong? She started backing away and promptly bumped into one of the tables.

  The billionaire frowned. Her clumsiness was still cute as fuck, but it was no longer enough. "You're probably like that with the other guys, too," he muttered.

  "I...um...er..." In truth, Kady had no idea what to say since she equally had no idea about what her boss meant.

  "Ignore him," Farica advised. "He's just not used to being the most beautiful man alive."

  "I...see." But in truth, the other woman's words made even less sense, and seeing that Slade Wyndham was still eyeing her like she was something to devour, Kady decided to make herself scarce and retreated to the safety of the kitchen.

  Seeing that Elizabeth and Arden didn't need much help with their work, Kady decided to resume working on her brewing skills for pour-overs.

  Coffee bean grinding, done. Water temp check, done. Contact time between coffee and water, done.

  And now it was time to wait, Kady thought as the filter slowly did its work and dark liquid began to drip into the Chemex coffeemaker.

  With several minutes to spare, Kady couldn't help but think back to her boss' puzzling attitude. Even though she had been working at Redwood Cafe for a few days now, she still hadn't come any closer to understanding exactly what kind of man Slade Wyndham was.

  She had sort of known a lot of good-looking guys her entire life, having been best friends with the one girl all of them had wanted to date. In her experience, handsome guys tended to be insensitive, cruel bullies, something that Kady was absolutely certain her extremely handsome boss, despite his penchant for teasing her, was not. The guys that had competed for Margaux's attention distinctly lacked the ability to laugh at themselves, whereas Slade even seemed to draw amusement from the insults Farica frequently hurled at him.

  And most importantly of all, those guys had never paid any attention to Kady, whereas her boss...

  Even Eric, she couldn't help thinking, had chosen Margaux over her in the end. There were even times when she had caught Eric staring at Margaux, but she had been such an idiot that she had told herself it was normal for her boyfriend to look at Margaux that way.

  Margaux was beautiful, ergo men wouldn't be able to help themselves.

  Obviously, she had been wrong, and it was why Eric and Margaux becoming an item had still been a huge and hurtful surprise to her. Slade Wyndham could be just like Eric, but Kady didn't think so. Slade was...different.

  Too different really, that when Kady later found out Slade hadn't had the time to grab dinner, even she herself knew it was not her place to worry about the man.

  And yet...

  She remembered his unsmiling expression, and her worry grew. Maybe something bad had really happened, and her boss was simply keeping it to himself because it was how macho men like him acted?

  Arden and Elizabeth couldn't help exchanging looks of amusement as they watched Kady pace and fret in silence. It was just too cute, the way the girl worried about the man who happened to terrify her at the same time.

  "It's past seven already," Kady mumbled, "and Mr. Wyndham hasn't eaten for hours."

  Elizabeth counted the seconds, knowing it was only a matter of time before the girl's conscience overruled her common sense.

  Three...two...

  Kady started wringing her hands.

  One.

  "Do you think I should bring him something?"

  Chapter Five

  Earth Angel

  * * *

  "Truth is a great flirt." ~ Frank Liszt

  * * *

  "Whatever it is," Slade said irritably when he heard the knock on the door, "I'm not in the fucking mood for it." Farica should really know when not t
o push---

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Wyndham."

  Shit.

  The billionaire practically tripped over his own feet in his haste, and he got to the door in record time. He threw it open and saw his adorable little Kady, in the process of turning away, jerk in surprise as their gazes clashed.

  "Sorry about that," he said right away. "I thought you were Farica." Seeing that she appeared seconds away from bolting, he swiftly searched for a way to keep her from leaving, and it was then his gaze fell on the tray she was holding. "Is that for me?" he asked in surprise.

  "I was worried," Kady mumbled. "You...you hadn't eaten the whole day, and you s-seemed in a bad mood."

  With embarrassment seemingly having gotten the best of her, Kady had started blushing mid-speech and by the time she finished speaking, her voice was barely audible over The Fleetwoods singing Earth Angel in the background. He normally hated Farica's choice of songs, but this time, his colleague had definitely gotten it right.

  His little Kady was an earth angel indeed, with the way she couldn't help worrying over him despite still finding him as fearsome as the boogeyman from her childhood.

  "Is there anything wrong, Mr. Wyndham?"

  Sweet, sweet Kady, to have found the courage to ask such a thing even as the question now made her look close to fainting.

  "Yeah," the billionaire said finally, "I suppose you could say that."

  Kady's fears dissipated at her boss' words. Oh no. She had been right, after all, and she looked up at him worriedly, saying, "If there's anything I can do to help---"

  "There is," he said right away, and as her gaze turned hopeful, he said lazily, "Don't ever talk to another man but me. Don't smile or meet their gazes. Don't even think of any other guy except me."