Perfection: A Neighbor From Hell Novel Read online

  Haley blinked. "They are."

  "They...what....what the hell?" Jason sputtered, pressing a hand to his chest in what Zoe was quickly beginning to recognize as a typical Bradford overreaction, even if it was cute to watch. It was funny how she never really thought of large muscular men as cute before, but after meeting the Bradford men there really was no other way to describe them, well other than studly and hot that is.

  "Can we get back to work now?" Haley asked, sounding innocent, but Zoe didn't miss the woman's lips twitching or the humor sparkling in her eyes. Something told her that this woman truly enjoyed torturing her husband.

  "For god sake's, my little grasshopper, you love the Yankees more than I do! What the hell is going on?" He turned accusing eyes on Zoe. "How dare you brainwash my wife?" he hissed.

  "Are you going to leave so that we can get some work done?" Haley demanded, turning her attention to the computer.

  "No," he said stubbornly, folding his arms over his chest, glaring at them.

  "Buttercream frosting," Haley said softly, never taking her eyes away from her computer screen.

  Jason licked his lips as he looked his pregnant wife over hungrily. "Tonight?" he croaked out.

  "If you're good," Haley said, with a small shrug. "But you have to leave-"

  "Bye," Jason said quickly, cutting her off and rushing out of the trailer just as fast as he came.

  "I'm really sorry about him," Haley said, looking at her over her shoulder, giving Zoe a sheepish smile.

  "I thought you weren't going to apologize for him," Zoe reminded her, smiling. There was just something about Haley that made her relax, which was a little discomforting since she couldn't remember the last time she felt relaxed at work.

  "You're absolutely right, but he does entertain me so," she said on a dreamy sigh.

  "A sign of a good husband," Zoe agreed.

  "Exactly," Haley said, beaming.

  As much as she was enjoying talking with Haley she couldn't help the nagging feeling that she should get back to work. At her old job idle chit chat was not tolerated and since Zoe had been there for three years the concept of solely focusing on work was well ingrained.

  "What should we go over first?" Zoe asked, hoping the abrupt change didn't dampen the easy going comradely they seemed to be sharing. She hadn't had many friends in her life over the past couple of years and talking with someone as kind as Haley was a nice treat for her.

  "Sure, I'll show you everything, but it will of course be up to you how you want to handle everything," Haley said, still smiling warmly, Zoe noted with relief. "I've only been filling in over the summer so that Dad had some help. I really haven't been able to get a system going so however you want to do this is totally up to you."

  "Okay, that sounds good," Zoe said, practically jumping to the side as Haley stood up and waddled past her.

  "Have a seat."

  "Are you sure?" Zoe asked, a little uncomfortable with the idea of taking a pregnant woman's seat.

  "Definitely," Haley said, placing a hand on her stomach as she made her way around the desk. She walked over to the sitting area and proceeded to grab a chair and drag it.

  "Wait!" Zoe said, practically running around the desk to stop her. "Let me do that for you."

  "Thank you," Haley said, smiling sweetly as she followed Zoe back around the desk. She switched her comfortable office chair out for the sturdy waiting room chair. Haley looked like she was going to argue, but Zoe wasn't having it. She gestured for the woman to sit down in the comfortable chair.

  With a muttered, "slave driver" that startled a surprised laugh out of Zoe, Haley sat down. She couldn't remember the last time that she laughed at work. Zoe had to admit it felt nice and she hoped it was a sign that things were going to improve.

  **********

  "Haley, could you take a look at this printout. Something isn't adding up. I just got off the phone with Robinson and that jerk is giving me the runaround again. Could you look this over and see......," Jared's words trailed off as he looked up from the large pile of ledgers and folders he was carrying when he spotted Haley curled up on the couch, sleeping.

  Zoe cringed as she stood up, ready to defend the poor woman who struggled until ten minutes ago to keep her eyes open. Normally she would have woken Haley back up, but the poor woman was pregnant and obviously exhausted and Zoe hadn't had the heart to wake her. Instead she'd been keeping an ear out so that she could wake the poor woman before she got caught sleeping on the job.

  Unfortunately by the time she heard Jared's approach he was already in the room speaking a mile a minute and she couldn't wake Haley without drawing attention to the fact that Haley was sleeping. She knew the man had an obvious soft spot for his daughter-in-law, but that didn't mean he'd appreciate her wasting company time and money.

  Her stomach coiled with dread as Jared placed the stack of books on the corner of her desk and approached Haley. She shifted nervously as she tried to decide what she should do. In her old job she would have just kept working and minded her own business, but Haley had been really nice to her, not that Jared hadn't, but she just couldn't stand by and let the woman get in trouble for this.

  She opened her mouth to make an excuse for Haley when Jared shocked the hell out of her by leaning over and pressing a kiss to the top of Haley's head. Zoe watched in shock as the large man gently removed Haley's glasses and pushed an errant strand of hair out of her face.

  "Poor thing is exhausting herself," he mumbled, sighing before he stood up and walked quietly away from Haley. He ran his hand through his hair as he exhaled slowly, looking deep in thought.

  After a moment he looked up at her and gave her a small smile. "I hate to say this, Zoe, but I'm not sure that Haley is going to be able to train you and I'm afraid my wife's been out of the office for so long that I don't think she'd be much of a help."

  Zoe nodded, wondering what the plan was going to be. She hoped she wasn't about to get canned.

  "She has a photographic memory," Haley muttered drowsily, slightly startling her since she thought the woman was asleep. "And she catches on very quickly. She was able to fully take over the job two hours ago." She yawned loudly before adding, "And she caught us up on everything."

  Jared's eyebrows arched in surprise. "Seriously?"

  "Mmmhmmm," Haley grumbled seconds before soft snoring filled the room once again.

  Worrying her bottom lip, Zoe nodded. She still remembered the moment her last boss realized how fast and efficiently she worked. He smiled just before he added his daily workload to hers. After that he shoved anything and everything on her that he didn't want to do and took the praise for her work.

  At first she went along with it because she foolishly thought that he'd at least mention her role in all the work. She also thought by helping her boss out that she'd be on the fast track to a management position. Six months into her job she realized she wasn't going anywhere and all the raises that her boss was getting should have been hers. When she'd confronted Ted, her ex soul sucking boss, about it he merely shrugged it off and added more work to her load and a few dozen write ups to her file.

  After that she learned to keep her mouth shut and do her work and his without complaint. Actually, now that she thought about it she wondered how he was managing his work now that she wasn't there to do it. With a small sigh she realized that he probably just pushed it off onto someone else.

  "Do you think you could look this over and call the bank to have them fax over another copy?" Jared asked, sounding hopeful.

  "Of course," Zoe said, not only because it was her job, but because for the first time in three years she had a boss who asked her to do something instead of slamming more work on her desk as he gave her a dirty look. It was a rather nice change, she thought as she picked up the thin packet.

  "I would really appreciate that," Jared said with a warm smile. His eyes shot to the clock. "But it can wait until after your lunch break. I'll cover the phones for you," he of
fered and before she could thank him he walked back into his office, leaving her stunned.

  She got a lunch break? she thought with a smile, but then her eyes landed on Haley. Maybe she should-

  "I'm going to call Jason to come get Haley," Jared said, popping his head out of his office long enough to tell her.

  "Okay," Zoe said, taking a seat behind her desk. By the time Jason stepped into the office she'd already gone through the packet, making notes of the figures that didn't add up.

  He stepped into the office quietly, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm, acknowledging her with a smile and a nod as he walked over to where his wife slept.

  "Hey, my little grasshopper, are you ready to go home?" he asked in a hushed whisper as he laid his hand over the swell of Haley's stomach and gently caressed his unborn child. The gesture was so sweet and romantic that Zoe found herself biting back a content little sigh. She might question his sanity, but she sure as hell couldn't question his devotion to his wife.

  "Go away I'm working," Haley mumbled, absently swatting at her husband as she tried to snuggle deeper into the couch.

  "I see," Jason said, chuckling softly. "And you're doing a really great job of it, but it's time to go home."

  "I'm too tired to go home," Haley said around a small yawn.

  Jason leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. "I'll carry you."

  Haley was quiet for a moment before she responded. "Do I have to be awake for you to carry me?"

  He chuckled. "No."

  She sighed heavily. "Fine. You may carry me then," she said regally, not bothering to open her eyes.

  "That's very generous of you," Jason mumbled, grinning.

  "It is, isn't it?" Haley said sleepily as Jason scooped her up into his arms. She curled up in his arms and Zoe had no doubt that she was already asleep before Jason finished standing.

  Zoe quickly walked over and opened the door for them. He nodded his thanks to her as he stepped out of the trailer. After she shut the door she walked over to the large stack of ledgers and prayed that the results weren't as disastrous as the last time she looked into bank accounts that didn't add up, because she was pretty sure she'd miss this place if she had to leave.

  Chapter 8

  "You lying bitch!" Trevor hissed as he stormed into her kitchen.

  Zoe fought back a smile, knowing exactly what he was pissed about. "Good morning to you, too," she said, focusing her attention on making his lunch and barely biting back a snort of laughter.

  "Don't give me that 'good morning' bullshit, Zoe. You know exactly what you did!" he accused, trying to look stern as he pointed a finger at her. His eyes darted down at the food spread out on her counter several times completely wrecking the effect, especially when he went ahead and licked his lips in anticipation.

  "Can I have double cheese?" he asked, momentarily forgetting why he was pissed at her, which she noticed happened quite a bit when food was around.

  Sighing heavily as if it somehow pained her to do as he asked, she put down the jar of mayonnaise and added extra cheese to his sandwiches.

  "Only three sandwiches? Are you trying to starve me?" he asked with a pout that she shouldn't find adorable, but did. "You know we're not all on diets like you, don't you?" he asked as he reached out and pushed the loaf of potato bread towards her in silent demand.

  With an eye roll she pulled out two more slices of bread, wondering how she let him talk her into this particular chore. Oh, that's right. Two months ago he pouted and kept on pouting for a week until she finally had enough and agreed to make his damn lunches for him. She hadn't missed the triumphant smile he tried hiding from her, but she let it slide since it meant more hours for her and because he was just so damn cute when he thought he was pulling one over on her.

  "Oh god! What the hell have you poisoned me with now?" he demanded, drawing her attention.

  "Hey! Stop eating my food!" she snapped, reaching over and taking her bowl of high fiber cereal away from him. He practically shoved it in her hands. "You keep screwing with my calorie count, you jerk."

  A woman on a diet who was only allowing herself twelve hundred calories a day was not someone to mess with as Trevor should have already learned, but the man couldn't seem to stop himself from stealing whatever food she was eating. Most of the food she bought was admittedly gross, but it worked. If she hadn't already lost a lot of weight and actually felt good about herself she would have given up a long time ago.

  "You owe me an apology!" he demanded. She'd wondered how long it would take him to get back to that. He really had a problem with his focus when food was around, actually now that she thought about it, all the Bradfords she'd come across had that same problem.

  "For what?" she asked, trying to appear innocent, but her lips twitching as she fought back a smile kind of killed it.

  "For what?" he asked dumbfounded. "For lying to me! You said that book had sex in it! You lied, again!" He folded his arms over his chest as he glared down at her.

  "Are you sure? I don't remember saying that," she of course lied. It really did entertain her every night when he would ask if they were getting to the sex part yet. She of course assured him that they were while she did her damndest not to laugh. She lost that battle several times, but thankfully he couldn't see her burying her face in her pillow and laughing her ass off at him.

  "Yes, I'm sure, woman! That's two books you lied to me about," he said, still glaring.

  "Hmm, you know what, it's been a while so I guess I just confused the books," she said, scrunching her face up in thought. "It's definitely in the third book."

  He narrowed his eyes on her. "Are you sure this time?"

  "Mmmhmm," she answered, looking back down as she fought not to laugh.

  "Fine, I guess we can start the third book tonight," he said in that tone that he used when he tried to make her think that he was somehow doing her a favor. She wasn't fooled, but she didn't care enough to argue.

  Over the past two and a half months she'd come to enjoy their nightly ritual. It was nice to have something to look forward to instead of the all consuming loneliness she used to feel. Her days were no longer filled with dread and boredom. Now she woke up looking forward to work, although she missed having Haley to talk to it was still a thousand times better than her old job.

  Zoe hadn't really made many friends, but the guys were really nice to her and every now and then Haley called up to say hello. She'd even been invited to Haley's baby shower. Everyone had been so nice and she'd really been enjoying herself that is until Haley's water broke. It got a little crazy after that.

  But she did meet some very nice EMT's and even got to help put a splint on Jason's fingers after Haley broke two or three of them during the last contraction. Not that he seemed to care or notice. The man had been a nervous wreck the entire time. The only thing that seemed to calm him down somewhat was when the EMT placed the cutest little baby girl she'd ever seen in his arms.

  Little by little, things were improving for her and she couldn't be happier. Even her relationship with Trevor was better. She wouldn't exactly call them friends since they never socialized and he never really went out of his way to acknowledge her at work, but he did provide her with entertainment in the morning and at night so he was a much welcomed part of her day.

  She grabbed his lunch box and gestured to the clock. "You're going to be late." She started the five minute process of fitting all his food into the small cooler.

  "Shit," he said, reaching into his back pocket. "Let me pay you before I forget."

  Ah, payday, her new favorite day of the week. It was nice not to cringe anymore when she got paid. Granted her full-time job paid her more than enough so she had plenty of money to pay all of her bills and put some away, but the money she earned from Trevor was her favorite, probably because she actually had fun plans for this money. If things kept going the way they were she would be taking her first real vacation, ever, in a very short time.
r />   "Gimme," she said, grinning as she held out her hand.

  Chuckling, Trevor handed her the money that brought her that much closer to her dream vacation.

  "You better get going," she said, gesturing with a banana for him to move his butt.

  "Yes, boss," he said teasingly as he swiped her banana.

  "Hey! That's a hundred and ten calories, buddy!" she said, hurrying around the kitchen island to rescue her banana, but Trevor was already out the door by the time she made it to the living room.

  "There had better be sex in that book tonight, Zoe!" he yelled from the hallway.

  Definitely entertaining, she decided as she went back to the kitchen to look for something to replace her banana.

  **********

  "Hey, does anyone know where that girl is?" David, one of the supervisors and a complete asshole, demanded as he stormed out of the office.

  Trevor ignored the prick as he relaxed and ate his lunch. Zoe couldn't cook to save her life but she could make a damn good sandwich. He was having some of the guys over after work to watch the game. He'd planned on having her order pizza for him, but maybe instead he'd have her run out and buy deli meat so she could make them a platter of sandwiches. Then again he might just have her do both, he thought with a smile. It was damn nice to have someone at his beck and call, he thought with a content sigh.

  "Hey, David, I think that's her now!" one of the guys announced.

  He watched with bored interest as Zoe hurried past the large dumpsters while hugging a large stack of folders in her arms. She headed towards the office, but was cut off by David.

  "Where the hell have you been?" he demanded, getting in her face.

  Since it had nothing to do with him he blocked out their conversation and focused his attention back to the problem at hand. Should he just go ahead and eat the cake snacks Zoe packed now or wait for his afternoon break? Such a tough choice, he decided as he ripped open a chocolate cake package and devoured the tasty treat. As he ripped into another treat he resigned himself to sneaking into the office later and stealing some of the fruit that Zoe kept as backup.