“Harlow?” Holden’s voice has me jumping, and I realize I’d zoned out for a moment.
“Sorry, what did you say?” I ask. “I was thinking about something and wasn't paying attention.” Holden turns so that he can see me, and from the look on his face, he’s got a pretty solid idea of what I was thinking so hard about.
“Did you get a hold of Alex or Shane?” Holden asks, sounding amused that he caught me daydreaming.
“Shit no, I got distracted by the shower, and then General Hardass was rushing us.” General Hardass is right for more than one reason. When I slapped him on said ass this morning, my hand hurt. The boy doesn’t miss squat days, not that I plan to explain that reason for why the name fits him.
Grabbing my phone out of my jacket pocket, I shoot off a quick text to Shane and Alex about lunch. While I wait for a reply, I message Max. I really need to get in some phone time with her, so hopefully she’ll be free for a call later. All those rushed phone calls over the last week of my “rest time” were definitely not adequate girl time.
My phone pings with a reply, and it’s Alex with a very enthusiastic yes. He and Shane are at a shoot this morning that should be wrapped up by one. It’s not far away, so they’ll meet me at one thirty for a late lunch. Even though they try to insist on taking care of the food, I convince them I’ve already got it covered. Which is a total lie, but if I’m going to surprise them with Jacinta, I need to make sure there’s enough food for everyone, not to mention my shadow, Thomas.
The timing of their shoot will give me enough time to go to the meeting with Holden and maybe even some spare time to fill out my license paperwork and do the open book law test that’s required, if that gets done early. I may need to call Melinda and ask for her to scan my certificates and things for me. Not to mention I probably should call her anyway. God, I’m a terrible sort-of daughter.
They’ve been on my mind a lot, but sometimes thinking about someone and loving them doesn’t mean that it’s easy to just pick up a phone and talk to them. It seems like there’s always some kind of distraction or fucked up mystery doll package… or jet ski accident… or shooting that just takes over. Regardless, I need to do better. I want to reassure them, and I guess myself, that I still love them. Even if I’m here, it doesn't mean I’m going to forget about them or anything. I think maybe my insecurities are playing havoc, and I need reassurance just as much from them.
The long drive to the office seems to go by quickly. With music playing on the radio, the ride has been fairly quiet, apart from a few conversations between Holden and Thomas, but I don’t really pay attention to them. I finally got a chance to finish the book I was reading this week, and when I needed something new, I raided Jacinta’s well-stocked bookshelf in our wing’s living area and found a new one. The book I picked is about seven deadly sins and how they need redemption. There’s also some kind of bet between God and Lucifer. I’m loving it so far, and Lucifer is my favorite character. But while I was browsing through her shelves, I found the most ridiculous collection of books by a male author named Chuck Tingle.
The one that left me gaping was calledHandsome Sentient Food Pounds My Butt And Turns Me Gay: Eight Tales Of Hot Food.Seriously, there was a story about getting fucked by a corncob. When I asked her about it, she rolled her eyes and huffed. Apparently, it’s her brother’s idea of a joke. She lost a bet, so she had to order every one of his books and put them on display on her shelf. In any case, I wasn’t ready to have gay food porn in my life, so I went with the seven deadly sins instead.
I’m deep into my book when the car rolls to a stop, and I realize we’ve parked underground at the Neighpalm building. Thomas stops the engine and quickly hops out, the movement of his suit jacket revealing a peek at the bulge that can’t be anything but a gun. I wish he was wearing a bulletproof vest as well, but that would look strange in an office building and draw more attention than I want.
“Stay there a moment while I have a look around,” he orders before slamming the door closed on the two of us.
I’m drumming my fingers on the door of the car, my nerves going crazy now that I’m back in public for the first time since I got back from Hawaii. The reality of the situation, that I have a bodyguard, is rearing its ugly head, and I start to panic about what might be out there, waiting for us. Shit, I’ve always been fairly brave, at least on the surface. When you’re semi-raised by a mother who feeds off of weakness, you figure out how to hide your fear. I learned very quickly to adopt a resting bitch face, showing no emotion whenever I was with her and her cronies. Well, okay, maybe it’s more of a resting blank face. I’m not that great at the whole bitch part, but maybe Jacinta can give me lessons now.
Holden undoes his seatbelt and turns in his seat, looking at me with a patient but small smile.
“Don’t worry, Harlow. Thomas is going to make sure everything is okay. Trust him,” he tries to reassure me, but when I don't stop drumming my fingers, he goes for a distraction. “Hope’s going to meet us in my office, and we’ll go to the conference room from there.”
“Have we got time to stop and see Jacinta? I want to invite her to lunch, and I kind of want to snoop and see how things are going.”
Holden glances down at the watch on his wrist, some expensive-looking piece that has what I think is the red and green Tag symbol on it. “Yeah, we’ve got about half an hour before we’re expected. I’ll just text Hope and let her know what we’re doing so she doesn't worry.”
I smile at his thoughtfulness just as Thomas comes back and opens my door for me.
“It’s all clear. Let’s get moving.” He holds out his hand and helps me out of the car. He has me walk in front of him while he covers my back, his arm wrapped around my waist as we move quickly to the nearby elevator. I can feel the warmth of his body through the thin fabric of my dress. Thomas is taller than I am, and more broad, and it feels nice to have him at my back for protection. If I wasn’t so nervous right now, I might be paying more attention to the part of my brain that says we’d like to have him behind us for a whole other slew of reasons. Good to know I can still be horny as fuck while also fearing for my life. Not sure if Darwin would approve ofthatsurvival instinct.
The elevator door opens as we get to it, and we walk straight in. Before anyone can join us, not that the parking garage is overly populated right now, Holden hits the button for the Couture floor.
As we slowly start to rise, Thomas removes his hand from my back, and I do my best to shake off the pang of disappointment that hits me. They are not Pokémon, and I need to keep reminding myself of that. But even though the better part of my nature wants me to stop objectifying them, I really do want to collect them all. Although I don't know much about him, and he is still fairly closed off toward me, watching him with his siblings the night we got back from Hawaii was a real eye opener. He was warm and open, and wow, he has a killer smile. I wish I could see it aimed in my direction.
“Why are we going to Couture?” he asks, putting a bit of space between us.
“I’m just going to ask Jacinta if she would like to have lunch with me,” I explain, not meeting his eyes, but I can hear Holden snort quietly on the other side of me.
“Harlow is doing her own little bit of matchmaking.” I finally get up the nerve to take a peek at Thomas, and he’s looking at me like I knew he would be, with this penetrating stare that I swear can see into my soul. But I guess whatever he sees doesn't upset him because he nods, the hint of a smirk on his face. Holy shit, I just about stumble in surprise. I guess Holden is shocked too because he waves his good hand at him.
“What? What’s all this about? Why are you smirking?” The smirk disappears, quickly replaced by General Hardass again.
“If Jacinta ends up with a harem of her own, then she is no longer our problem.”
Holden is speechless for all of five seconds before he’s laughing and raising his hand for a high five which Thomas enthusiastically returns. “God, I love the way you think. Your mind is so devious.”
I roll my eyes at them as the elevator comes to a stop on the right floor, stepping out while the two of them follow me, soft chuckles still escaping. The girl at the reception desk smiles warmly as I approach. Unlike others in the building, she’s been pleasant and kind to me from day one, even before Nana introduced us.
“Good morning, Harlow. How was your trip to Hawaii?”
“It was great. Thanks for asking, Lucy. Is Jacinta in, and has she got a minute?”
