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He grinned as he motioned toward the sofa in the lobby. “Maybe, but it worked, and now you’re both happier for it. I don’t know why you still have so much hostility for Greer.”
I gritted my teeth and sat down on the edge of the black leather sofa. I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees as Jesse sat across from me in the wingback chair. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Livie was out of earshot before turning back to me.
My stomach churned, making me wonder if I was about to lose my Nitro Brew. “What the fuck is going on? Why can’t Dreamboat take the meeting?”
I looked around, but the fucker obviously wasn’t here.
“You know as well as I do, he’s not here,” he answered coolly. “Plus, Greer asked for you specifically. Said you’d understand the parameters of what he needed, and I didn’t argue with him. It wasn’t any of my concern. And I know I don’t have to tell you what it could mean for our business.”
I ran my hands over my thick dark hair and laughed humorlessly. Very few people knew I owned half of EHM Security. And I preferred it that way. “I don’t know why the asshole would need personal security. He lives and works in his tower on high.”
Jesse shrugged, but I could see the hint of a smile on his face. “Why don’t you just ask him? He’s a good guy and an honest businessman. And he’s easy to look at, too, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
I glared at him. “He’s Carter’s best friend. End of story.”
A big grin spread across his face. “I doth think the Daredevil protest too much.”
The fucker knew I hated Shakespeare, so I shot him the finger again. Of course, he thought that was funny.
“Just take the meeting with him, Dare. All I know is he has some function to go to and needs someone who could run interference. Your blue blood would make it easier for him.”
I sighed and smoothed out the wrinkles on my forehead from the perma-scowl I was known for. No amount of LED therapy, hyaluronic acid, or microdermabrasion would hide those valleys. I could hear my mother now.
GQ lowered his voice to the placating tone he used when he pissed off his hot-blooded Italian husband. “Just go talk to him. This might be an opportunity to put your past behind you. We’ll talk about it if I’m here when you get back.”
My stomach clenched, remembering the humiliation and embarrassment I’d suffered that night. There was no way I would do anything to help that asshole out. But I would do anything for my friend.
“I’m not promising anything. I’ll quit before I do anything to protect Mr. High and Mighty.”
Jesse grinned. “Kinda hard to quit when you own half the business.”
“Fuck you, asshole.” I stood and shot him another bird before heading for the door.
CHAPTER 3
GREER
This might be the craziest idea I’d ever had, and I’d had a few in my lifetime. But Austin was the only one I needed for this situation. As much as he liked to deny it, we had more in common than not. He was the only one who could give me exactly what I needed—a chance to explain.
Now I just had to convince him.
I looked down at the vintage Rolex my father had given me for my twenty-first birthday a couple of decades ago. It was almost two, and I knew he’d be here any minute. His impeccable manners and highly organized brain would not allow him to be late. I just wish I could have been a fly on the wall when Jesse told him what I wanted.
Chuckling to myself, I stood and ran my hands over the gray-blue Tom Ford dress shirt that, according to the personal shopper, made my light hazel eyes downright sinful, before moving down to my charcoal-colored Tom Ford wool pants to smooth away any wrinkles. When all was well, I ran a quick hand through my way-more-salt-than-pepper hair, before walking to the window to wait for him to arrive. I’d just had it cut, so I knew it was on point.
Every time he came here on official EHM business, my heart raced as he got out of the vehicle and stalked in like a jungle cat, ready to devour me.
Who was I kidding? From the first time we met, Austin had made me feel things no one else ever had. Because of him, I’d figured out I was demisexual. Even though he refused to let me explain and preferred to despise me, I cherished every second I got to spend with him scowling at me. He had a valid reason to feel the way he did. But he didn’t know why I’d done it, and that’s what I hoped to correct.
My pulse kicked up a beat or two when the familiar black Tahoe pulled into the entrance of my office building and came to a stop. The door opened and out stepped the man I’d been waiting on for years. He glanced up at the window, right where I was standing, before making his way into the building. It wouldn’t be long now.
The former Navy SEAL was six-foot-four with dark hair and piercing green eyes. He wore a serious expression most of the time that was so misleading to who he really was. That scowl was hot as fuck and did things to my nether regions, especially when he aimed all that at me. It was the indifference that ate at me. Like we hadn’t almost been something.
My office door was open because my secretary, Melanie, was working at the reception desk today. Things were slow up here, and she volunteered to fill in this afternoon. With her being downstairs, that left the two of us alone up here.
The familiar sound of the elevator’s arrival on my floor made me smile. And I could almost count down the seconds before he exploded.
Five... four... three... two... one.
