Small Town Girl, page 1
Small Town Girl
Alexa Riley
Contents
Small Town Girl
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Epilogue
Coming Soon…
Read Me Romance
Stalk the Author
Copyright © 2021 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to riley_alexa@aol.com
http://alexariley.com/
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Edited by Aquila Editing
Small Town Girl
by Alexa Riley
To big dreams, and even bigger love stories.
Don’t be afraid to go after both!
1
Lux
I glance at the clock again knowing I’m out of time. I should have accounted for this, but I’m always late. It’s a terrible habit, but I could have worse ones. It doesn't matter how hard I try, time always gets away from me and then it’s a mad dash. It’s really going to bite me in the butt today if my brother makes it back home before I’m long gone.
I tape up another box quickly then carry it outside and put it in the back of my little blue Beetle. I got it for my eighteenth birthday, but my brothers never would have given me this car if they knew what I was up to. If it was up to them I’d stay right here forever and become a spinster. I do a kickass cross stitch, but that's not all I want from life.
My phone starts buzzing like crazy in my pocket, and when I pull it out I drop it on the concrete driveway. I let out a sigh of relief when I see the screen is fine. That is until I see why my phone is going off in the first place.
There are twenty texts one after another saying CODE RED! I’VE BEEN MADE! Of course she was made! I never should have believed Juno could keep tabs on my brother. He’s the town sheriff and she’s running around with pink hair this week. She’s unmissable.
I hear him before I see him as his SUV comes down the long gravel driveway. I run back into the house and grab a few more boxes and try to get them into the car before he gets here. Without realizing it, I misjudge the last step and hit the ground. Both boxes go flying. One bursts open, and clothes go tumbling out. Of course it’s the box with my underwear.
Cooper parks his car, making sure it blocks me in. I fold my arms over my chest, ready for a throw-down as he gets out of the SUV. He tosses his sunglasses back in before slamming the door.
“You know that’s the town’s property. You should take better care of it,” I say and then smirk at him.
This town would let him set his sheriff’s vehicle on fire in the middle of a parade and no one would care. They’d probably cheer him on and declare that day a holiday. As always when I’m pushing back against him, he ignores me.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He walks around my vehicle in full cop mode. He looks through all of the windows and my trunk. My brother can be intimidating to most since he’s well over six foot tall and built like one of those football players they’re always yelling at on TV.
“I put all my drugs in your room.” He gives me a hard glare, not thinking I’m funny. Juno would laugh. Cooper is as straight-laced as they come. He was a SEAL before coming back home after we lost Dad. I was sixteen at the time. Instead of having me go stay with my aunt, he moved back into our childhood home and quickly settled into being the sheriff here.
“I’m not playing games with you, Lux.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I’m twenty. I can do as I please. Now be a good big brother and help me with the last three boxes I have.” I motion toward the front door.
“And where do you think you’re taking these boxes?”
“To the city. I got myself a place.” I try to say it with confidence.
“The city?” His jaw hardens.
“Yes, I need space.” I throw my arms open. “As much as I love Pink Springs, it’s time for something else.”
“What’s wrong with it here?” He actually looks insulted.
“Hey, you did the same thing when you went into the Navy,” I point out.
It was hard when he left. I was only about ten at the time. My other brother Mitch took it even harder because they were so close. Luckily the next year Juno moved to town, giving me someone to hang on to. I love my brothers more than anything, but I’m going to miss her the most. She knows I have to do this, even if it’s going to be hard being apart.
He stands there for a long second, and the reality of what’s happening settles in. At the end of the day he can’t truly stop me. He could, however, lay a major guilt trip on me. I know this is what I need because something is calling me, and it has been for a while. I can’t fight the pull any longer.
“What’s your plan?” he asks, still hedging his emotions.
“I’ve been saving all my tips from the diner. I’ve got a nice nest egg until I can find a job.” It was easy to save up since my brothers took care of most everything at home. I need to grow up at some point, and I’m sure they want to live their own lives soon enough. Maybe even get married and start families of their own.
“Where are you going to stay? And don’t say a hotel.”
“Of course not. Juno and I went and looked at places.” At the mention of Juno’s name, my brother stands up a little taller.
“Is she going with you?” I shake my head no, and his brow furrows. “How is that possible? You two are connected at the hip.”
“She loves it here, but she knows I have to do this.”
Juno grew up in the city with her parents. They were both high-profile lawyers, and when they were killed in a plane crash, she ended up here with her grandmother.
“So where are you staying then?”
“I rented a room from a girl named Avery.” I hold up my hand before he can say anything. “Yes, I did the whole background check. Everything came back clean, but I need a roommate to stay in a safer part of town. I’ll never be able to afford it on my own. And maybe we’ll hit it off and I’ll have a friend there.”
“There is no talking you out of this, is there?”
“No, but who knows, I might hate it and be back next month. Either way I have to do this. I’ve got to get it out of my system. I don’t want to stay working at the diner forever.”
“What about college?” he tries again, and I scrunch my nose.
“I suck at school and you know it.” I graduated from high school and my grades were pretty good, but I hated it. I had to fight hard to keep them up, and I knew college would be way harder. I don’t think college is for everyone, and I’m not going to blow thousands of dollars to come to that conclusion.
“I told you that you could work dispatch.” He can’t help himself.
“No way. I don’t want people's lives in my hands or trying to talk them through something scary until police get there. I’d be panicking right along with them.”
“I need all the information and I’m coming out there soon.” He walks over toward me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “I know I’m overbearing, but you’re my little sister, and I promised Dad I’d take care of you.”
“I know.” I fight back the tears, not wanting to cry as he kisses the top of my head. “Luca is going to lose his mind when he gets back home tomorrow.” I can feel him shaking his head. “I know, and that’s why I’m leaving today.”
“Let me help you get the rest of your stuff.”
With his help it isn't long until I get everything packed up. He gives me one last long hug and tells me to call him when I get there. As soon as he takes off for work, Juno is pulling in.
“Are you still going?” She hops down from her Jeep.
“Yep.”
A bright smile lights up her face. She’s always reminded me of a little pixie. I know she’s sad I’m leaving, but she’s going to hide it for my sake. “I’m going to miss you at the diner.”
“Me too.” It isn't that I hate the diner. It was always fun when we had shifts together, but I just need a change. More than anything, I need to be out from under my brothers.
“I’m going to come see you soon,” she promises, and then we hug for a long moment and just hold each other tight.
“You better. It’s only a couple of hours away.” I let her go, and it’s harder than I thought it was going to be.
“I sent you an audiobook for the road. It’s a good one.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me before turning and getting back into her Jeep. I stand there looking up at the only home I’ve ever known, wondering if I’m making a mistake.
But I suppose there’s only one way to find out. For all I know, my forever mi
2
Bastian
“This is sexist bullshit.” My sister Selma comes into my office and tries to slam the door behind her, but it’s one of those quiet close doors and she huffs at it in frustration as she stands there waiting for it to shut.
“Would you like to elaborate on what’s got you pissed off today?” I don’t look up from my computer as she begins to pace.
“This is utterly ridiculous, Bastian. Why do we have to cater to these old assholes anyway?”
“They’re called shareholders,” I say blandly and keep typing.
“Whatever. It’s a bunch of wrinkly men in power that make all the decisions for this company, and I’m supposed to just sit back and smile like a pretty little woman.”
I stop typing and lean back in my seat. “Can you tell me a time when you actually sat back and smiled?”
“Well, no.” She blinks and then shakes her head. “But that’s beside the point.”
“What is your point? I’m busy.” I pause as she lets out a growl of frustration and blows her dark curls out of her face.
Our hair is so similar that I wonder if I ever grew it out, would it be identical to hers? As it is, I keep mine shorter so the curls don’t fall in my eyes.
“This.” She slams the papers on my desk in front of me, and I glance down.
“This is the invoice for the annual board member event.” I look up at her for the problem and she points at it again like I’m blind. “The numbers look right.”
“It’s not the numbers, Bastian, it's what they’ve booked.” She points to one of the line items and I read what it says.
“Cocktail waitresses? We always have catering provide wait staff, so you’re going to have to be more specific.”
“The theme is Gentlemen’s Club! They’ve got the waitresses dressing in bunny costumes like Playmates. It might as well be a pimps and hoes party.”
“Selma—”
“Don’t Selma me. I’m not crazy, Bastian. This is unprofessional. We can’t have women walking around half naked with these old men leering at them. It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, not because I don’t agree, but because I don’t want to argue. “I don’t have time for this.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say?” She straightens and crosses her arms over her chest. I love my sister, but there won’t be an easy way to answer this.
“The board decides every year what kind of party we have. The planning committee’s job is to hire companies that are willing to give them what they want. Your job in accounting is to pay the invoices. That’s it.”
“So you don’t have an opinion on this misogynist crap being done under your nose?”
“My opinion is to stay on the board's good side until after the shareholders meeting.” She’s not satisfied by my answer. “I would never want any woman to do what she isn't comfortable with.”
“So how do you condone this?”
“I’m not saying I do, but if it will make you feel better I’ll speak to HR.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” I raise an eyebrow at her, and she shrugs. “Well, maybe not all I’m asking, but it’s a good start.”
“You’re not attending the party,” I say, and it’s not a question. “I need these old assholes happy when it’s time to vote on me taking over.”
“I will never understand your ambition here.” She takes her papers off my desk and goes to the door. Before she opens it, she turns back to me, and there’s a sad look in her eyes. “This was supposed to be just a paycheck. When did it become your life?”
Without another word she walks out, and I’m left with her bomb of judgment and the mess it makes.
When our mom passed away last year, I think a piece of Selma died with her. She has always had a little anarchist’s heart with a feminist attitude, but she’s leaned into her anger more than ever since then. I try not to feed into her frustration because it only sends her down a dark spiral where she lashes out. And guess who her favorite target is.
Being raised by a single mom shaped me in ways I didn’t realize until I became a man. Our dad took off when I was around three, right after Selma was born. We found out later he had another family, and we weren’t even the first.
If our mom cared, she never let it show and only used him leaving as a reason to work twice as hard for us. She busted her ass working as a housekeeper for rich people in Atlanta, and even cleaned offices on nights and weekends.
She did it to take care of us and make sure we didn't go without. As soon as I could I started helping her clean and eventually saved enough to go to college. I got a degree in business, and Selma followed behind, getting hers in accounting.
Every day I’m thankful my mother got to see us become something and that we were able to take care of her in the end. But my heart aches that she won’t be here to see the life I build in the future, even though I know she’s looking down on me.
I graduated at the top of my class and got a coveted internship with Balman and Pierce, the leading company in machine tools and metal manufacturing. For the past ten years I’ve shot up to where I am today as the chief operating officer. I oversee everything that goes on in this company, but I want the grand prize. The former chief executive officer and my mentor at Balman and Pierce died suddenly last summer on a yacht in what’s been said are unsavory circumstances.
His mistress and a bag of cocaine were found aboard, both of which I was unaware of. It was a scandal to say the least, but I worked hard to keep it quiet and to show that business as usual would go uninterrupted.
Since last summer the CEO position has been vacant, and I’ve done my best to show that I’m the one for the job. Not only am I the natural choice, but I’ve managed to double our production and profits in the ten years I’ve been working for Balman and Pierce.
The problem is the board doesn’t think I’ve put in enough time, but I believe it’s because I haven’t kissed enough ass. So if they want to hire strippers that give million-dollar blow jobs for their annual celebration, I don’t give a fuck.
Part of what Selma said is right, because initially this job was only for a paycheck—and a hefty one at that. But since then it’s become a race to the top, and I won’t stop until I win. Maybe I’m not the man I used to be, but I’ve had to grow up quickly here.
When I got her the job in accounting, she wasn’t questioning her six-figure salary or the perks that came along with it. But since we lost our mom, she’s been pushing back, and now she’s pushing in the wrong direction.
The last thing I need is her ruffling feathers, and although she’s right, I need to keep her quiet. All of this aside, she didn’t take much time off work after Mom died. Although to be fair, neither did I. I think we thought by throwing ourselves back into the company it would fill the void we were scared to face.
Selma needs some time off away from work, but suggesting it might just piss her off more. I need to think of something I can have her do to occupy her time and stay out of the board’s line of sight. The last thing I need is them using her as a reason to not promote me. She might not like my career path, but in the end it will benefit the both of us. That’s how I’m justifying what I do next.
I send an email to HR reminding them to double-check that all staff hired for the event needs to have their non-disclosure agreement signed before entering the building. I tell them that I want the pay doubled and security at the door after they enter. I meant what I said to Selma, that I’d never want a woman to do anything she doesn’t want to, but I’m not going to stop the ones that do. With the money they’re getting paid for the event, I have no doubt they’ll be lining up to be leered at.
After I hit send, I lean back in my chair. I don’t feel good about any of this, but I’ll feel better when it’s finished. Thankfully it’s only the board and a handful of department heads that will be in attendance at the party. Wives and girlfriends aren’t invited to attend this year since the theme is Gentlemen’s Club, but now I can see why after the invoices. I close my eyes and force myself to focus on what’s important here, and a waitress dressed as a bunny is the absolute least of my worries.
