4: SETH

DELILAH

We arrived at what appeared to be an auto repair shop in the middle of nowhere. When I say the middle of nowhere, I mean we were surrounded on both sides by green on a strip of roadway that just happened to have a patch of torn-up gravel off to the side. I had seen a sign calling it Cascadia not even a mile or so in, though I thought the brothers lived in the Portland area. Not realizing that what had felt like a short drive was longer than previously thought until I checked my phone, having been too distracted by the scenery and Jewel’s poor attitude to notice.

This just seemed to be in the middle of a forest with an occasional house or store, but there had been a lot of beauty in between. Fields, trees—flowers. Once you got away from civilization as well as the waste left by the abject poverty that surrounded most of us due to the struggling economy, Oregon was majestic. While Arizona had the same issues, there was no green and it was pretty flat. However, that could have also been my mindset just due to trying to stay positive about what Mila had already called the damp weather I hadn’t experienced yet.

I hadn't said much to Jewel especially considering she seemed to be very hostile. She had tried to make small talk after a while, but it wasn’t anything I found productive enough to finally want to respond to. I didn't want to get to know her. In fact, I hoped this was as little contact as I had to stand.

I was pretty sure she had fucked one of the brothers, especially with this whole territorial cat thing going on with her metaphorical claws out within moments. Women didn’t just do that without a good reason, especially in a work environment where I knew I looked non-threatening. My job was my priority though, not making friends or even playing nice. I had to shake myself mentally several times to remind myself that this was still a job. No matter how unprofessional she was being.

One that after this weekend I would leave and never look back. There would be no getting into a confrontation with her, that was not in my best interest. What held my interest more was the beauty around me while I tried to block out her nastiness much like I did with my mother. I had visited Utah, California, and parts of Seattle’s Airport. I had never experienced the untamable forests that these people called home.

It was like the earth tried to touch everything near it and it was... beguiling.

Nature was so close to people no matter how much they tried to push it out; some areas seemed to embrace this with the way the grass grew with the concrete. Even as I stepped out of the vehicle with my feet crunching on the loose well-used gravel; you could see weeds and flowers trying to pop out under the harsh terrain; an unstoppable bewitching beauty. Wild tulips lining the sides with their wilting reds and yellows.

I kept my face blank as I exited the vehicle—Jewel already heading towards the door. “Seth!” She belted out with a sing-song tune, her fingers twisting nervously near her navel as she practically ran forward. “Cole sent me with a present for you!” Her voice was unpleasant.

Something about it made me suddenly wonder if I wasn’t exactly as ~invited~ for one of the brothers as it had seemed.

I stayed by the car making no motion to move forward as I looked around at the scenery around me, green trees both pine and full of leaves swished in the breeze. Birds sang nearby and everything was very... Calming. Mildly wondering if I might need to. That calm was disrupted by the bang of a metal screen door slamming open and shut.

My head whipped over in the direction of the door only to have my stomach drop slightly. This was the brother I had seen in magazines. The face of the company, in all his male glory—a lean strong man in a grease-stained white tee wiping his black hands on what I assumed used to be a plain red rag that was now covered in dark grime. Seth looked very much ready for a photoshoot, easily imitating his photos in his natural state. Not like he was working on an actual vehicle in a run-down shop in the middle of nowhere.

No touch-ups, no fake smudges or makeup. This was the real man in flesh and blood, being just as dripping with his good looks as in pictures. It was hard not to want to feel shy.

“What part of bring her to the house did you not understand?” He growled, making Jewel flinch, his voice reverberating through the parking lot making my eyes narrow. He wasn’t threatening—annoyed to be sure but his tone was still pretty disrespectful.

“House? W- I didn’t—”

“I texted you. Don’t you ever check your phone?”

And his attractiveness was quickly dissipating the more I heard the way he spoke to her. It was like he was talking down to a child. The tone only grosser; if Jewel hadn’t been putting a whine in her voice like a toddler.

“We were on the road. Of course I didn’t check my phone. I—”

He shook his head sighing as he threw his towel over his shoulder. “Whatever, it’s fine. Just pay more attention to my texts instead of being so obsessed with what my brother wants. For once. I texted you the moment he called and we both know you took your time picking her up. You’re an hour late.”

The comment he made suddenly solidified my loose thoughts and ideals that she had slept with one of the brothers. I indeed had misjudged. They had both slept with her.

~Whoah~.

~Now if I was a “matchmaker”… that would have been a juicy article compared to what I was supposed to be writing.~

“You’re Delilah?” Seth asked, taking a few steps down away from the shop to extend his hand. “Sorry to get off on the wrong foot here. I’m Seth.”

I plastered on a fake smile, knowing that if he ever used that tone with me he was asking for trouble. All nerves were gone as my warm hand met his with a firm shake. “Yes, Delilah Morris at your service from KGQ8, one of Portland’s leading local news stations.”

“Right, you’re here to do an article on us for your job this weekend.”

I kept my smile on, realizing that the way he said that sounded less convincing. Had Cole set up the arrangements? Would Seth comply with what I needed?

“I am, but it’s a small article so I doubt I’d need much more than a few statements. A one-on-one interview would be really helpful if you had the time at any point. I don’t want to be a burden, I was only supposed to do an hour segment originally.” I tried to keep my tone as non-desperate as possible, considering I already had dealt with one hostile situation. I was not really wanting to walk into another one when I was basically stranded, even if I was sure work could rescue me.

A slow smile appeared on Seth’s face as he seemed to look me over. His eyes settled on my breasts for a heartbeat too long, making a flush creep up my cheeks. “I’m sure we could set up some time for a one-on-one, we even can start right now if you want while I finish up here. I have some questions for you as well.”

I opened my mouth, unsure if he was making a sexual advance or not or if he was just dripping with male charm. Considering Jewel was slamming the door behind him into the auto repair shop though, I reminded myself once again that this was all business. There was no way someone who had hired us for an interview intended or not was hitting on me right now. Especially when he still had someone like Jewel at his beck and call.

~Jewel is also going inside, so whatever conversation we are going to have is clearly going to be PG. There’s no confusion about what he’s asking. Get a grip, D.~

So I smiled brightly, shifting my bag slightly to grab a notebook. “I’d love to start right now as long as I’m not intruding. Is there a place we can sit, or would you like to work while we talk?”

He raised his eyebrows as if surprised, cocking his head to the side a bit. “I need to finish up a bit, so yeah, that sounds great. Let's head inside, and I’ll find you a chair.”

I was happy I had assessed the situation correctly, hoping that our interactions continued to be more positive than the one between him and the now-forever-hallowed fill-in human relations. Jewel had put me on my toes, something I wasn’t entirely ungrateful for. It reminded me that this job would likely be just as difficult to traverse as my previous one sometimes when it came to human relations.