A Curvy Girl for the Cadet: A Perfect Fit Novella by Sugar Jamison Page A

could sign some checks.”
    “Sign checks? I don’t do that.”
    “You do now. Mr. Sanna must have given you the authority. You had to know this was coming. You have done all the hiring, firing and purchasing for the past six months. You’re running shit. Sanna may be the owner, but we all know that you’re the boss. The men are loyal to you here. And what you did for that kid is exactly the reason you don’t need to go back. You hire vets. You’re needed here.”
    He didn’t know what to say to that. “I’m going to go now. Can you head over to the other sites and see how they are doing?”
    “Yeah. I’ll take care of it.”
    Clayton nodded and walked out feeling kind of choked. He hadn’t wanted the responsibility of owning his own business, having people’s livelihoods depend on him. He had been in charge of his own unit, of his men’s lives and he lost some of them. He couldn’t risk taking on this business and failing again.
    As soon as his feet hit the pavement he sucked in a huge breath.
    “Clay?” He heard his name being called and he saw Daisy walking towards him. She held a large flower arrangement filled with red and white flowers in a blue vase. His chest loosened when he saw her. He hadn’t had a glimpse of her in days, telling himself he could live with just one night with her. He wasn’t what she needed in her life right now.
    But that didn’t stop the thoughts of her. Constant thoughts of her. Memories of their night together, memories of her skin pressed against his, and her moans and the way he felt when he was inside her and beside her sleeping that night.
    “Are you okay?” She set the arrangement on the ground and placed her hand on his arm. He couldn’t miss the look of concern on her face.
    He hated that she was concerned for him. “I’m fine. The fumes were getting to me.” He pulled her closer, took her face in his hands and kissed her. He didn’t care that it was in the middle of the street. He didn’t care who saw them. He had to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around him and let herself be kissed. Somehow she knew it was exactly what he needed right then.
    “Um, Clay,” he heard his name, but didn’t immediately remove his lips from hers, in fact he gave her another much shorter kiss before he turned his attention to Abraham.
    “I just wanted to give you this list of supplies I’m going to order for your approval.”
    “It’s approved,” he said without looking at it.
    “I had wondered why you didn’t want to go out with me, but now I know. Hello, beautiful. I am Clay’s friend, Abraham.”
    Daisy smiled in that sexy way that made his insides heat. She was looking beautiful that day in a leopard print skirt, tight pink tee-shirt and black heels. “I’m Daisy. I’m Clay’s friend too.” She looked up at him. “We’re friends now, right?”
    “I think you could call us that.”
    “I’m going to head back to work now, and let you two friends get back to whatever you were doing. It was nice meeting you, Daisy.”
    “You too, Abraham.”
    Clayton watched him go, knowing he was going to be grilled about Daisy later, but he didn’t care right then. “Have lunch with me.”
    “When?” She lifted up her arrangement again.
    “Right now.”
    “I have to deliver these flowers to Dr. Craig’s office.”
    “Okay. Deliver them and then you’ll have lunch with me.”
    *
    “When you said have lunch with me,” Daisy said as she walked a little further into the water. “I envisioned water glasses and white tablecloths. Not an abandoned swimming hole.” She looked back at him, sitting in the back of his pickup truck with the sun shining down on him. “But I think I like this place much better.”
    Durant was full of little gems like this. Swimming holes and ponds. Places where people could just get out and play. She had grown up in Annapolis and gone to school in New Orleans and had lived in half a dozen other places before she had come here. She didn’t