Page 75 of The Need to Know

“Yes, sir,” I said.

He chuckled, amused by my use of an honorific. “Don’t be late, Isaiah.”

Jam was the breakfast and lunch spot we’d met at before when he wanted to give me the night off for my birthday. Being summoned there again after skipping work last night had me anxious.

Pops usually left everything in my hands, knowing Cease and I could run BLVCKJVCK without any problems. My first two years working for him was under heavy surveillance, and gaining his trust hadn’t been easy, but now that I had it, I always made sure things went to plan.

It wasn’t like me to avoid BLVCKJVCK. I put it before everything. Usually. Last night I’d slipped and fallen asleep after eating and talking to Nastasia. An honest mistake that hopefully Pops wouldn’t be too pissed about.

“Everything okay?”

I hadn’t meant to wake her, but by the sound of her voice, I knew Nastasia was up and alert.

A look over my shoulder confirmed it as she was leaned up on her arm, watching me.

“Yeah, that was Pops,” I said.

Nastasia’s eyes ran down my person, as if she were checking for a sign of a lie. “I should have an extra toothbrush somewhere in my linen closet. Unless you wanna head home and get ready.”

When I’d been making my way up to bed last night, I hadn’t really been paying attention to all that her house held, but I did stop in the bathroom out in the hall. There was also an en-suite bathroom attached to her master bedroom I realized after I came and laid across her bed.

Before I could second-guess what I was doing, I just started talking. “I was going to make you breakfast…”

“It’s okay, I don’t really eat breakfast,” Nastasia said as she laid back down.

I blinked. “It’s the most important meal of the day.”

“So they say.”

“You can’t not have breakfast.”

“God, you are an old man.”

I was only three years older than her, but her need to poke fun at my style was kind of adorable. Little Miss Fashionista was always noticing what I had on. And now she was getting on my encouraging her to start her day right.

“Come out with me. We’re getting breakfast,” I said.

Nastasia shook her head. “Blah.”

“Maybe he’ll go easy on me if I show up with my codefendant,” I quipped.

“Codefendant? So now I’m guilty?”

“You knew what you were doing with that Thai food and this soft-ass bed.” I looked down at her, wanting nothing more than to get back in and doze off.

Nastasia snuggled under her comforter. “It was good, right?”

I rounded the bed so I could see her. “Bomb.”

She peeked an eye open.

“Most important meal of the day,” I insisted.

She gave me a thumbs-up. “Great.”

“You’ll feel better if you eat before you go in.”

“Fine,” she huffed.