The Expert’s Guide to Driving a Man Wild (Bluebonnet #3)(2)
Author: Jessica Clare

“Morning, boss,” she said in her sweetest voice, because she knew it would drive Grant crazy. She grabbed a donut and headed back to her desk.

Grant frowned over at her as she sat down. “Don’t eat that at your desk, Brenna. You’ll get crumbs into your keyboard.”

She deliberately took a messy bite of donut, half the food falling out of her mouth, dribbling crumbs all over her desk.

He sighed and turned away, his hands going to the pockets of his slacks as he paced before the fireplace. It was before nine and the man already looked immaculate. Sheesh. She gave him an annoyed look as she ate, noting his dark gray slacks with a pleat pressed into them, the lighter gray sweater he wore over a black collared shirt. Even his hair looked perfect. Tousled, perfectly styled waves that probably wouldn’t look that way without a ton of product. He was perfectly shaven, not a hair out of place. And he was frowning as the two other men attacked the donuts as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks.

“Have you two looked at the schedule for today?” Grant asked them.

“Schedule?” Dane said in a deliberately blank voice, then scarfed half a donut in one bite. “We have a schedule?”

Colt shrugged.

“I have a schedule today,” Grant said. “We have a carpenter coming out to look at the area we’ve roped off for the paintball course so we can see what needs to be built. I need one of you to be here.”

“I can’t,” Dane said. “Miranda wants to go in to Houston so we can talk to someone about flowers for the wedding.”

Colt raised a hand and made a noise that sounded like a whip, but Dane only gave them the same good-natured, lovesick grin.

“So you’ll do it, Colt?”

“I can meet with him,” Brenna volunteered, putting down her coffee. “Just show me what needs to be done and I can get with the carpenter.”

Grant glanced over at her and then turned back to Colt. “So you’ll do it, Colt?”

She was tempted to throw her donut at the back of Grant’s immaculate head. Jerk.

Colt shrugged. “Fine.”

“Good. I have to be at the airport this afternoon to pick up family, otherwise I’d take care of it.”

Brenna choked on her coffee. She began to cough, grabbing a wad of napkins and covering her mouth as she struggled to get her breath. Dane came over to her side and began to pound on her back with one of his big meat hook hands, nearly knocking her back off the chair again.

So now was probably not the best time to mention to Grant that she’d sabotaged his car.

Without the fuel pump fuse, it wouldn’t start. She’d figured it’d be a lot of fun to see him get all flustered and irritated, and then Pop could spend the afternoon trying to figure out what was wrong with the car. It was two birds with one stone, really. She’d keep Pop busy and annoy Grant at the same time.

Except, well, she hadn’t looked at the calendar, either. She glanced over at it. Sure enough, it was circled in red and said very clearly, AIRPORT.

Oops.

“Something wrong, Brenna?” Grant’s frown was directed at her, as if he could sense what she’d done.

She decided to take the heat off her. Between coughs, she said, “I think we should have a company meeting to discuss what we’re going to do when Colt leaves for two weeks.”

Grant immediately turned his frown to Colt. “You’re leaving?”

Colt glared at Brenna. “You suck.”

She gave him a thumbs up between coughs. Right back atcha.

“Where are you going?”

Colt leaned back on the couch until he could see Grant’s head. “Beth Ann wants a honeymoon and we’re low on cash, so I thought I’d take her up to the cabin in Alaska for a few weeks. Just the two of us. She likes alone time.”

“But what about classes?”

“Dane can do ’em. This is our slow period anyhow.”

“That’s why we’re setting up the paintball course,” Grant said, frowning and moving to snag the last coffee. “So there wouldn’t be a slow period. We’ve already advertised it in all the nearby papers that it’s going to be live as of December first. I’m already getting calls about it. I need you here.”

“It’s paintball,” Colt said patiently. “Can’t Pop handle it?”

“Pop’s already pretty busy,” Dane said, earning him a scowl from Colt. “Don’t look at me like that. He is always busy. Brenna keeps him hopping.”

Colt glanced at Grant. “You going to run it for us, then?”

“My family’s in town, so I’m going to be occupied with them for the next few weeks.” Grant tugged at his collar as if it were too tight. That was impossible. The man probably had his clothes tailored so he could look perfect at all times. Brenna rolled her eyes at the thought and wiped the crumbs off her keyboard. “And Dane’s going to want some time off around the holidays, too. It’s like we need another set of hands.”

“Maybe you should take over some of the classes,” Brenna said to Grant.

This time, three sets of eyes turned to glare at her.

Brenna hid her smile behind a look of mock-innocence. “What’d I say?”

Grant shook his head, dismissing her comment. “I’m needed in the office to organize things since my assistant is so very lacking.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He ignored her and turned back to the two guys. “Do you think Pop can handle an extra workload?”

Dane shrugged. “Why don’t we hire another trainer? I’m getting kind of tired of having back-to-back classes. Throw in the paintball and it doesn’t sound like we’re ever going to get a day off.”

“Where are we going to find another survival expert?” Grant asked.

“I’ll do it,” Brenna volunteered. When they turned to look at her again, she shrugged. “I’m the assistant. Let me assist.”

“We need someone with certifications,” Grant said, warming up to the subject. He stalked over to Brenna’s desk. “Write this down, Brenna. We need someone physically fit, preferably in top condition. Someone who’s personable and good with all kinds of people, from kids to businessmen. Someone with a lot of background in survival training. We’d need a list of what classes they’ve taken and what teaching skills they have. And we’ll pay for relocation.”

She nodded, and then took another sip of her coffee, watching Grant.