Billion Dollar Mistake by K.C. Crowne

Chapter 20

SAWYER

Iwoke up that next morning to music. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was hearing. I rolled over in bed, adjusting my eyes to the morning light streaming in through the windows, then craned my neck to listen closer.

Yep, it was music.

And more than that, it was ABBA.

I rolled out of bed and planted my feet on the floor, giving my limbs a stretch. As I did, I glanced down to see that I was naked. Not a surprise since I usually slept in the nude, but when I looked up to see that my bedroom door was open, I realized that sleeping naked with a woman in the next room was a luxury I no longer had.

I threw on a kimono-style robe and checked the time on my phone. It was a little after seven-thirty, which meant that I had a little time before I needed to leave for the office if I wanted to get there at my usual hour of nine-ish.

When I stepped out of the bedroom and into the hall, the words of the music grew clearer.

I realized that Jolene was singing along.

The voice of the lead singer blended with Jolene’s, the latter out of key enough to make my head spin.

I trotted down the stairs and made my way to the kitchen. Sure enough, Jolene was there already dressed in her work clothes, a carton of almond milk in her hand as she poured a cup of coffee, her hips swaying to the music as she danced and sang, oblivious to my presence.

“Friday night and the lights are low, looking out for a place to go…”

She was totally in the zone. I couldn’t help but watch, a smile on my face.

“Where they play the right music, getting in the swing…”

Jolene was so in the zone, that while she had her back to the rest of the kitchen, I was able to slip in without her noticing. I made my way to the Keurig machine and started myself a cup as she worked her way through the rest of the verse.

When she hit the chorus, she spun around on her feet.

Just then, she opened her eyes, a shriek of surprise shooting from her mouth as she saw that I was there.

“Ohmigod!”

I couldn’t help it. I burst out into laughter as the chorus went on, Jolene shaking her head as the shock wore off. She picked up her phone and used it to turn down the Sonos. When the music was quiet, she set down the phone in a huff before turning her eyes back to mine.

“What the hell, Sawyer!” she said, shaking her head in frustration. “What were you doing sneaking up on me like that?”

“Well, kinda hard to not sneak up on someone when they’re playing music so loudly that you can hear it from upstairs.”

A tinge of embarrassment took hold of her features. “Was it that loud? Sorry – I’m used to doing this stuff in the privacy of my own home.”

“I’m just busting your chops,” I said as I opened the fridge and took out some half-and-half. “You live here now, remember. You want to sing off-key in the middle of the kitchen, that’s your prerogative.”

“I wasn’t off-key!” she said, her eyes flashing. The indignation quickly faded, replaced by a touch of worry. She cocked her head in an adorable way. “Was I off-key?”

I flicked up my eyebrows as I poured the half-and-half into my cup, letting the question hang in the air.

“Oh!” she said, pointing to the fridge. “What’s the story? You’ve got an industrial sized kitchen here but like, three things in there.”

“Yeah, I mostly do takeout – if you want to order some groceries, I’ll send you my login stuff to the place I go to.”

“And I don’t mean to barrage you with questions right when you get up,” she said, going on. “But there’s the matter of my stuff…”

“Sheesh,” I said, stepping over to her and leaning back against the counter. “Where’s my head at? Give me your address and a housekey and I’ll have some movers bring over whatever you need.”

She pursed her lips and gave a small nod of appreciation. “It’s not a ton of stuff. I’m going to be renting the place out as-is, so I’ll need to get my clothes and all that. Or…I could just plan on leaving here in the mornings and doing all the changing at my house until I get a renter.”

“Not a chance. You live here now, and we need to do everything we can to make this look normal and natural. And, since you’re living here, you’re more than welcome to do your little morning ABBA routine.”

She laughed, her cheeks turning a tinge of red as she did. “I know, it’s a little stupid. But when I’ve got a busy day ahead, I like to get myself pumped with a favorite song.”

That reminded me of the more pressing issue at hand.

“Speaking of what’s the deal with the murder?”

Her expression turned serious. “It’s crazy. Two murders, both in the same style, both guys who had no connections to Whitepeak. But that’s all I can say about it while the investigation is ongoing.”

“Insane.”

“You’re telling me. The scary part is that murders like these are hard to solve.”

“You’re talking about this like you’re a detective.”

She let out a puff of air through her nose, smiling just a bit.

“I know, I know. That’s just how my brain works. I can’t help but think about this stuff, try to solve the crime. Anyway, today I’m meeting with the detectives back in Whitepeak to report on my findings.”

“What time are you planning on getting back? I want to get this car situation taken care of if you’re going to be driving between here and there.”

“The Jeep’s fine,” she said, placing her hand on mine. “But if it’ll make you feel better, I can do my paperwork and email days from here, so I only have to go in a couple days a week when there’s a body that needs to be dealt with.”

My cock twitched at the slight pressure of her skin against mine. It was getting difficult to focus on the conversation at hand. Images of me bending her over the kitchen counter and pulling down those fitted slacks of hers filled my head.

“That would make me feel better,” I said.

Her eyes lingered on mine, her mouth opening slightly as if preparing for a kiss. The tension grew and grew by the second. All I wanted was to wrap my arm around her slender waist and pull her body against mine.

“Having the time of your li-i-ife!” The music blasted through the speakers, yanking us both out of the moment. Jolene turned around to see that her hand had fallen on her phone, accidentally turning the volume back up.

“Shoot!” she yelled over the song. “Let me…”

She hit pause and the music stopped.

I chuckled. “That wakes you up better than coffee, really.”

Jolene chuckled as she poured her coffee into her Yeti mug.

“I should get going. See you tonight.”

With a pursed-lip smile, she grabbed her things and hurried out of the kitchen. My eyes locked onto her perfect ass while she left.

I chuckled yet again once I was alone. It was going to be a very, very interesting few months.