Because sadly, Bruno played right in to Luciano’s theory—helovedbitches.
I got off the floor. No way was I letting them go alone. Bruno needed me, almost as much as I neededhim.
And though neither of us needed Sebastian, in that moment, I had to admit—I was glad he wasthere.
11
Georgina
With Bruno’sleash in hand, Sebastian opened the door to our office, stuck his head out, and looked left toright.
“Maybe I should take his leash,” I said. “He can be ahandful.”
“I’ve got him, and you’re only allowed to come with us if you promise torelax.”
“Fine,” I said, crossing my arms as I waited behind them. “What are youdoing?”
“Checking that the coast isclear.”
“I already approved this withVance.”
“It’s not Vance you need to worry about,” Sebastian said. “It’s Scaredy-CatJones.”
I took a wild guess. “Justin?”
“He’s scared of dogs. And heights. And women’s shoes. And intimacy. The guy’s a real piece of work. We keep the floor pet-free so we don’t have to deal with more of hisneuroses.”
“He’ll change his tune when he meetsBruno.”
Sebastian looked back at me. “Considering this dog would come up to Justin’s stomach, I don’t think so. Can Bruno armycrawl?”
“Uh . . . not oncommand.”
“Never mind. Flank Bruno’s other side, and let’s go.” Sebastian strode out of the office. I scurried to keep up in four-inch heels, shielding Bruno from the left as we wound through the cubicles. “We’re good,” Sebastian said, easing up when we reached the elevators. “Justin must be on theshitter.”
“Is everything about pooping with youtwo?”
Sebastian punched the call button. “Everybody does it, Georgina. Don’t be aprude.”
The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open to reveal Justin with a box of Dunkin’ Donuts. “They were out of jelly,” he started, “so I got us extraglaze—”
Bruno, most likely having caught a whiff of the pastries, bounded into the elevator and leapt for the box, ripping the leash from Sebastian’shand.
Justin stumbled back against a wall. “Monster!”
I jolted forward, but my heel caught on the carpet, and I face-planted into Sebastian’s back. He didn’t budge an inch, but spun around and grabbed my arm. “Whoa—”
“My heel, it’s stuck,” I rushed out as an apology. “I can’t get it—” Reflexively, I kicked my foot to freemyself.
Justin had abandoned the box of donuts and was trying to escape as my shoe, stiletto up, flew into the elevator. He threw his hands over his face and ducked into a corner as the heel narrowly missed his head. “What’s happening?” Justin asked as Bruno licked his face. “Is thishell?”
My heart hammered, both from my near fall, and because Sebastian’s big, stupid hand felt so good around my bicep. “Are you okay?” I askedJustin.
“He’s fine,” Sebastian said, releasing me to grab Bruno’s collar. He pulled him off Justin and passed me the leash. “The dog’sfriendly.”
Justin peeked out from behind his arms to glare at me. “What are you, some kind of high-class assassin?” he asked me. “You almost killed me with a JimmyChoo.”
“Justin, take your fucking donuts and get out of here,” Sebastian said, stooping to pick up myshoe.
