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She grins at me. “Actually, I do.”
“What brand?”
“Rooks.”
“I’ll have one of those, then.”
“Great.” She takes a bottle out of a full six-pack in the fridge and twists the top off it.
Rooks is both an expensive and uncommon brand. “Thanks,” I say when she hands it to me. “You didn’t buy it just for me, did you?”
She looks a little embarrassed as she takes out plates and cutlery and then carries them over to the table. “Yes, but it’s really not a big deal. When you said you were coming over, I went out and got the beer because you were bringing dinner and you said you were going to help me. It’s simply an exchange. Plus, I feel guilty that you’re here with me instead of out with the guys.”
After all that talk about her not wanting to disappoint her dad and Lucas, I’m relieved she’s not worried about that with me. She doesn’t need to be. We’re friends and I like her the way she is.
“Don’t worry about them. They both blew me off.”
“They did?” She pulls a chair out for herself. “Why?”
“Seb’s working and Duncan is doing something with the family.”
“Oh.”
I don’t bother sharing my suspicions about Duncan seeing a woman. I’m too pissed to go into it now. Besides, I came here to vent about the boss’s son, not Duncan.
“I’m going out with Seb tomorrow night, so don’t worry about me wanting to be somewhere else, all right?”
She nods and smiles. “Okay. Can we eat now?”
“Yeah. I can practically hear your stomach growling.”
We sit down and heap our plates full of our favourite foods. I thought having Wong’s with Lainey without Duncan and Amber might be weird, but it isn’t. Instead, it feels... normal.
“You said you had a bad day,” Lainey says, pouring herself a glass of the white wine from the chilled bottle sitting on the table.
“Yeah. My boss is looking at retiring soon, and instead of selling the business or bringing someone in to manage it for him, he’s got his son in to take over for him.”
“You don’t like him, I take it?”
“He’s a dickwad. He doesn’t know anything about the business. It’s clear he doesn’t want to be there. It’s like he lost an argument with Daddy and now he has to do something he hates. And for some reason, he seems to hate me as much as he hates his new role in the company.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you.”
“He does,” I correct her. “First, he takes me off crowd control and demotes me to a damn mall cop, and now that there’s no one from the company around when I’m working to back me up, he says my performance isn’t up to scratch. Today he calls me into his office, telling me he’s been getting complaints from the shopping complex I’m currently contracted to about me cutting out before the end of my shifts. Something I’ve never done. He’s making crap up.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I told you; he hates me.”
She frowns, still not looking convinced.
“Lainey, I’m telling you, he does. I never cut out from work. I’m always where I’m supposed to be, even though it’s the most goddamn boring job in the world and I wish every day I never quit personal security.”
“Can you go back to being a bodyguard? I know you quit because of...”
“Amber, yeah. I contacted my old boss, but he’s packed in the company. There are a couple of other companies who’ve expressed an interest in taking me on, but I have to start at the bottom. Those bottom feeder assignments aren’t any better than the ones I take now.”
She nods, shovelling a forkful of noodles and pork into her mouth and looking thoughtful. Once she’s swallowed, she says, “But at least your boss might not be a jerk.”
