Hot Westmoreland Nights - Brenda Jackson [21]
“You sure look nice this morning, Chloe,” Callum said in a husky tone with his deep Australian accent.
Chloe glanced up at the handsome man whom she figured was a year or two younger than Ramsey and couldn’t help wondering what he was about. Had he just delivered a polite comment or a blatant flirtation?
“You’re wasting my time, Cal. Are we meeting or what?” Ramsey called out in a sharp tone.
Callum looked across the room at Ramsey and smiled. “We’re meeting.”
And then he moved to follow Ramsey out of the room.
Ramsey clenched his jaw until he was in the office and then he all but slammed the door shut before facing Callum. The other man had the nerve, the very audacity, the damn gall, to smile. “What the hell was that about?” he asked through gritted teeth.
Callum gave him an innocent look, one Ramsey wasn’t buying or selling. “I don’t know what you mean, Ram.”
Ramsey leaned back against his desk and frowned. “You were flirting with her.”
Callum shrugged as another smile formed at the corners of his lips. “What if I was?”
Ramsey crossed his arms over his chest. “If you did it to get a rise out of me, then—”
“It worked,” Callum taunted as he eased his muscular frame into a chair across from the desk. “Come on, Ram. Go ahead and admit you want the woman, which is why you’re trying to get rid of her. When you know for yourself, even after eating just one meal, that she’s a lot better cook than Nellie and her temperament is a vast improvement to what we’re used to. I hate to say it but Nellie hasn’t been missed around here and you know why.”
Ramsey drew in a deep breath. Yes, he did know why. Nellie’s disposition had begun deteriorating months ago after discovering her husband had been unfaithful to her. It was as if she had taken her hurt and anger out on the entire male population and his men knew it. They had tried being understanding, even sympathetic. But then after a while they’d become annoyed and just plain irritated. There was nothing worse than pissing a man off about his food.
Although Nellie’s unexpected trip had placed him in a bind, he thought she needed the distance from his men for a while and vice versa. She still had a job when she returned, but the two of them would have a long talk first.
“Okay, so Nellie hasn’t been missed, but when she comes back, she still has a job,” he decided to speak up.
“Fine. Great. But in the meantime I think your men deserve a nice smile and friendly words every now and then, not to mention food they can eat without worrying about it being burned or overly seasoned.”
Ramsey was silent.
“Look, I understand your problem with Chloe, Ram. Welcome to the club. I know how it is to want a woman so bad you ache,” Callum said.
Ram frowned. He then narrowed his eyes on his friend. “You’re referring to my sister,” he said in a warning tone.
Callum snorted. “I’m referring to the woman I intend to marry who refuses to give me the time of day and it’s getting damn near frustrating. Don’t be surprised one day if you wake up and find us both gone.” A smile touched Callum’s lips. “I might resort to kidnapping.”
Ram’s frown deepened. “You’d better be joking.” He then shook his head at Callum’s outrageous threat. And then he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Go ahead and kidnap her. I’ll give you less than a week and you’ll be bringing her back. Gemma will make your life a living hell if you did such a thing and I wouldn’t be one to close my eyes on her if I were you. She likes getting even.”
Ram smiled. Although he’d gone a little overboard he knew Callum got the picture. Of his three sisters, Gemma was the one who had a knack for not only speaking her mind but for backing up her thoughts. Callum knew this and was still in love with her. Go figure.
“Are you really thinking about letting Chloe go?” Callum asked and Ramsey figured he was now desperate to change the subject from Gemma back to Chloe. “I think it’s