“Okay. We’ll be in touch.”
With that phone call done, I was about to buzz Lincoln, when my cell phone rang.
“Bailey Marks.”
“Bailey, it’s Grady. How are you?”
Was Grady calling to find out about me and Keston? This could prove interesting, so I reclined in my chair and waited for the questions.
“I’m well, thanks. And you?”
“Good, good. I’m having a little get-together at my new place this coming Saturday and wanted to invite you. Weston and Brenner will be there as well.”
My lips twitched. “And your brother? Will he be there?”
A deep chuckle filled my ear. “Was I being that obvious?”
“Like a brick to the face. Since when are you aschadkin? That’s Yiddish for matchmaker.”
“Well…yeah. Keston will be there. I might’ve heard the two of you saw each other after that night in the club. You took my advice and went to his shop?”
No need for Grady to know that his brother and I had hooked up more than once. Especially since it wouldn’t be happening again.
“Yeah. He has a nice business going there. And as for us seeing each other, I never pictured Weston and Brenner as biggeryentasthan my grandmother and her cronies used to be. What happened? You all had a Monday morning coffee klatch about how Bailey got lucky? Here I thought big firms like yours were all work and no play.”
I wasn’t annoyed, but I didn’t exactly appreciate being the subject of gossip among my friends.
After a moment of awkward silence, Grady cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. We weren’t talking specifically about you. It simply happened to come up in conversation. Look. I’m a little overprotective of Keston. He’s still working through the trauma of a rough childhood, and he internalizes everything and doesn’t show his emotions well.”
Sound familiar? He could be talking about you.
“He seems to have ended up in a good place—a stable job, a condo, and you two are close.”
Grady’s sigh filled my ear. “Only recently. I’m not sure Keston really knows how to open up to anyone. It took years before I could say with certainty he trusted me.”
“Then I don’t think we should be talking about him behind his back.”
Whoa. Who was this person defending Keston’s right to privacy? He and I had a casual hookup, nothing more. If Grady wanted to talk, it shouldn’t matter to me.
“I see.”
Dammit. I could easily visualize Grady’s smirk.
“Uh, so about that invitation. Yeah. Sure. I’d love to see your new apartment. Where is it?”
“Downtown Brooklyn. I’ll give you directions. I know how you city people don’t like to cross the bridge.”
He should only know. “I’m good, thanks. I’ll find it.”
“Great.” He hesitated. “Okay, listen. Maybe Iammeddling, but I think the two of you could be good for each other. Keston needs someone stable and secure, and he could bring a little bit of the unexpected to your life. I know how boring it can get staring at documents and filings all day.”
I wasn’t ready or able to step onto that minefield, and so I chose to ignore it. “I’ll see you Saturday night. Bye, Grady.”
I got started on my work for the day—setting up a trust for Helen Gottlieb’s darling grandchildren—but I couldn’t keep my thoughts from straying to my conversation with Grady.
Stable and secure.
Maybe instead of law, I should’ve gone into acting because I sure as hell must be playing the part of a lifetime by fooling everyone.
