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“Just give me one minute, and you can drop me off.”
Fuck!
“The car service will take you home.”
Dahlia chuckled, shaking her head. “But you pass right by my street. It’s silly to waste money on a service.”
It had nothing to do with money and everything to do with the possibility of someone seeing them together. He hadn’t given it much thought last night, and considering the time, it wasn’t a concern. Now, it was. It was important to set boundaries if this was going to continue.
“It’s not your money, so it’s not your concern.” It came out harsher than he’d intended.
He could’ve apologized. He probably should’ve. Instead, he remained silent, grabbed a T-shirt from his shelf, and offered it to Dahlia. She reached out, taking it and muttered, “Thank you.”
“Tell Sloane you need another uniform top.”
“Okay.” Dahlia quickly dressed while he continued gathering his wallet and phone.
Trey made sure he was at the end of the hallway and far enough from the bedroom when he called Rogue. They were splitting the pickups between them, and he wanted to double-check the locations. While most businesses in Lawry were on the legit path, there were others under the thumb of the Underground, and they paid for that privilege.
Trey listened to the phone ring several times and was sure it would go straight to voicemail when Rogue picked up.
“Do you know what fucking time it is?”
Trey rolled his eyes and sighed. Rogue had never been a morning person, but it wasn’t an ungodly hour.
“Yes, I do. It’s a little before noon. I’m covering the south end, and you’ll take the north. Correct?”
Rogue grunted and muttered. “Fuck!”
It was clear he’d forgotten. Years ago, Trey would have offered to make the collections, but he was well beyond those years.
“Correct?” Trey asked again.
“Yeah, Trey, fucking correct.”
Trey hung up without another word and tucked his phone in his chest pocket. He was halfway to the kitchen when he heard her soft footsteps.
“I called the service. They said five minutes, so I should go downstairs.” Dahlia smiled and walked toward him. “So I was thinking. I have off tonight and wanted to invite you over to my house. We can order out, or I can make us something. Not a great cook, but not bad either.” Dahlia laughed and angled her head.
It sounded so normal and so far from Trey’s reality.
“Unlike you, I’m working.”
“Oh. Well, maybe after you’re done, do you want to come over?” She rocked back on her heels, and her stare held so much hope. Trey was once again reminded of her innocence.
“I’m working late.”
She waved her hand. “Oh, I don’t care how late. I’m a night owl. And if tonight doesn’t work, how about tomorrow night? I have the next few days off.”
Trey narrowed his gaze. “Dahlia.”
She clamped her lips and stared back at him. He tucked his hands in his pockets and sighed.
“Having you here is a conflict of interest as I am your boss. Do you understand?”
The corner of her mouth curled. “You didn’t seem conflicted last night. Are you afraid I’m going to make a complaint, Trey? I mean, let’s be honest, you are HR.”
“I value my privacy. This is between you and me only.” Trey arched his brow, waiting for some type of response. It took her a few seconds for it to all soak in. Dahlia, while beautiful, had a very expressive face, leaving nothing to the imagination. She smiled, though it appeared forced and awkward as if she was giving him what she thought he expected. There was a bit of guilt seeing her reaction, though Trey refused to give it more thought. This was how he’d lived his life.
